Wheat farmers adopt the undercutter fallow method to reduce wind erosion and sustain profitability

Blowing dust from excessively tilled fallow fields is a major soil loss and air quality concern in the low precipitation (<300 mm annual) wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) production region of the Inland Pacific Northwest (PNW) of the United States. A 2-year tillage-based winter wheat-summer fallow (WW-SF) rotation is practiced on >90% of rainfed cropland in the region. Earlier research proved the undercutter method for non-soil inversion primary spring tillage to be environmentally superior and agronomically and economically equivalent to high-soil-disturbance conventional tillage. In this study, we conducted comprehensive surveys of 47 wheat farmers who purchased undercutters through the USDA-Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). Farmers received 50% cost shares on the condition they used the undercutter as prescribed by university scientists on at least 65 ha of land for three consecutive years. Participating farmers were interviewed each year from 2008 to 2010 regarding the agronomic and economic performance of the undercutter versus conventional fallow on their farms. The survey revealed equivalent average WW grain yields and profitability for the two systems from 104 paired comparisons. Survey results also showed that 90% of farmer participants were satisfied with the undercutter system. We conclude the soil-conserving undercutter fallow system provides farmers equal profitability as the conventional-tillage fallow system.