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Citizen Science: Conducting On-Farm Trials
Citizen Science: Conducting On-Farm Trials
By Stephen Sostaric
One of the main goals of the Illinois Soybean Association is to help farmers to reduce costs and increase profitability. ISA’s team of agronomists plays a key role in this process, in part by working with farmers around the state to conduct on-farm trials looking into new management techniques. ISA’s Director of Agronomy, Abigail Peterson, CCA, helps coordinate this work.
“Working across the state with farmers on trials looking into new management has been one of the most rewarding educational experiences for myself as an agronomist,” said Peterson. On-farm trials help farmers find new ways of achieving their goals to reduce costs, improve soil quality and increase tools against integrated pest management (IPM) issues like weed, disease, and insect control.
This process has not been without its challenges, however. On-farm trials require a commitment to truly understand what system changes are happening. “We need to understand the variability and time involved with these practices on the farm over the course of a year,” said Peterson. “Across one single operation, fields have different soil types, rainfall, and management history that all play into what results we see at the end of the year. Working with farmers within testing a theory we always must have one factor that is not necessarily driven by science, it’s wanting the system to work.”
The ISA Agronomy team works to bring the best research in soybean systems to the state through multiple avenues. Says Peterson, “Working alongside farmers, researchers, agronomists, industry partners, and students, the team is able to provide the best agronomic information in the state.”
While conducting the research, it is also important to consider the whole picture, because each practice applied will have an impact on the results at the end of the season. “More and more of the management testing we are considering is no longer a one-time application we add to the mix. Wanting to combat something to improve soil quality, nutrient cycling, water holding capacity and reduce weed pressure takes more than thinking of one piece of the puzzle,” Peterson said. The most successful farmers are those who have considered all factors, including variety selection, herbicide program, cover crop rate, species, and planting plan.
Says Peterson, “Learning from these farmers and continuing to learn from farmers has helped to build the tools to know what works and what doesn’t. We need to find innovative approaches to crop production as we see increased occurrences in intense weather events, new diseases, and environmental resource concerns.”
In addition to working in the dirt, ISA’s agronomists also know that outreach is key. That means they are constantly talking and engaging with farmers about what research is needed on the farm. Whether it’s a small field day, our annual Soybean Summit, farmer research survey, a comment received online, or a phone call, they are always collecting information from farmers and answering their questions. These discussions include a wide range of topics, such as cover crop management, tissue testing, weed control issues, specialty crops, and sulfur applications.
This information gathering helps Peterson and her team tailor outreach activities to what Illinois farmers want to know. “Having a close connection to our farmers allows us to create research and outreach projects catered to what farmers want. ISA Research Agronomist, Jennifer Jones, CCA, works with colleges and universities across the state to take what we hear from the farm and apply it to work being done at the university level.”
These projects can help make future on-farm trials better by arming farmers and agronomists with practical research. For example, the University of Illinois Extension Educator, Nathan Johanning, is working across the state to understand the importance of cover crop planting dates in Illinois within row crop production. “The importance of practical actionable information is at the heart of each of the funded studies we have,” said Peterson.
Stephanie Porter, CCA, and Kelsey Litchfield, ISA’s agronomy outreach team, keep the ILSoyAdvisor platform updated with current research projects as well as information about the experts behind the data. Using social media platforms like Twitter and YouTube out in the field, they are able to show what is happening this year.
The on-farm trials this year include farmers who are relay cropping soybeans into wheat in northern Illinois, cover crop and no-till trials, a sulfur application trial and many more. “Having these trials across the state helps us to build education and management recommendations regionally. The farm applications that are at the scale of 40 to 100 acres give us a better understanding of what we can apply to start transitioning management to more acres successfully,” said Peterson. Additionally, the economic factors of each practice are also taken into consideration to ensure farmers have all of the information gleaned from each trial.
Through all of this, the ISA agronomy team stands ready to help. “We are here to provide you with unbiased resources and guidance. We enjoy challenging products and wild claims to understand testing from no other angle than improving production,” Peterson said. This usually involves pushing the envelope within a traditional system. When testing a rate or treatment, there needs to be a control or low-rate comparison to show a significant result. If an economic threshold isn’t warranting an application, a practice being sold as a need is challenged.
So how does a farm become part of an on-farm trial with ISA? Currently, participating farms were selected on a case-by-case basis as farmers indicated interest. However, as interest increased the need for a more formalized process became clear. The ISA agronomy team is currently building such a system to create an on-farm trial network for 2024 to provide a clear protocol for future trials. For now, you can find your ISA agronomy team out and about around Illinois. Whether conducting field visits, field days, or local meetings they are here to help and want to work with you on your farm.