Crop rotations with perennial forage seed crops: a beneficial low-cost option for the Peace RegionThe Seed Head Fact sheet # 16

Six different rotations and 3 different fertilizer sce-narios were studied for a total of 18 different ob-servation sites. Canola and wheat gross margins tended to be higher in rotations where either red or alsike clo-ver seed crops were grown prior to wheat and canola, and where either no fertilizer or only 40lbsN/ac was used. The wheat and canola grown without fertilizer after either red or alsike clover seed crops produced significantly higher grain yields compared to rotations where the preceding crop was peas, wheat, barley or canola. This can be better understood, particularly when compared to annual cropping systems. This study is particularly significant to the Peace River region where land used for the production of forage seed crops is declining in favour of annual crop production, likely reducing soil organic matter which is cru-cial to the resiliency of the cropping systems. Wheat in the AC-AC-W-C rotation, 2015, red and alsike clover seed crops replaced the need for a nitrogen fertilizer in the case of wheat crops grown after these biennial legume crops. The creeping red fescue-based rotation produced the highest profit overall, largely due to the high value of the CF seed and the lower input and operational costs. A cumulative gross margin was largely affected by input requirements for the different rotations as well as by current commodity values.