On-Farm Research

Rich Bennett, who raises corn, soybeans, wheat and cover crop seed in Napoleon, Ohio, relies on research to dictate management changes. After experimenting with lower commercial fertilizer application rates and incorporating cover crops into his grain rotation, Bennett now frost-seeds red clover into his wheat every winter to supply crop nutrients and enhance soil quality.

The value in on-farm research, he said, is gaining information you can trust. “A farmer will learn more about his soils and stretch to be more efficient,” said Bennett, who likes the way rye and red clover improve his soil tilth. “You can learn to maximize yields and reduce input costs – producing for profit, not yields.”

Farmers and ranchers seeking to cut production costs or improve their stewardship of natural resources often experiment with new methods. Devising and carrying out research tests with an organized design can bring reliable, valuable answers to some of your most pressing production questions. This bulletin describes how to conduct research at the farm level, with practical tips for crop and livestock producers as well as a comprehensive list of more in-depth resources.

“Until you do research, you’re really only guessing,” said Vicki Stamback, an Oklahoma cut flower producer who received a grant from USDA’s Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program to test greenhouse efficiency. “When you have the numbers in front of you, you know.”

After two years of experimenting with different greenhouse temperatures, Stamback determined the minimum temperature required to raise flowers in the winter. While most flower producers run their greenhouses at about 65 degrees, setting the thermostat as low as 45 degrees for flowers like ranunculus, sweet peas, lupine and fresia dramatically reduces Stamback’s greenhouse heating bill. Moreover, Stamback discovered that she could grow flowers like delphinia, larkspur and snapdragons without any supplemental heat.

Now, she enjoys year-round production, including selling flowers for the lucrative Valentine’s Day market.

Outside air temperatures “got down to 4 degrees in the winter and it didn’t do any damage,” she said. After performing the research, “I know the best temperature to use, plus what crops to grow to make me the most profit.”

Effective on-farm research involves producers and researchers, who work together on experimental design, often in collaboration with extension educators. Farmers and ranchers either conduct or help conduct the experiment, providing a real-life setting in which to test their theories. (Learn how to apply for SARE funding to conduct research).

“On-farm research, particularly if farmer-driven, can solve problems with solutions that keep more of the decision-making in the farmer’s hands,” said John Mayne, assistant director for SARE’s Southern Region, who works closely with producer grant recipients.

In contrast to research conducted at university experiment stations, where trials are run in tightly controlled settings, on-farm tests demonstrate how real-life factors such as different soil types, plant populations and pests affect a new practice or system. While research to determine new fertilizer or herbicide rates, for example, works well in controlled paired comparisons on an experiment station, a project conducted on farm to test confinement versus pasture for dairy calves might bring about more applicable results.

In South Carolina, farmer Tom Trantham switched from conventional dairying on 70 acres to a grass-based system. To identify a nutritious, milk-boosting mix of pasture species, he enlisted the help of a Clemson University animal science researcher. Jean Bertrand obtained a SARE grant and tested annual crops for year-round grazing on Trantham’s farm. By the project’s conclusion, Trantham had perfected a profit-making system of intensive grazing – using such annual crops as grazing maize, millet and small grains – that is now a model for many graziers in the South.

“Large, lengthy projects that require large numbers of cows can sometimes be best done on commercial farms because you usually don’t have the luxury of tying up a research farm for an extended time,” Bertrand said. “On-farm research is appropriate if you are looking for information for farmers in an extension-type publication.”

In a successful SARE-funded study, five vegetable farmers in Oregon’s Willamette Valley tested ways to improve soil quality and boost productivity using cover crops on their farms. Working with Oregon State University (OSU) researchers, the farmers designed experimental systems specifically for their conditions. While researchers focused on changes in soil quality and biology, the farmers homed in on results showing increased yields and fewer tractor passes. (See sidebar.)

“They’re getting a competitive edge, not just in yield, but they are also excited about saving fuel costs,” said principal researcher Richard Dick, formerly of OSU. “If they can get away with less tillage and create an environment where they can still get the yields, they really want to do that.”

Dick and other researchers designed a scientifically valid comparison of two systems – one using cover crops, the other a more conventional rotation. In part, the valid scientific results prompted the producers to make changes.

“Most of the farmers have gut reactions – ‘If I do this, it will do something for my soil and it will be easier to till’ – but they need to verify that,” Dick said. “If the experiment is right there on the farm, the farmers feel closer to it and really get something from it.”

Apply for a SARE Grant to Conduct On-Farm Research
Through its nationwide competitive grants program, SARE sponsors research and education projects that advance agricultural systems that are profitable, environmentally sound and good for communities. Since 1992, SARE also has awarded small grants for farmers and ranchers to run on-site research experiments. Producer grants typically run between $500 and $15,000.

Visit www.sare.org to download calls for proposals, check deadlines and learn about grant requirements. (Call (301) 504-5230 if you do not have access to the Web.) When filling out an application, be sure you understand SARE’s goals and objectives. Find a qualified collaborator and follow instructions.

SARE encourages producers to work as partners in its other grant programs, too. Many SARE Research and Education grant projects involve farmers and ranchers, who add an “on-the-ground” pragmatism. Some of SARE’s most innovative Professional Development Program projects, which are geared at extension educators, have taken place on farms or have featured producers as teachers.

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