Crop Rotation Planner
Plan multi-year crop rotation schedules to maximize soil health, break pest cycles, and optimize profitability.
Results
Visualization
How It Works
Crop rotation alternates different crops on the same field over years. Benefits include breaking pest and disease cycles, improving soil structure, managing nitrogen, and reducing herbicide resistance risk. Corn after soybeans yields 10-15% more than continuous corn.
The Formula
Crop % = (Appearances in Rotation ÷ Rotation Length) × 100
N Credit: Soybeans provide 30-50 lbs N/acre; Alfalfa provides 80-150 lbs N/acre
N Credit: Soybeans provide 30-50 lbs N/acre; Alfalfa provides 80-150 lbs N/acre
Variables
- Rotation Length — Number of years before the sequence repeats
- N Credit — Nitrogen contributed by legumes to the following crop
- Yield Bonus — Corn after soybeans typically yields 10-15% more than corn-on-corn
Example
A 4-field farm with corn-soybean rotation: 2 fields corn + 2 fields beans each year = 160 acres corn, 160 acres beans annually.
Tips
- Corn after soybeans needs 40-50 lbs less nitrogen fertilizer per acre.
- Include small grains (wheat, oats) for better root zone diversity.
- Avoid corn-on-corn for more than 2 years — rootworm and disease pressure increases.
- Cover crops between cash crops add organic matter and suppress weeds.