Natural Resources Research Articles

An economic evaluation of deep tillage to reduce soil compaction on crop-livestock farms in Western Australia

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

10-2-2003

Journal Title

Agricultural Systems

ISSN

ISSN 0308-521X eISSN 1873-2267

Keywords

Deep tillage, Soil compaction, Sandy soils, MIDAS (Bioeconomic farm model), Heavy farm machinery, Mediterranean climate

Disciplines

Agribusiness | Agricultural Economics | Agricultural Science | Agronomy and Crop Sciences | Beef Science | Climate | Dairy Science | Data Science | Hydrology | Natural Resources Management and Policy | Sheep and Goat Science | Soil Science | Water Resource Management

Abstract

Deep tillage can ameliorate soil compaction caused by movement of heavy machinery on sandy soils. A whole-farm linear programming model, MIDAS, is used to assess the economics of deep tillage in Western Australia's northern wheatbelt. Model results indicate that deep tillage is likely to result in modest profit improvements in the region. The size of the increase in profit is shown to depend on the size of yield increases from deep tillage and the appropriate selection of rotations, frequency and timing of deep tillage and the type and size of deep tillage machinery. In general, if the expected yield response to deep tillage is at least 300 kg/ha in cereal-lupin rotations on the yellow sandplain soils, adoption of deep tillage is shown to be profitable. Model results also indicate the preferred periods for deep tillage to be in summer (after cyclonic rains or thunderstorms) or during the five days immediately following completion of seeding in winter. Several reasons are offered as to why deep tillage has not been adopted as widely or as quickly as had been anticipated by some.

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Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

https://doi.org/10.1016/0308-521X(91)90038-C