Economic Evaluation of Traffic Systems for Arable and Grass Crops on an Imperfectly Drained Soil in Scotland

Abstract

ABSTRACT The benefits to soil conservation and environmental protection of minimising damage to soil structure, attainable by eliminating or reducing the compactive forces of machinery traffic, are well recognised. The economic consequences of using novel wheel-traffic systems, devised to minimise compaction, were analysed using crop input and output data from long-term studies of arable rotation cropping and grass grown for silage. Two novel traffic systems, zero (gantry or spanner) and reduced ground pressure, were compared with a conventional system. Gross margins were calculated to assess the relative profitability of each crop, machinery costs for a range of enterprise sizes were calculated and allocated to each traffic system to produce a net margin for each crop. For barley and oilseed rape crops, the results indicated that enterprise profitability can be maintained with a zero traffic system, using 20% less fertiliser than the recommended rate, to at least the same level as in a conventional traffic system employing the full fertiliser rate. For grass, gross margins were higher from both novel systems than from the conventional traffic system, whereas for potatoes, there was no benefit from either of the novel traffic systems.