An economic review of conservation tillage practices: select case studies from the eastern Prairies of Canada

This study reviewed the literature on soil conservation practices and analyzed four case studies in different soil zones and diverse cropping systems of Manitoba (MB), western Canada to show the potential impacts of no-till/reduced tillage practices on field crop economic performance. Primary and secondary data, such as tillage type, input cost, crop price, crop yield, and net revenue (NR) were used to assess the tillage practices in each of the case studies. Based on crop economic analysis over nine years (1998-2006) in Southern Manitoba, cereal-based (spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) cropping systems were more profitable under conservation tillage than conventional tillage practices, whereas the opposite was true for oilseed crops (e.g., canola, Brassica napus L.). In plot-scale studies at Portage, MB, low intensity tillage increased NR for soybean (Glycine max L.) in 1 of 3 years when compared to high intensity tillage and there appeared to be lower NRs for canola as tillage intensity increased. However, in studies near Brandon, MB, NRs for a 4-year wheat-pea (Pisum sativum L.) rotation were lower in low disturbance seeding than high disturbance seeding systems for a clay loam soil but similar for a loam soil. While no single tillage system was found to consistently provide the highest NR based on these case studies, these findings provide insights into some of the factors behind decisions surrounding tillage management and the rationale for the continued use of a combination of conventional, reduced and zero-till systems in the eastern Prairies of Canada.