An intensive farming method where a second crop is planted immediately after the first crop is harvested, maximizing the use of the land and growing season. It requires careful timing, fast-maturing varieties, and often irrigation, but it significantly increases the total yield per acre. A common example is planting soybeans right after harvesting winter wheat.
With the early wheat harvest this year, we have plenty of time for double cropping soybeans.
Moisture is the biggest limiting factor, so the second crop usually requires immediate irrigation to germinate in the mid-summer heat.
Related terms
Crop rotation
The practice of planting different types of crops sequentially on the same plot of land.
Intensive farming
An agricultural system designed to maximize crop or livestock yields using high levels of inputs.
Cash crop
An agricultural crop grown specifically to be sold for profit rather than for the farmer's own use.