Crop rotations with legumes are more productive. The study was carried out in two four-field rotations: A) rotation I: beans ? winter wheat ? spring barley ? winter oilseed rape; B) rotation II: beans ? winter wheat ? spring barley ? spring barley / mustard ? maize. Two different soil tillage technologies were applied: conventional tillage (CT) and reduced tillage (RT). Under CT, the lowest soil compaction (0.7–1.5 MPa) in the 0–20 cm topsoil layer was recorded after maize. However, maize yielded best under RT, with a harvest of 7.6 t/ha. In contrast, winter wheat had a 0.41 t/ha higher yield under CT compared to RT. The most cost-effective rotation in terms of yield is the four-field rotation with intercrops, i.e. beans ? winter wheat ? spring barley / intercrop mustard ? maize. Intercropping reduces soil density and compaction, increases porosity and improves soil structure. In the long term, alternating conventional and reduced tillage is recommended, especially under drought-prone meteorological conditions.