ADAS has developed a new free-to-use crop rotation planning tool as part of the Nitrogen Climate Smart (NCS) project.
It says it will help growers weigh up the environmental and financial benefits of different crop rotation choices.
Based on data from hundreds of crops in the Yield Enhancement Network (YEN), the Crop Planner tool estimates how a change to a crop rotation will impact farm greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, gross margins, nitrogen balance, and overall energy and protein output.
The aim is to help growers assess the benefits and trade-offs before making any cropping changes, such as introducing a new crop type or altering the frequency a crop is grown.
The tool was created as part of the NCS project, a farmer-led project to increase UK pulse cropping area to 20%. Dr Pete Berry, head of crop physiology at ADAS and co-developer of the tool said: “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. 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.”
