Double Cropping Beneficial to Farmers

The utilization and adoption of double cropping continues to gain acceptance as a production practice among U.S. farmers. A Michigan State University study concluded that double cropping, and large-scale production of diverse crops, could benefit food and biofuel production and “deserves more study for widespread application.” The soy checkoff continues to invest in research to confirm the value of this production option to soybean farmers.

The Soybean Research and Information Network, or SRIN, shares double-cropping recommendations from checkoff-funded research across all soybean production regions. For example, Oklahoma research found that wheat residue has no impact on soybean yields. That means farmers can plant soybeans within hours of harvesting winter wheat if soil moisture is adequate.

“We advise growers in a double-cropped soybean system to apply a pre-plant, long-term residual herbicide with their burndown program,” said Josh Lofton, Oklahoma State University cropping system specialist. “It’s an input that is often omitted in a double-crop system. We found in our data by including the residual herbicide, they can get as much value, if not more, as in full-season soybeans. We also recommend inoculant, especially in high-residue situations.”

Double-cropping soybeans along with corn and adding a wheat crop can be a profitable alternative to a traditional corn/soybean rotation. Good timing, careful planning and strong stand establishment are just some of the factors that are critical for a successful double-crop system.

If you are in an area where double cropping is a viable production option, timing is essential. A typical time frame for double cropping is to plant corn in April/May of one year and harvest it in September. A winter wheat crop would then be planted in October and harvested in June/July, followed by planting soybeans in June for an October harvest.

Research conducted in Kansas and Ohio, and featured on SRIN, verified the impact of planting date on double-crop soybean yields. Those studies recommend harvesting wheat early at a higher moisture content to allow soybeans to be planted sooner or to consider planting winter barley, which matures a couple weeks earlier than wheat.

Double cropping is all about maximizing and optimizing yield and profitability. “Yield and profitability from double-crop systems can indeed increase with better management practices and early-maturing varieties. This also allows the double-crop system to succeed farther north,” said Southern Illinois University plant pathologist Jason Bond. “We have been able to show that a wheat/soybean double-crop rotation is now more economically viable and sustainably valuable.”

The advantages of double cropping are not without some risk. As mentioned previously, consistency in production method is paramount. Without sticking to a management strategy, you may not see the benefits of double cropping.