Free crop rotation planning tool launched for farmers

A new free-to-use crop rotation planning tool is designed to help growers weigh up the financial and environmental benefits of different crop rotation options.

Based on data from hundreds of crops in the Yield Enhancement Network (YEN), the tool estimates how a change to a crop rotation will impact farm greenhouse gas emissions, gross margins, nitrogen balance, and overall energy and protein output.

The aim of the Crop Planner is to help growers assess the benefits and trade-offs before cropping plans are made. It can be used to assess a new crop type or altering the frequency a crop is grown.

See also: How polycrop is paving way to premium feed market

The tool was developed by Adas as part of the Nitrogen Climate Smart (NCS) project – a farmer-led project to increase UK pulse cropping area to 20%.

Supporting profitable cropping 

Dr Pete Berry, head of crop physiology at Adas and co-developer of the tool explains how there are few accessible tools available that can analyse the performance of whole rotations.

“Making use of historic YEN data for this purpose shows the huge value to be gained from sharing data for the good of the industry.”

The Crop Planner tool forms 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,” says Pete.

Wider applications

Although built with arable growers in mind, the tool could support policymakers in assessing trade-offs between farm profitability and sustainability.

“Farmers and advisers can explore how changes to crop choices affect their rotational performance, whilst policymakers can use it to better understand the trade-offs between sustainability, food security, and farm-gate economics,” says Pete.

Industry backing

Farming charity Leaf has welcomed the tool as a practical and accessible resource for growers seeking to make more sustainable yet financially sound decisions.

Dan Stevenson, Leaf’s head of sustainable farming, says: “By bringing together information on emissions, margins, and nitrogen balance in one place, the Crop Planner tool supports more informed, whole-rotation decision-making and can help farmers identify opportunities to improve both efficiency and environmental performance.”

The Crop Planner tool is available on the FarmPep website.