Economics of Transitioning to Cover Crop Systems in the Texas Rolling Plains.

While soil moisture is a top concern to Texas producers when considering cover crop implementation, economic costs and risks are also considered.  Long-term goals must be considered when transitioning to a new system, which may be even more paramount when considering implanting a new technology such as cover crops that has potential to reduce stored soil moisture and subsequent cash crop performance in drier environments.  We evaluated economics of two predominant cropping systems in the Texas Rolling Plains, continuous wheat and continuous cotton. The wheat system compared no-till, conventional till, and no-till with a mixed species warm-season cover crop. The cotton system included conventional till, no-till, and no-till with a mixed species cool-season cover crop, crimson clover, hairy vetch, Austrian Winter field pea, and wheat cover crops.  For the first two years, net income did not differ between cover crop treatments and non-cover crop treatments in dryland cotton systems with the exception of the mixed species which was significantly lower. No significant differences were noted among treatments for irrigated cotton systems.  Third year evaluations are currently being completed for cotton and wheat systems.