A free-to-use crop rotation planning tool has been launched to help growers weigh up the financial and environmental impacts of changing their cropping systems.
Developed by ADAS as part of the Nitrogen Climate Smart project, the Crop Planner tool uses data from hundreds of crops within the Yield Enhancement Network to model different rotation scenarios.
The tool allows users to estimate how changes to crop choice or frequency will affect greenhouse gas emissions, gross margins, nitrogen balance and overall energy and protein output.
This enables growers to explore trade-offs between productivity and sustainability across their system. The aim is to support more informed decision-making before any changes are made on farm.
Data insights
The tool draws on historic performance data to provide a whole-rotation view, rather than focusing on individual crops in isolation. This means growers can reduce uncertainty around introducing new crops, particularly pulses.
While aimed at arable farmers and advisers, the tool also has potential applications beyond the farm gate, says Pete Berry, head of crop physiology at ADAS and co-developer of the tool.
“The Crop Planner tool is a small part of a wider effort to help growers decide whether to include pulses in their rotation. The environmental benefits of pulses are well-known, but introducing them can feel risky for those who have never grown pulses before.”
Wider use
Few easily accessible tools can analyse the performance of whole rotations in a similar way – highlighting the value of shared industry data in improving farm decisions, says Dr Berry.
“We hope this tool will give those farmers a better insight into the potential environmental benefits and cost implications, and the confidence to make a change if suitable.”
Advisors can also explore how changes to crop choices affect rotational performance, says Dr Berry, whie policy makers can use it to better understand the trade-offs between sustainability, food security, and farm-gate economics.
By bringing together emissions, margins and nutrient data in one place, the tool offers a clearer picture of rotation performance. The initiative has been welcomed by LEAF – the Linking Environment and Farming charity and food marque.
LEAF head of sustainable farming Dan Stevenson says: “Farmers are keen to explore management approaches that reduce environmental impact and inputs, but they require robust decision-making tools to reduce the associated risks.”