Soybean production systems used in West Tennessee, 1976 and 1981

The objectives of this study were as follows: (1) identify the soybean production systems used by West Tennessee farmers in 1981 and to describe those systems and the farms on which they were used, (2) analyze the changes between 1976 and 1981 in the soybean production systems utilized by West Tennessee farmers, and (3) summarize the advantages and/or disadvantages observed by farmers as a result of changing soybean production systems. In 1976, the single crop-row crop system was used exclusively by 72.3 percent of the farmers producing soybeans. However, in 1981 that system was used exclusively by only 44.7 percent of the soybean growers. The single crop-grain drill, double crop-grain drill, and double crop-no till production systems were all used by a higher percentage of farmers in 1981 than they had been in 1976. The average acreage of total land operated by soybean producers increased approximately 20 percent between 1976 and 1981. Soybean acreage per farm was almost 37 percent greater in 1981 than 1976. Only minor changes occurred in tenure patterns between 1976 and 1981. The advantages of changing production systems listed most frequently by farmers who used the single crop-row crop system in 1976 and some other system in 1981 were: "reduced soil erosion," "decreased labor requirements," and "reduced cost per acre." The disadvantage of changing production systems cited most frequently by those farmers was "more weed problems."