ECONOMIC EVALUATION OF MINIMUM TILLAGE SYSTEMS FOR SUMMER FALLOW IN SOUTHERN ALBERTA

Abstract

The economic feasibility of substituting herbicides for mechanical tillage of summer fallow was assessed under a spring-wheat-fallow rotation at Lethbridge, Alberta. Six minimum tillage and two conventional tillage treatments were evaluated over a 9-yr period for differences in resource requirements and overhead costs. Also, break-even costs for herbicides that equate the cost of fallowing with minimum and conventional tillage systems were estimated at three prices for wheat and three prices for labor. The minimum tillage treatments required an average of 14.2% and 4.1% less resources than for the blade-only and one-way disc-only treatments (i.e., conventional tillage treatments), respectively. The herbicides-only treatment required the least amount of labor, fuel and oil, and machine repairs averaging 15.0, 22.7 and 22.9% less, respectively, than that required for the blade-only treatment. Break-even costs for herbicides were highest for the herbicides/fall blade treatment averaging $54.98, $77.59, and $100.20/ha relative to the blade-only treatment at wheat prices of $147, $220, and $294/t, respectively, and a price for labor of $5/h. The herbicides-only treatment ranked second with break-even costs averaging 16–33% lower than for the herbicides/fall blade treatment under similar price assumptions.