Soil tillage and crop rotation are production practices that influence properties of soil health, such as nutrient run-off and soil carbon. The influence is felt in ways that impact both long run productivity and environmental outcomes.
Tillage—turning the soil to control for weeds and pests and to prepare for seeding—has long been part of crop farming. However, intensive soil tillage can increase the likelihood of soil erosion, nutrient runoff into nearby waterways, and the release of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. A reduction in how often or how intensively cropland is tilled enables the soil to retain more organic matter. This practice leaves the soil less susceptible to wind and water erosion and helps store, or "sequester," carbon. Farmers' choices about soil preparation, including tillage depth and the number of tillage operations—can reduce weed growth, improve nutrient management, and influence crop seeding. No-till (the practice of refraining from any form of tillage during a crop year) is generally the least intensive form of tillage, while conventional tillage is the most intensive form of tillage. Reduced till has fewer tillage passes and/or less soil disturbance than conventional tillage.
Soil tillage practices have changed significantly over the past two decades for major commodity crops in the United States. The shares of wheat, corn, soybeans and cotton in some form of conservation tillage, i.e., no-till and reduced till combined, have all increased over this period.
Crop rotation involves planned sequences of crops across seasons on the same field. Summer rotations (such as an alternating corn-soybeans rotation) can provide productivity benefits by improving soil nutrient levels and breaking crop pest cycles. Farmers may also choose to rotate crops in order to reduce their production risk through diversification or to manage scarce resources (such as labor) during planting and harvesting timing.
Double cropping, such as a corn-winter wheat sequence, provides a way to obtain additional production value from the same field. Cover crops, unharvested winter crops grown primarily for their soil health and environmental effects, can reduce soil erosion and compaction. Cover crops have become a major focus of conservation spending in recent years (see NRCS program data here).
Over the last two decades, there has been a significant increase in double cropping or cover cropping on corn, soybeans and cotton fields. The biggest percentage increase has been observed on cotton fields, with an increase from 15 percent of acres in double cropping or cover cropping in 2003 to 32 percent of acres in 2019. The increase is largely driven by an increase in cover cropping in particular (see trends in Economic Outcomes of Soil Health and Conservation Practices on U.S. Cropland).
For information on the adoption and economics of tillage practices, crop rotation, and other conservation practices—see the following USDA Economic Research Service reports:
- Tillage Intensity and Conservation Cropping in the United States (EIB – 197, September 2018)
- Economic Outcomes of Soil Health and Conservation Practices on U.S. Cropland (ERR – 353, June 2025)
- Cover Crop Trends, Programs, and Practices in the United States (EIB – 222, February 2021)
- USDA Conservation Technical Assistance and Within-Field Resource Concerns (EIB – 234, May 2022)
- Farmland Rental and Conservation Practice Adoption (EIB – 270, March 2024)
For a recently released data product specifying field boundaries and crop rotations across the contiguous United States, see the Crop Sequence Boundaries dataset. The dataset is produced by USDA Economic Research Service and National Agricultural Statistics Service: