Economic Analysis of Row Spacing for Corn and Soybean

Abstract

Many studies report the yield benefits of narrow row soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] and corn (Zea maize L.), but few focus on the profitability of switching to narrow rows. Based on yield data from 10 states in the north-central USA and one province in Canada, this study considers the economic benefits of narrow row corn and soybean as a combined cropping system. The objectives of this study are to: (i) estimate the costs of switching from a wide to narrow row corn and soybean production system; (ii) determine the net benefits of making this change; and (iii) to quantify the risks associated with switching from wide to narrow rows. Narrow row systems where corn and soybean are planted using the same narrow row spacing with the same planting equipment are compared with (i) a system where soybean are drilled and corn is planted in conventional, 76-cm rows (30-inches), and (ii) a system where the same equipment is used to plant corn and soybean in 76-cm rows. Sensitivity analyses consider net returns (i) to each system calculated at loan rates, (ii) to each system when glyphosate-resistant soybean are included in the production set, and (iii) taking into consideration regional price and plant response effects. Expected profits, equipment costs, and the economic risks involved in the choice between alternatives are quantified using partial budget analysis, a mean-variance criterion, stochastic dominance, and certainty equivalents. In all comparisons, strategies with narrow row soybean were always more profitable.