ECONOMIC-ANALYSIS OF ALTERNATIVE CROPPING SYSTEMS FOR A BEAN WHEAT ROTATION ON LIGHT-TEXTURED SOILS

Tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) has been the predominant cash crop grow n on sandy soils of southern Ontario, but the area cropped has fallen significantly with the decline in tobacco demand. Crops such as beans and wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) are technically feasible alternatives , but their yields have been highly variable. Cover crops and conserva tion tillage are approaches that may increase the productive capacity of sandy soils while reducing the environmental impact of present prod uction systems. In this study, yields, costs and net returns of three bean-winter wheat cropping systems were evaluated under conventional t illage and four variations of no-till systems differentiated by the ty pe of cover crop. The three beans considered were soybeans (Glycine ma x L. Merr.), white beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) and kidney beans (Pha seolus vulgaris L.). Average yields of the three beans grown under con ventional tillage were consistently lower than those of the four no-ti ll treatments, but the differences were significant in only a few year s. Total production cost for the bean crops was $96 ha-1 lower for the no-till treatments than for conventional tillage. Average net returns for the rotation involving kidney beans were approximately $100 ha-1 higher than those involving white beans and $330 ha-1 higher than soyb eans. Conventional tillage produced the lowest net returns within each of the bean/wheat rotations.