Reprinted from Practical Farmer
Adding a third crop is not only better for the environment, on-farm research indicates it is beneficial to the pocketbook as well. Bringing a third cop into the standard corn-soybean rotation has been shown to increase corn and soybean yields while simultaneously reducing input costs, since less herbicide and fertilizer are required for the three-year rotation. Longer, diverse rotations reduce weed and disease pressures and, depending on the additional crop, enable farmers to grow their own nitrogen.