Implications of subsidiary cropping and tillage system on economics and production risk

Summary

Subsidiary cropping and mulch systems as well as conservation tillage may induce multiple positive agro-ecological effects, increasing resilience and yield stability of cash cropping in organic farming systems. As this may also implicitly affect production economics and risk potential, the paper at hand evaluates two year crop-rotations from empiric field data, considering costs and revenues of production as well as yield effects based on stochastic risk simulation. Absolute profitability as well as risk potential substantially varies between cropping systems and locations and does not necessarily display a definite preference of conventional/reduced tillage or subsidiary cropping systems. However, a temporal expansion of the period under observation considering long-term effects of soil fertility enhancing management practices may illustrate their risk-reducing potential as well as the necessity to handle them as long-term investments with instant expenses and subsequent economic returns.