Crop Rotation Plans

An integrated pest management plan begins with a solid crop rotation plan. Crop rotation planning is the first line of defense. Most unmanageable issues and wrecks can be avoided with proper planning.

A library of detailed farm records is useless if it can not be extracted quickly and presented clearly. CropPro includes all of the important details required to make a sound crop rotation plan. Fertility information, 4 or more years crop/variety history, recropping restrictions, detailed weed information, and crop suggestions for each field can all be summarized and presented on 1 page. Very large farms may require 2 pages. It doesn't need to be long, just clear and concise.

The Essential Components of a CropPro Crop Rotation Plan  

Knowledge of annual, perennial, and winter annual weed populations is critical to seeding the right crop in the right field. Some crops such as flax, mustard, alfalfa, conventional canola, and lentils have very limited herbicide choices for weed control. Selecting fields with low weed populations and avoiding fields with uncontrollable weeds is good planning.

Fertility information also comes into play when selecting crops. Why seed a good nitrogen fixing legume like peas on a field with high residual nitrogen levels?

Recropping restrictions are crucial to a crop rotation plan. Good record keeping of herbicide products and rates is essential. Transfering the residual herbicide information to the plan insures that no sensitive crops are grown in fields with recropping restrictions.

Crop and variety history is also important. Diseases and volunteer grain issues are two important factors from history that can influence what present crop should be grown.

A sound crop rotation plan is the first line of defense in crop production.