On Farm Research
“That data is no good, it’s from a plot.” I’m pretty sure every extension agent has heard this refrain from a producer. What if there was a way to bring that research off of the research station and into one of your own fields? A new focus toward on-farm research is spreading across the state that might offer a producer just that chance.
As a graduate student (a.k.a. glorified farm hand), I worked in the wheat breeding group at Kansas State so I have had some experience with research plots. I learned a ton, but can look back and shake my head in amazement at some of the work we did.
Plot research is incredibly different from production agriculture in its scale. Over the couple of summers working in the project I helped harvest many plots in different ways. There were single-row plots that we harvested with an old-fashioned sickle. This effort definitely grooms respect for our farmer ancestors (as well as an almost guaranteed sore back).
Later generations were planted in three-foot long plots only three rows wide that we harvested with a plot combine. To accomplish this, the grad students would walk beside the combine and catch the grain in meticulously labelled and catalogued brown paper bags. I know it’s tough to imagine now, but think about what the temperature will be like around the end of June and the first part of July. Then imagine walking beside a combine harvesting whole fields of wheat three rows at a time, three feet at a time.
Obviously, this is not the type of research that the project is expecting from producers. The scale would be very much increased. Any cropping system area is fair game for on-farm research. We have conducted bermudagrass trials in both soil fertility and herbicide effectiveness over the past few years. For next year, we plan on studying the forage grass teff and how to manage it in our area.
In southeast Kansas, we would like to focus on soybeans and would cover topics like; seeding rates, planting dates, row spacing, and variety selection. However, other crops can be studied as well.
One might ask why should I get involved in this project? The easy answer is ready-made valuable, applicable local research data that can help limit input costs and increase production efficiency. Who doesn’t want that?
Who is involved with this project? The three main groups include farmers, extension agricultural agents, and area/state specialists. The farmers are, obviously, the main players in this setup. The agents will act as intermediaries with the farmers and the specialists. Finally, the specialists will develop the protocols of the experiments and analyze the data from the trials. Leading the effort is Ignacio Ciampitti, K-State Research and Extension Cropping Systems Specialist.
Some producers may ask, what’s the difference between small scale plots and large scale on-farm data? Small plot research is done mainly to limit variability in the experiment which can more accurately show why the differences among the treatments are happening.
In on-farm testing, the variability is higher but that is essentially the point. In small-scale plots, more complex treatments (planting spaces, times, and varieties and the interactions therein) can be tested while in on-farm tests, only a few treatments (maybe only seeding rate) will be evaluated.
For example, a typical on-farm experiment covering planting rate would include three (or maybe more) levels of seeding: a plus 10% of the optimal rate, the expected optimal rate, and a minus 10% of the optimal rate. For this to be a statistically sound experiment, this test would need to be replicated (or copied) a minimum of 3 times within the field. The state specialists will customize the protocols of the experiment to fit into the producer’s operation.
So, do you want some of that valuable, applicable, and local data from your farm? If you are interested in participating in these on-farm tests, please contact Ignacio Ciampitti at ciampitti@ksu.edu or your local extension office. If you have questions or would like more information, please call me at the office (620) 724-8233, or e-mail me at jcoltrain@ksu.edu, or visit the Wildcat Extension District website at www.wildcatdistrict.ksu.edu.
Contact:
Josh Coltrain
Crop Production and Local Foods Agent
Wildcat Extension District
jcoltrain@ksu.edu
(620) 724-8233
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