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Hosting on-farm experiments often leads to valuable networking
among participants. Vermont sheep producers studying the feasibility
of finishing lambs on pasture rather than in feedlots gained momentum
by interacting with one other, said Kate Duesterberg, who coordinated
the SARE-funded project from the University of Vermont’s Center
for Sustainable Agriculture. Producers conceived of the pasture
project as one way to cut sheep production costs. They worked with
researchers to record weight gains, evaluate forage quality and
measure soil fertility.
Results showed a trend of increasing average daily weight gain
each year as they perfected their pasture systems, partly achieved
through their new network.
“The producers loved being able to get together to talk
over the issues of raising a grass-based product and identify the
questions they wanted to look at,” Duesterberg said. “It
was up to us [researchers] to try to find out ways to systematically
test those questions.”
Carrying out experiments on farms benefits scientists, too. Researchers
can depend on farmers to bring practicality and problem-solving
abilities to the research team.
For years, University of Maryland soil science researcher Ray
Weil has worked with Pennsylvania farmer Steve Groff, whose Cedar
Summit crop farm is about two hours away. Sampling soil on Groff’s
farm is worth the trip, Weil said, because he can measure soil quality
changes over time as Groff has honed his practices, such as no-till
and growing winter cover crops.
Moreover, Groff has proved a real collaborator who lends a valuable
perspective. One year, Weil sampled soil from six of Groff’s
no-till fields and recorded his regular set of indicators, from
bulk density to organic matter. Groff, however, saw an extra dimension.
He re-arranged the data to reflect the number of years since the
last tillage.
“Wouldn’t you know, the soil quality variables fell
right into place,” Weil said. “The longer the field
had been managed without tillage, the lower the bulk density and
the greater organic matter and microbial activity. It made for some
very nice graphs of a relationship that we would probably never
have seen were it not for Steve’s keen observation and participation.”
How to Develop a Sound, Easy-to-Conduct
Research Project
Whether you are seeking the best wheat variety for your soils or
trying to determine a kill date to optimize nitrogen from a cover
crop, on-farm research can be a useful tool for solving problems
and answering questions about your production system. Farm-based
experiments offer a practical way to test your ideas before you
bet the farm on them.
“Farmers are great at coming up with ideas for research,”
said Ken Schneider, North Central Region SARE’s program coordinator
for field operations, who works closely with producer grant recipients.
“Who better than farmers or ranchers knows what will best
suit their needs?”
Mike Roegge of the Western Illinois Sustainable Agriculture Society
wanted to know the best time to kill a rye cover crop to improve
corn yields. He used on-farm research to find the answer.
“We did this experiment because we heard conflicting reports
of corn yield response after rye,” said Roegge. “The
difference seemed to have something to do with the amount of time
between when the rye is killed and when the corn is planted.”
As he developed his idea, Roegge found it helpful to talk with
other farmers and collaborate with researchers at the University
of Illinois. They helped him see his idea from a different perspective
and boil it down into a viable research objective: to determine
the effect of rye cover crop kill date on the yield of the following
corn crop.
Getting Started
Great research begins with a great idea. Put your imagination to
work as you ponder day-to-day management problems. Your first task
is to state a clear objective, which will depend on what you want
to gain from your research. It might sound like one of the following:
 to
determine if a legume cover crop will supply enough nitrogen to
meet the needs of subsequent cash crops;
to learn
if cattle will gain more on an improved grass mix versus the existing
pasture; or
to learn
if marketing value-added farm products over the Internet will
increase profits.
Be specific about what you will test – such as nitrogen
rate, improved grass mix or marketing methods. Also, plan how you
will measure those effects – such as yield, weight gain, or
profitability.
While your intuition and experience might provide most answers
to your questions, good research includes measurements as well as
observations. Before setting up your test, consider what questions
you want answered. Can you measure them accurately on your farm
or ranch?
The type of project – be it crops, livestock or marketing
– will dictate project design. Assistance with designing your
project is key. Find someone at your county extension office or
land grant university with experience in setting up and conducting
research on farms who wants to be a collaborator.
If you cannot find an experienced helper, see page 12 for a list
of guidebooks and farmer research networks. A mistake at this stage
can render your data misleading or unusable.
Whether you are making the transition to another production system,
fine-tuning your pest management or fertility programs, or testing
a new marketing strategy, conducting research will require time
and energy. Choose one or two simple hypotheses from your ideas
that will yield the greatest return of practical information.
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