Effects of tillage method and crop rotation on non-renewable energy use efficiency in the thin Black Soil Zone

Abstract

Low prices for cereal grains, coupled with changing government policies and programs, and increasing concerns about soil and environmental degradation are stimulating significant change in land use practices throughout western Canada. The adoption and use of diversified crop rotations, together with conservation tillage practices are becoming widely accepted. However, little is known about the impacts of these land use changes on the requirements for non-renewable energy inputs and on energy use efficiency. This study examines the effects of alternative tillage practices on nonrenewable energy inputs, energy output, and energy use efficiency for monoculture cereal, cereal-oilseed, and cereal-oilseed-pulse crop rotations in the Thin Black soil zone of Saskatchewan.