Let’s compare a potato farmer to a business manager. In January 2004, Idaho potato crop researchers Paul Patterson, Bryan Hopkins, Pamela Hutchinson, Jeff Miller, Mike Thornton, Saad Hafez and Juan Alvarez published a paper titled “Cropping Sequence and Rotation: Impact on Potato Production and Soil Condition.”
From a business manager’s point of view, if revelations similar to those contained in this research were presented to virtually any business close to the size of the potato-growing industry, its impact would be the topic of company and industry forums everywhere. Here’s the topline: Potatoes mine the soil of nutrients more than almost any other crop. Said another way: Potatoes are hard on the soil, and that is why potato yields and quality relate so closely to a farm’s crop-rotation cycle.
Here’s the yield math: As measured in Idaho—and similarly across North America—for every year that potato rotation decreases, potato yield drops by 40 cwt. peracre. Breaking it down hypothetically, if a five-year rotation yields 450 cwt. per acre, a four-year rotation yields 410 cwt. per acre, a three-year rotation yields 370 cwt. per acre, and a two-year rotation yields 330 cwt. per acre. And this is gross yield, not paid yield.
As yield correlates with rotation, so does quality. Longer rotations equal better quality, and better quality equals higher paid yield. Combine the yield bump with the quality dividend, and it can be as large as a $0.50 per cwt. higher return per year of extended rotation, regardless of the market. Go from a two- to four-year rotation and conservatively expect to garner an additional $1 per cwt. in return—which goes right to your bottom line!
Here’s the financial math: Using round numbers, if it costs $3,000 to grow one acre of potatoes, then:
- 450 cwt. per acre yield costs $6.67 per cwt. to grow
- 410 cwt. per acre yield costs $7.32/cwt.
- 370 cwt. per acre yield costs $8.11 per cwt.
- 330 cwt. acre yield costs $9.09 per cwt.
Again, if the yield bump is less than 40 cwt. per acre, the upside is still astonishing. Clearly, the allocation of overheads and fixed costs come into play but pale in comparison to the above facts.
With his blessing and assistance, UPGA has linked Paul Patterson’s Idaho crop-production sheets for various rotational crops—production sheets developed over 28 years—in a program called CROP (Crop Rotation Optimization Program). Using CROP software, a potato grower can experiment with innumerable rotational sequences to see which one works best for his or her particular farm. Clearly, this is farming on paper, but don’t underestimate its value to your operation. The formula speaks for itself. After one year and for each succeeding year thereafter, your farm’s actual numbers replace Patterson’s, and your crop plan will speak for itself. The program is available online at www.unitedpotatousa.com/resources. Should you prefer CROP on a thumb drive at no cost, call (801) 266-5050.
While your neighbor may labor under the illusion that growing more potatoes is better than growing fewer potatoes, among the best methods of increasing your farm’s profit per acre, regardless of what your neighbor does, is minimizing your farm’s inputs on a hundredweight basis while maximizing the yield and quality. I encourage you to examine CROP software. Enacting real financial control over your farm’s future as a business manager is no small matter.