Developing Competitive Products (Research)

Organic soybean producers can be both ecofriendly and competitive using little or no tillage

Image credit: John Wallace

Problem

Can U.S. organic soybean producers achieve yields at competitive costs in a global market?

More than 70 percent of the organic soybeans fed to organically produced poultry in the United States is imported.
Demand for domestic organic soybeans is high, but the conventional organic practice of tillage to control weed pressures comes with significant input costs of fuel and labor.

Findings

Researchers found that organic soybean producers using no-till and reduced-tillage production methods that incorporated cover crops can achieve similar yields at competitive costs compared to tillage-based production.

Reduced-tillage resulted in 50 percent less soil disturbance.
Damage from insect pests was low and did not differ between soybean production strategies.

Impact

This research provides tested alternatives for organic growers to increase the sustainable domestic production of organic soybeans. These methods:

Decrease labor and fuel costs while contributing substantial gains in water quality and soil conservation
Provide organic producers with critical data on the economic and agronomic tradeoffs associated with alternative strategies to increase their competitiveness in the global marketplace

Related Research Areas: Advanced Agricultural and Food Systems; Environmental Resilience

Research Credit

Team

John Wallace, Mary Barbercheck, Rebecca Champagne, Barbara Baraibar

Participating Departments

Competitive Funding

USDA NIFA (Organic Transitions Program)
Organic Farming Research Foundation

Federal and State Appropriations

USDA NIFA Hatch Projects PEN04600 and PEN04606, Accession #1009362 and #1009990

Emerging Discoveries

Organic soybean producers can be competitive using little or no tillage

March 30, 2020

Organic soybean producers using no-till and reduced-tillage production methods that incorporate cover crops — strategies that protect soil health and water quality — can achieve similar yields at competitive costs compared to tillage-based production.

Plant scientist gets $1 million grant to boost organic production, conservation

September 21, 2020

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture has awarded a researcher in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences a $1 million grant for his investigation of intensifying organic grain production while balancing production and conservation goals.