No-till may not produce a standout yield in corn and soybeans, but the tillage system wins when it comes to the net bottom line.

Decades of research at the University of Missouri Graves-Chapple Extension and Education Center in northwestern Missouri examined the effect of different tillage systems on corn and soybean yields, along with profitability.

Researchers compared four common tillage systems: fall and spring disk, spring disk, no-till, and fall chisel and spring disk.

No-till’s advantage lies in lower labor and equipment costs, making it the most profitable option over time.

Payoff in tillage systems

Statistically in corn and soybeans, there was no yield difference between tillage practices.

Corn cumulative results over 34 years showed that the spring disk system had the highest average corn yield at 188.2 bushels per acre, closely followed by no-till at 187.6 bpa.

With 23 years of data in soybeans, the no-till treatment consistently had the highest average yield at 59.8 bpa, followed closely by spring disk at 58.3 bpa.

“The biggest aspect of no-till over the years is the financial savings since there are no tillage costs,” says Jim Crawford, director of the MU Graves-Chapple center.

The application of fertilizer, herbicides, seed, planting and harvesting were the same for each tillage system. Crawford based other operating costs such as fuel off the MU Extension custom rates guide to provide a valid comparison for profit. The economic analysis does not include labor.

Over three decades of corn trials, based gross income per acre minus the cost of tillage practice and $4.50-per-bushel corn, no-till plots grossed $14.21 per acre more than spring disk plots, $62.52 per acre more than fall chisel and spring disk, and $56.51 per acre more than fall and spring disk plots.

Soybeans had a similar result.

More than 20 years of soybean data show that with a value of $12 per bushel, no-till grossed $34.78 per acre more than spring disk plots, $92.51 per acre more than fall chisel and spring disk. and $71.22 per acre more than fall and spring disk plots.

No-till’s advantage lies in lower labor and equipment costs when it comes to the bottom line, but the study stressed its environmental value.

When in drought, no-till

“History has shown that during weather patterns like this, no-till usually has the highest yield because it allows better water infiltration,” Crawford says. “Allowing the roots to chase water deep into the profile benefits the plants when the hot and dry summers arrive.”

Case in point, the 2022 growing season. It was a dry year with below average precipitation and wide temperature swings. The no-till corn plot had the highest yield at 218.8 bpa. The fall chisel and spring disk plot was the lowest-yielding system, yielding 206.7 bpa.

Other advantages of no-till to the environment include: