The Economics of Irrigated Potato Crop Rotation in Manitoba

A crop rotation study was initiated in 1998 to develop recommendations for irrigated potato management in Manitoba. The objective of this paper was to assess the relative economic return for six crop rotations during the initial 8 years after rotations were imposed. The Potato-Canola (P-C) rotation generated higher net income especially from 2000-04, but the results indicated that the Potato-Canola-Wheat rotation was also among the higher-revenue generating rotations and was, therefore, a viable alternative to the shorter two-year rotations. While shorter rotations appeared to provide an economic advantage during the initial 8 years after the rotations were established, as this study continues, rotation will continue to affect the plant-soil system and economic performance. Continued monitoring of this study will provide a better understanding regarding which rotations will be the most sustainable and hence most profitable in the long term. © 2010 Potato Association of America.