U.S. flagAn official website of the United States government
                    Here's how you know **Official websites use .gov**
                            
                            A **.gov** website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
 **Secure .gov websites use HTTPS**
                            
                            A **lock** (                            
                              A locked padlock                                                      
                            
                            ) or **https://** means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.


Menu Agricultural Research Service
						
                    U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
 close



Research
                Research Home
                            National Programs
                            Research Projects
                            Scientific Manuscripts
                            International Engagement
                            Scientific Software/Models
                            Databases and Datasets
                            Office of Scientific Quality Review
            Media
                News & Features
                            Multimedia
                            Briefing Room
                            Down on the Farm
                            Press Room
                            Science in Your Shopping Cart
                            Scientific Discoveries
                            Tellus
                            Under the Microscope
            About ARS
                About ARS Home
                            Staff Directory
                            Labs and Research Centers (Map)
                            Headquarter Offices
                            Organizational Chart
                            Employee Services (REE Employees Only)
                            Office of Outreach, Diversity, and Equal Opportunity
            Work With Us
                Work With Us Home
                            ARS Vacancies at USAJOBS
                            Careers at ARS Information
                            Scientific Collaborations
                            Extramural Agreements
                            1890 Faculty Research Sabbatical ProgramSearch small
                    Search
            
            ARS Home
                                About ARS
                                Contact Us




ARS Home News & Events News Articles Research News 2002





- ARS News & Events
- AgResearch Magazine
- Image Gallery
- News
- Search News & Events
- Pesticide Drift May Endanger Pollinators
- ARS Seeks a Fire Ant Fix
- Scientific Discoveries 2024
- ARS Featured Photos
- Down on the Farm
- Facebook Live Events
- Food and Nutrition Research Briefs
- News Archive
- Science in Your Shopping Cart
- Scientific Discoveries
- Social Media
- Under the Microscope
- AgResearch magazine
- ARS at Work
- ARS Memorial Lectures
- ARS Science Hall of Fame
- Citrus Disease (Huanglongbing)
- Contact Office of Communications
- Plant Hardiness Zone Map
- Mobile Apps
- Public Affairs Contacts
- Publications and Other Resources
- USDA Blog
- Videos

Archived Page
 This page has been archived and is being provided for reference purposes only. The page is no longer being updated, and therefore, links on the page may be invalid.
 Click image for caption and other photo information.
Read the magazine story to find out more.
Drought Makes Farmers Mind Their Peas and Sunflowers
By Don ComisJuly 19, 2002
A continuing drought in parts of the Northern Plains is causing farmers in dry areas to rethink their crop choices.
Some of these farmers put a new CD into their computers this past winter to help plan their spring plantings. The CD contained the new Crop Sequence Calculator, which showed that peas would be the best crop for drought, particularly when rotated with sunflowers.
Last year, the earlier version of the calculator went to 2,300 people, mostly farmers. This year’s version has already gone to 3,600.
The calculator, developed by scientists at the Agricultural Research Service’s Northern Great Plains Research Laboratory in Mandan, N.D., shows that growing peas one year and sunflowers the next year promises the highest sunflower yield--1,490 pounds an acre. By plugging in a typical price of nine cents a pound, farmers can see predicted gross earnings of $134 an acre. Clicking the “Production Economics” button reveals an estimated average net return of $42.41 for that rotation.
That figure came from the 1999 and 2000 experiments in which ARS scientists at Mandan grew all 100 possible combinations of the 10 crops included in the calculator.
The pea/sunflower combination is a winner because peas use little water and sunflowers are one of the deepest rooting crops. So when peas are grown first, they leave behind more water in the soil, and the sunflowers can go deeper into the soil to reach that water.
The CD contains photo guides to the weeds, insects and plant diseases likely to pose problems. And it has slide shows that display research results and explain the basics of soil, water and pest management.
More information on the Crop Sequence Calculator can be found in the July 2002 issue of Agricultural Research magazine.
ARS is the U.S. Department of Agriculture's chief scientific research agency.


Return to top


Research
                            Media
                            About ARS
                            Work With Us


Connect with ARS Sign up


ARS Home
                            USDA.gov
                            Plain Writing
                            Policies & Links
                            Civil Rights Statements
                            FOIA
                            Accessibility Statement
                            Privacy Policy
                            Non-Discrimination Statement
                            Quality of Information
                            USA.gov
                            WhiteHouse.gov