Intensifying Organic Grain Production: Balancing Production and Conservation Goals
Project Director
John M. Wallace
Year Funded
2020
Award Number
2020-51300-32378
Funded Institution
Pennsylvania State University
Grant Program
OREI (Organic Agriculture Research and Extension Initiative)
USDA NIFA Report
Project Overview
A three-year corn-soy-winter wheat rotation was managed with four tillage / cover crop systems:
(1) Red clover frost-seeded into wheat, rye drilled into clover after wheat harvest, moldboard plowed to plant corn; ryegrass-radish-crimson clover interseeded into corn at V4, moldboard plowed to plant soybean; chisel plowed after soy harvest to plant wheat.
(2) High-speed disk (HSD) 1-2X to plant each cash crop. Oat-radish-winter pea planted after wheat harvest, rye drilled after corn harvest.
(3) Red clover frost-seeded into wheat, moldboard plowed to plant corn; rye drilled after corn harvest, roller-crimped for no-till soybean planting; HSD to sow wheat.
(4) Chisel-plow, disk, and plant perennial alfalfa-orchard grass after wheat harvest.
Crop yields, weeds, pests and natural enemies, diseases, and soil health parameters were documented over the three-year transition and a fourth year in which all plots were planted to sorghum-sudangrass. In addition, 26 organic farmers were recruited to participate in PASA Sustainable Agriculture’s soil health benchmark program and provide observational data on farmer tillage and rotation / cover crop practices and soil health outcomes.
Farmer Takeaways
(1) Infrequent inversion plowing may not compromise soil health or biological pest control.
(2) Interseeding cover crops into cash crops enhances duration of living cover, crop diversity, and biomass; reduces weed pressure; and mitigates impacts of plowing before cash crops.
(3) Varying tillage implements and depths (e.g., plow, no-till, high-speed disk) can improve soil health and pest control outcomes.
(4) Relying on a single method such as the high-speed disk at a constant depth for all operations may increase compaction and degrade soil structure and soil health.
(5) Organic no-till soybean in roller-crimped rye can give full yields if weed control is adequate, while corn yields best after red clover is plowed down.
(6) Clover-grass frost-seeded into wheat can yield a fall forage harvest for additional income.
Project Outputs
Bilenky, M., Wallace, J. Barbercheck, M. 2023. Tillage and cover crop management practices on Pennsylvania organic grain farms. PSU Extension Fact Sheet.
Tillotson, S.A.W., Voortman, C.A., Wallace, J.M., and Barbercheck, M.E. (2025). Effect of tillage system on epigeal and foliar insect predation in an organic cropping system in Pennsylvania, USA. PLoS One 20(7).
Regan, K. H., Voortman, C. A., & Barbercheck, M. E. (2024). Seedcorn maggot response to planting date, cover crops, and tillage in organic cropping systems. Journal of Economic Entomology, 117(2), 555–563.
Wallace, J. M., Barbercheck, M. E., Curran, W., Keene, C. L., Mirsky, S. B., Ryan, M., & VanGessel, M. (2021). Cover crop–based, rotational no-till management tactics influence crop performance in organic transition within the Mid-Atlantic United States. Agronomy Journal, 113(6), 5335–5347.
Champagne, R. J., Wallace, J. M., Curran, W. S., & Barbercheck, M. E. (2021). Rotational no-till and tillage-based organic corn produce management tradeoffs in the Northeast. Agronomy Journal, 113(6), 5348–5361.