With SPIN farmers, it’s not unusual. And we aren’t talking cover crops. It’s not discussed much, but far from being shameful, destroying crops is a necessary practice that comes into play at various times throughout the season.
Sometimes it’s a deliberate strategy, other times it’s a rapid response to unfavorable or disastrous conditions, or a misjudgment on your part. In most cases, it’s another chance to make money rather than a tragedy.
SPIN farmers have a strategic reason to destroy a crop – relays. You pull or plow under a spent crop to make way for another planting, or two or more. It could be the same crop. It might be a longer season crop, or a short season crop, depending on where you are in your season.
Sometimes you have to do it because weed pressure overwhelms a bed, at an early stage and you decide it is not worth your effort to weed out, Other times it’s because a crop is damaged by insects, disease, hail.
With more extreme weather occurring in some areas, terminating a crop is just a way to deal with changing or unanticipated weather conditions, like drought or excessive heat. That’s why you need to know your numbers. With expenses breaking down as roughly 25% for seed and initial planting, 25% for growing, and 50% for harvest and post-harvest, terminating low-profit crops early can actually protect most of your net income. The bottom line in tough conditions is this: the earlier you terminate a crop, the better you’ll be able to do with what you have left. That’s why you need to know the cost and revenue potential and for each crop — per bed, or per segment.
Sometimes it’s tough to abandon a crop, but with SPIN-Farming you have options when you have to cut your losses.
GET GUIDANCE ON YOUR BEST OPTIONS IN THE SPIN ONLINE SUPPORT GROUP. FREE TRIAL MEMBERSHIP WITH THE PURCHASE OF ANY SPIN GUIDE HERE.