Herbaceous Field Borders have Minor Impact on Corn Yield

Abstract

Federal conservation reserve programs such as CP33, Habitat Buffers for Upland Birds, are designed to conserve grassland birds on working farmland by adding herbaceous crop field borders. However, farmers are naturally concerned about the impact of such borders on crop yields and profits. We conducted three years (2000-2002) of field studies in mid-Missouri to assess the impact of various compositions of herbaceous field borders on yield in adjacent corn fields. Border treatments of (i) a mixture of warm-season grasses and legumes, (ii) a mixture of cool-season grasses and legumes, (iii) tall fescue alone, and (iv) a corn border control were planted around plots of field corn. We compared corn yield in terms of both border treatment and distance into the corn field from the crop-border interface. While distance from the border had a significant impact on corn yield, border composition did not. Yield was consistently lower near the border for all border treatments, including corn-bordered corn. We conclude that the adoption of field border programs such as CP33 will have little or no impact on corn production and that the potential benefits of herbaceous borders outweigh the negatives.