Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
of on-farm testing of the value of new cereal cultivars. Some of these farmers use organic prac-
tices, and it is a valuable example of participatory networks in agriculture.
Practical Farmers of Iowa (PFI)
Founded in the mid-1980s, this farmer-organised group in the midwest of the USA has been
highly effective in testing new technologies on the farm, bringing focus to innovative market-
ing systems and local food sales, and lobbying successfully for funding to initiate a high-profile
sustainable agriculture centre at Iowa State University. Their long, replicated, drive-through
plot designs have become widely accepted by farmer groups across the USA. This field testing
method brings statistical credibility to on-farm research results. The most frequent experi-
ments conducted by PFI have involved different levels of nitrogen fertiliser, use of starter ferti-
liser, methods of ridge tillage, alternative weed management options and long-term crop
rotations. They have used multiple farm sites for the same experiment to add validity to the
results. With widely publicised field days, a first-class newsletter, and recently initiated chil-
dren's summer activity programs, the PFI has made a substantial and lasting contribution to
the future of family farms in Iowa. Methods are described by Rzewnicki et al . (1988).
Nebraska on-farm fertiliser experiments
A project in the late 1980s financed by the state Department of Energy stimulated the authors to
evaluate different nitrogen rates on cereals in continuous cultivation versus cereals following a
legume. Farmers identified by county Extension Educators sat down with the project technician
to decide on fertiliser rates and field plot design. Often treatments were based on the farmer's
current fertility practices, plus additional rates that were 50 kg ha -1 above and 50 kg ha -1 below
the current rate. The technician collected information during the growth of the crop, while the
farmers generally conducted the harvest in close collaboration with project staff. As expected,
there was much less response to applied fertiliser nitrogen in the rotation treatments, and at
least a 50 kg ha -1 reduction in the recommendations for the next year's maize or sorghum crop.
In some cases no additional nitrogen was recommended, a logical outcome of interest to organic
farmers. One unique feature was the reporting of results to farmer groups in each county, where
the results were analysed and then presented to the farmers at a meeting with no recommenda-
tions or conclusions. The farmers were asked to interpret the data and yield results, coming up
with their own decisions for fertiliser application in future years. The technician, a soils special-
ist from the university, would eagerly answer questions about mechanisms or details of the
trials when asked, but let the farmers carry the agenda through the recommendations and con-
clusions from the experiments (Franzluebbers et al . 1991, 1994).
Watershed-leel planning in the midwest of the USA
A four-year grant from the federal Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE)
program allowed the University of Nebraska and collaborators to plan and implement training
from 1993 to 1997 across the North Central Region of the USA. Each workshop was planned
and topics chosen by an interdisciplinary team of extension specialists in close consultation
with the local educators and non-profit farmer and research groups in states where the
workshop would be held. An attempt to make the learning methods systemic for future work-
shops included these steps:
• multiple agencies and groups worked together to plan the events;
• farmers were key participants in choosing topics and presenting tours;
• integration of topics was achieved by introductions and segues between topics; and
• continuous evaluation was used to assess learning and adjust the program.
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