The document summarizes a study comparing no-till, zone till, and plow tillage practices under pivot irrigation from 2008-2012. It finds that no-till corn and dry beans had lower breakeven prices than other methods despite sometimes yielding less. Zone till and plow yielded more than no-till for most crops but no-till sugarbeets had a lower breakeven cost. The study concludes tillage practices can significantly impact yields but no-till may have economic advantages for some crops.

1. ECONOMIC COMPARISON OF
TILLAGE PRACTICES UNDER PIVOT
IRRIGATION
Jessica Johnson – Asst. Extension Educator, Agricultural Economics
Updated: 2/21/2013

2. PREC Tillage Study
 2008-2012 Comparison of: No-Till, Zone Till &
Plow
 3 Year Rotation: Dry Beans, Corn, Corn
 4 Year Rotation: Corn, Sugarbeets, Corn, Dry Edible
Beans
Dean Yonts, John Smith, Dave Reichert, Gene Kizzire

3. Corn
Beet
Corn
Bean
Corn
Beet
Bean
Corn
Beet
Corn
Bean
Corn
Corn
Bean
Corn
Beet
Corn
Bean
Beet
Corn
Bean
Corn
Beet
Corn
Corn
Bean
Corn
Corn
Bean
Corn
Corn
Corn
Bean
Corn
Corn
Bean
Bean
Corn
Corn
Bean
Corn
Corn
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
Tillage Rotation Study
N
179' 177' 4"157'156' 7"152' 8"156' 10"157'
(Field W 3)
686'
1234567
225'
225'
225'
center of
north riser
center of
south riser
161' 6"
113' 9"
8, 22' passes 7, 22' passes
span # span # span # span # span # span # span #

4. PREC Tillage Study
Do tillage practices have
a statistically significant
impact on yield?

5. PREC Tillage Study ‘08-‘12
Mean yield, for all 5 years in the study.
Plow No-Till Zone Till
---4 Year Rotation---
Sugarbeets Ton 23 20 23
Corn Following Beets Bu. 203 188 212
Beans Cwt. 31 29 33
Corn Following Beans Bu. 211 186 207
---3 Year Rotation---
Beans Lbs. 31 29 33
Corn Following Beans Bu. 204 196 204
Corn Following Corn Bu. 194 176 185

6. PREC Tillage Study ‘08-‘12
Plow vs.
Zone Till
Plow vs.
No-Till
No-Till vs.
Zone Tillage
---4 Year Rotation---
Sugarbeets NO YES YES
Corn Following Beets NO YES YES
Beans NO NO YES
Corn Following Beans NO YES YES
---3 Year Rotation---
Beans NO NO YES
Corn Following Beans NO NO NO
Corn Following Corn NO YES NO
At a 95% confidence interval, there is a statistically significant difference in yield
between the selected tillage treatments.

7. PREC Tillage Study ‘08-‘12
There is no statistical yield difference between “Plow”
and “Zone Till”
There is a statistically significant decrease in yield
between
… “Plow” and “No-Till” for all commodities except, Beans
and 3 year corn following beans.
… “Zone Till” and “No-Till” for all commodities except
corn in the 3 year rotation.

8. PREC Tillage Study
What is the breakeven
price for each tillage
practice?

9. Breakeven: Budget Calculation
𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵𝐵 =
𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇𝑇 𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶
𝑌𝑌𝑌𝑌𝑌
 Including: Land, Depreciation, Interest, Taxes, Overhead
Developed from:
2013 Nebraska Crop Budgets
Robert Klein, Western Nebraska Crop Specialist
Roger Wilson, Farm Management/Enterprise Budget Analyst

10. 1
2
3
Depreciation
Overhead, Land Value, Taxes
Break Even

11. Crop Budgets
 Reviewed by:
 Gary Hergert, UNL Nutrient Management & Soil
Quality Specialist
 Robert Wilson, UNL Weeds Specialist
 Gene Kizzire, UNL Research Technician (Farm Manager)
 Jim Schild, UNL Extension Educator

12. Breakeven: Corn
Yield
Variable
Costs
Fixed
Costs
Breakeven
$/Bu.
Difference
$/Bu. from
No-Till
No-
Till
186 $543.23 $197.66 3.98 -
Zone
Till
207 $613.78 $211.43 3.99 0.01
Plow 211 $627.34 $213.47 3.98 0.00

13. Breakeven: Dry Beans
Yield
Variable
Costs
Fixed
Costs
Breakeven
$/cwt
Difference
$/cwt
from No-Till
No-
Till
29 $366.20 $186.84 $19.07 -
Zone
Till
33 $437.28 $219.34 $19.90 0.83
Plow 31 $409.18 $237.97 $20.89 1.82

14. Breakeven: Sugarbeets
Yield
Variable
Costs
Fixed
Costs
Breakeven
$/ton
Difference
$/ton from
No-Till
No-
Till
20 $685.98 $224.03 $45.50 -
Zone
Till
23 $709.52 $239.14 $41.25 -4.25
Plow 23 $690.81 $243.05 $40.60 -4.90

15. Conclusions
Based on the PREC Tillage Study Results:
 There is a difference in yield between “No-Till” and
other tillage practices.
 Despite differences in yield “No-Till” Corn and Dry
Beans have a lower breakeven prices.
 “No-Till” Sugarbeets cost $4.90/ton more to
produce than “Plow” tillage.

16. Thank You!
Jessica Jo Johnson
Agricultural Economics – Asst. Extension Educator
Phone: 308-632-1247
Email: jjohnson@unl.edu
Twitter: PanhandleAgEcon
Website: http://panhandle.unl.edu/panhandle_ag_econ
Extension is a Division of the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources at the University of Nebraska-
Lincoln cooperating with the Counties and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension educational programs abide with the non-discrimination policies
of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and the United States Department of Agriculture.