Agronomy

Crop diversification


What is it?

Your soils are like other living organisms: diversity is essential to their proper development and health. In agri-environment, this translates into a good crop rotation. In concrete terms, this means integrating
up to six different crops into your rotations, rather than sticking to simpler rotations of one to three crops.

This diversification of your crops can include a:

  • Fall crop (a grain planted between mid-August and late September, left in the field over the winter and then harvested early the following year)
  • Green manure crop
  • Spring cereal (for example, triticale or barley)
  • Legume (for example, pea)
  • Etc.

It’s been proven : the “rotation effect” benefits your crops.

What’s in it for me?

Everyone agrees: the “rotation effect” is real. For example, by planting a fall crop, you get “a higher yield than spring cereals, a merciless fight against weeds […] and a soil that wins on all fronts,” according to La Terre de chez nous (our translation).

By diversifying your crops more, you bring the benefits of each plant to your soil. In effect, this means better yields, less nitrogen or phosphorus applications, better water retention, better soil structure, a healthy “microbial population” and more.Finally, the Prime-Vert program supports crop diversification.

Logiag’s advantage

Like any change in your agricultural practices, adding crops to your rotation requires a good analysis. Our agronomists can help you determine which crops are best suited to your soil types, markets or seeding schedule, and to overcome any challenges you may encounter.