By Liz Stahl
Economics are top of many farmers’ minds as the 2026 planting season is upon us. Although there are forces at work affecting key input costs that are out of an individual’s control, things one can do to help optimize returns was the topic of discussion on the March 25 Strategic Farming: Let’s Talk Crops program. Dr. Jeff Coulter, UMN Extension Corn Agronomist, and Dr. Seth Naeve, UMN Extension Soybean Agronomist, joined moderator Matt Pfarr, UMN Extension Educator in Crops, to discuss strategies as we prepare for the 2026 planting season.
Optimizing corn returns
Consider crop rotation effects
Researchers who studied 750,000 USDA Risk Management Agency yield records from across the nation for the impact of rotation on corn yield (2007-2012) found there was an average of a 4.3% yield penalty for planting corn continuously. This yield penalty was more severe in areas where both soil moisture and yields were low. The yield penalty increased when corn was grown for two years prior compared to just one year prior, but it did not grow larger with additional years of corn.
Research from Illinois found a 7% yield penalty for second-year corn and a 10% yield penalty for continuous corn compared to corn following soybean. Looking at soybean yield, however, a corn/corn/soybean rotation resulted in 6% higher soybean yields compared to when soybean was grown in a typical corn/soybean rotation.
Taking these impacts into consideration, if you need to have more corn acres on your farm, one strategy would be to place corn-on-corn acres on your best fields only. Another strategy would be to try to not grow corn more than two years in a row. Planting corn after corn silage may help too as there would be less residue for the second year of corn.
Source : umn.edu