Level II Agricultural
Business Operations
What is a crop rotation?
........ is the practice of growing a series of
different types of crops in the same area in
sequential seasons..........
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Developed by Charles “Turnip”
Townshend in 18th Century
Based on Wheat, Turnips, Barley,
Clover
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Benefits
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Nutrients
Organic matter
Pest Control
Disease control
Optimum use of land
Incorporate organic manures
Spread workload
Disadvantages
◦ Soil Structure
◦ Machinery Requirements
Wheat after Break crop vs
Wheat after Wheat
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Choice of crop and variety
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Management of crop
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Marketing of crop
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Is there a demand?
◦ Price / Profitability
◦ Ease of marketing
Is your land and climate suitable?
◦ Soil type
◦ Temperature, sunlight, precipitation
Do you have / can you plant a suitable mix of
crops for a suitable rotation?
◦ E.g. WOSR could be difficult without WB
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Do you have the labour?
◦ interest
◦ expertise
◦ seasonality of demand for labour
Do you have the machinery and buildings?
◦ ownership
◦ access
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Is it in demand?
Yes
Is it high quality? Variety dependent.
Is it high-yielding? Variety dependent.
Does it require a high chemical input?
◦ disease resistance
◦ pest resistance
◦ competitiveness against weeds
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Site
◦ location (near/far)
◦ soil type (light/heavy)
◦ surrounding crops (e.g. maincrop potatoes/early
potatoes)
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Place in rotation
◦ diseases and pests
◦ soil fertility and structure
◦ timeliness
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Seedbed preparation
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pH
cultivations
tilth
compaction
Sowing
◦ date
◦ rate
◦ depth
Seed rate, ok! Date, depth, tilth,
compaction?
Fertilisers
 Nutrient Management Planning
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◦ Major Nutrients eg. N, P, K
◦ Micronutrients
◦ Use of organic manures
◦ Yield & Profitability
◦ Cost/benefit
◦ Soil type
◦ Previous cropping
◦ Timing
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Weed control
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field History
competitiveness of crop/weeds
sowing date vs seed rate
previous cropping
cultivations
mechanical weeding
Herbicide mode of action
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Disease control
◦ Improve crop condition
◦ Varietal resistance
◦ Order of rotation
◦ Reducing need for chemical
treatment
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Wheat after Wheat?
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Wheat after Maize?
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Wheat after Barley?
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OSR after Cabbage?
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Volunteer Potatoes?
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Wheat after Wheat?
Take All
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Wheat after Maize?
Fusarium
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Wheat after Barley?
Take All
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OSR after Cabbage?
Club Root
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Volunteer Potatoes?
Blight
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Pest control
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soil type
previous cropping
weather
crop growth and development
pest populations
chemicals (seed treatments, sprays, environment)
Rotation allows better utilisation of resources
◦ Labour
◦ Machinery
◦ Drying
◦ Storage
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Spreading risk
Meeting Specification
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moisture content
storage duration
end user
facilities
Storage
◦ price
◦ facilities
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Contracts
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quantity
quality
environmental standards
minimum price
bonuses
Open market
◦ price volatility
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Options
◦ insurance against price volatility
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Pool marketing
◦ delegation of marketing decisions
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Choice of crop and variety
◦ Choose crop and variety to suit farm conditions
◦ Chose crop to make best use of resources
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Management of Crop
◦ Plan rotation to reduce pests, weeds & diseases
◦ Plan rotation to maximise nutritional benefit
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Marketing of Crop
◦ Choose crops with a ready market
◦ Choose crops which spread risk
◦ Use local / speciality markets