Scientists seek a balance between crop production and protecting the environment

SIDNEY, Mont. — Scientists at the USDA's Agricultural Research Service Northern Plains Agricultural Research Laboratory (NPARL), in Sidney, Montana, completed a study that shows the use of continuous cropping systems can better sustain crop yields while reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in semi-arid regions.

NPARL research scientists Upendra M. Sainju, Brett L. Allen, and Jalal D. Jabro evaluated the effect of three long-term (34-year project) dryland cropping systems on GHG emissions and crop yields in the U.S. northern Great Plains. The objective was to evaluate improved cropping systems like continuous cropping, which involves growing crops annually. . .