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Long-Term Productivity And Profitability Of Conventional And Alternative Farming Systems In East-Central South Dakota: A Case Study, Thomas Dobbs, James D. Smolik

Economics Research Reports

A small body of evidence has begun to emerge over the last 3 to 4 years on the comparative productivity and profitability of conventional farming systems and alternative systems which (1) avoid or use very small amounts of synthetic chemical fertilizers and pesticides, and (2) place greater emphasis on crop rotations, especially rotations which involve forage and green manure legumes. Most of the evidence thus far has been based on only a few years of data, however. In contrast, South Dakota State university (SDSU) has recently completed three relatively long-term studies comparing conventional and alternative systems. Two of the studies …