Demographic and Management Factors Affecting the Adoption and Perceived Yield Benefit of Winter Cover Crops in the Southeast

The inclusion of cover crops in cropping systems brings direct and indirect costs and benefits. Farmers will adopt and utilize cover crops as long as the perceived benefit of using them is positive. This paper examines the demographic and management factors affecting the adoption and perceived benefit (in terms of improved crop yield) of using winter annual cover crops. A double selectivity model of cover crop adoption and perceived yield gain was estimated using survey data of Alabama farmers examining cover crop use and management. Results may help in understanding factors shaping farmers’ perceptions, adoption, and retention of cover crops.adoption, conservation, cover crops, double selectivity model, perceived yield gain, tobit model, Environmental Economics and Policy, Farm Management, Q12, Q15, Q55,

Soil Drying Effects on Soil Strength and Depth of Hardpan Layers as Determined from Cone Index Data

Site-specific detection of a soil hardpan is an important step in precision farming. Different methods have been developed including the ASABE standard soil cone penetrometer to detect presence of hardpan layers. Most of the newly developed methods use results obtained by a soil cone penetrometer as a reference to validate their potential. Soil factors, mainly soil moisture and bulk density, may influence the cone index measurement and the prediction of the relative strength and depth of the hardpan layer. The effects of soil drying on hardpan characterizing attributes of peak cone index, depth to the peak cone index and depth to the top of the hardpan layer were studied for three compaction levels on a Norfolk sandy loam soil in a soil bin. The soil in the bin was wetted to near saturation and then subjected to four levels of soil drying. A multiple-probe soil cone penetrometer (MPSCP) was used to measure soil cone index. The results showed that soil drying had a significant effect on peak cone index for the single pass compaction (1.78 Mg m-3 within hardpan) and the double pass compaction (1.83 Mg m-3 within hardpan). The peak cone index increased two-fold and 1.3 times due to soil drying from ‘day-1’ to ‘day-4’ for the single pass compaction and for the double compaction, respectively. The depths to the top of the hardpan determined from the depth to the peak cone index and the depth to the top of the hardpan showed a statistically significant decreasing trend for the single pass compaction. The differences, however, were too small (< 2 cm) to justify varying prescription tillage depth due to soil drying

The effect of row spacing and seeding rate on biomass production and plant stand characteristics of non-irrigated photoperiod-sensitive sorghum (\u3ci\u3eSorghum bicolor\u3c/i\u3e (L.) Moench)

To evaluate row spacing and seeding rate effects on yield and plant stand characteristics of high-biomass sorghum, a photoperiod-sensitive cultivar was sown at three different row spacings (76, 38, and 19 cm) and seeding rates (218,000, 306,000, and 393,000 seeds ha−1 for one site-year and 116,000, 204,000, and 291,000 seeds ha−1 for three site-years) from 2009 to 2010 in Alabama and Arkansas, USA. Measurements included above-ground dry matter production, plant height, stem density, and stem diameter. Narrower row spacing (i.e. 19 cm) produced the highest biomass for all site-years. Increasing seeding rate did not affect yield for three of the site-years, and decreased yield for one. The 19 cm row spacing produced the highest stem densities. Plant height increased with increasing seeding rates at one site and decreased with higher seeding rates at another site. At one location, stem diameter declined as seeding rates and stem density increased. It was concluded that narrower row spacing (19 cm) provides the maximum yield benefit by significantly increasing stem density, and low seeding rates (116,000 seeds ha−1) are preferable because higher seeding rates do not positively affect yield and may cause morphological changes (i.e. taller plants with thinner stems) conducive to lodging

Demographic and Management Factors Affecting the Perceived Benefit of Winter Cover Crops in the Southeast

The inclusion of cover crops in cropping systems brings both direct and indirect costs and benefits. Farmers will adopt and continue to utilize cover crops in their production systems as long as the perceived benefit of using cover crops (e.g. increased yield, higher profits, and improved soil productivity) is positive. The perceived benefits, while partially based on actual changes, may be influenced by demographic, economic and management factors. The purpose of this paper is to examine the demographic and management factors affecting the perceived benefit, in terms of improved crop yield, of using winter annual cover crops. A tobit model is estimated using survey data of Alabama farmers examining cover crop use and management. The model examines the potential effect of different agronomic, demographic and management factors on the perceived yield gain from using winter cover crops of Alabama row crop producers. Estimation results indicated that growing peanuts, growing soybeans, high debt, high gross farm sales, use of conservation tillage, increased application of N to the cash crop after a legume cover crop, and applying N to the cover crop had a positive and statistically significant impact on farmers’ perceived yield gain from using a cover crop. In contrast, number of years farming, farm size, and high cover crop costs had a negative and statistically significant impact on farmers’ perceived yield gain from using a cover crop. Understanding the perceived benefits of using winter cover crops and the factors that shape these perceptions can provide insight into the decision making process farmers make in deciding to adopt and/or retain the use of cover crops on their farm

Demographic and Management Factors Affecting the Adoption and Perceived Yield Benefit of Winter Cover Crops in the Southeast

The inclusion of cover crops in cropping systems brings direct and indirect costs and benefits. Farmers will adopt and utilize cover crops as long as the perceived benefit of using them is positive. This paper examines the demographic and management factors affecting the adoption and perceived benefit (in terms of improved crop yield) of using winter annual cover crops. A double selectivity model of cover crop adoption and perceived yield gain was estimated using survey data of Alabama farmers examining cover crop use and management. Results may help in understanding factors shaping farmers’ perceptions, adoption, and retention of cover crops

Aspects of Applied Biology 112, 2011 Biomass and Energy Crops IV The Creation and Role of the USDA Biomass Research Centers

to enhance the establishment of a sustainable feedstock production for bio-based renewabl