Progress 07/15/09 to 07/14/10
Outputs
OUTPUTS: The on-farm research (OFR) program at Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences and several projects being conducted at the Rodale Institute were supported by this CSREES project. A four-year USDA-OREI that focuses on reducing tillage in organic grain production systems was begun during 2009. Extensive use of cover crops and the cover crop roller continue to be of great interest to researchers and farmers from four Atlantic states involved in this multi-year project. The OFR coordinator serves as a liaison between the project's farmers and principal investigators. Initial agronomic performance data are being collected from a dairy cropping system trial that is primarily supported with a NE SARE research and education grant. These field data are used to provide the input information for a simulated PA dairy to measure and compare the biological and economic performance of several cropping systems being evaluated in this project. The OFR coordinator is part of a larger team that will compile the project findings and develop outreach materials that will be shared with farmers in the state and region. A multi-county project that focuses on expanding the usage of cover crops on all farms in the Commonwealth was initiated during the summer and fall of 2009. Single species and mixtures of species with potential to provide environmental benefits as fall/winter/early spring field covers were drilled into small plots in ten counties and evaluated during early winter and late spring for aboveground biomass production. The amount of nitrogen available from animal manure and the length of the spring growth period were principal determinants of the amount of biomass produced. Field days attended by more than 300 farmers and policy makers were held during November 2009 and April 2010 at these locations. The results of an evaluation of commercially available products that reduce volatile losses of N from surface applied urea were continued during 2009. Reducing the need to over-apply nitrogen to maintain high yields, to reduce the overall cost of crop production, and to reduce the loss of nitrogen into the environment were goals of this project. The results from this second year of testing found that some products are more effective in reducing these losses, as measured by improved corn grain yields. This project is being continued for a third year during 2010. A three-year USDA-NRCS Conservation Innovation Grant is providing the support for promoting the adoption of manure injection on farms where manure is primarily broadcast on the field surface. In previous research, manure injection has been proven to reduce the losses of nitrogen to the atmosphere and nitrogen and phosphorus into the surface waters when compared to surface application. The OFR coordinator and four county extension educators are coordinating four commercial manure applicators to conduct replicated side-by-side evaluations of injected vs. broadcasted manure. The crops in the Farming Systems Trial (FST) at Rodale endured a wetter and cooler than normal growing season. The grain yields on many plots were reduced compared to historical averages for this long term trial. PARTICIPANTS: Principle investigators David Sylvia and William Curran supervise the On-Farm Research Coordinator, Ronald Hoover, and provide general direction to the program. As coordinator, Mr. Hoover makes many of the daily decisions for the activities of the various projects being supported by the OFR program. Extension specialists at Penn State who provide direction and actively participate in this program include Doug Beegle, William Curran, Justin Dillon, Sjoerd Duiker, Marvin Hall, William Lamont, Greg Roth, and John Tooker. The numerous county-based extension educators who interact directly with farmer clientele in arranging and conducting the various trials include Paul Craig, Andrew Frankenfield, Kevin Fry, Jeffrey Graybill, Mena Hautau, David Hartman, Mark Madden, Thomas Murphy, Jonathan Rotz, John Rowehl, Tianna DuPont, Delbert Voight, and J. Craig Williams. The project included subcontracts with The Rodale Institute (TRI). The OFR coordinator and the OFR program were included in several successful project proposal submissions between July 2009 and July 2010. There is great interest to include the applied science and outreach components at which the OFR program excels. Funds from these grants as well as those from this NIFA project have enabled both organizations to conduct applied research projects, to hold field days, and to participate at numerous conferences and workshops. The funding supplied to Rodale through a subcontract partially funded numerous positions: Alison Grantham (research director), Maria Pop (outreach event coordinator), and Rita Seidel (research associate). TARGET AUDIENCES: The primary target audiences for which new information is developed by the PSU OFR program and at Rodale are crop, vegetable, and livestock farmers. The goal of the programs is to develop and conduct projects that are primarily or entirely focused on applied production challenges. Farmers and their production system challenges are always the focus when projects are developed and when presentations are given at meetings and workshops. Occasionally, the presentation may be of a more technical nature, where the intended audience is primarily the advisors who work with farmers: cooperative extension, USDA-Natural Resource Conservation Service, conservation districts, crop management association technicians, and the agribusinesses who supply goods and services to farmers. There continues to be increasing interest among vocational agriculture educators in the state for the lessons being learned from these applied projects. In increasing numbers, these teachers are attending outreach events and are interested in developing some project protocols and results into high school-level projects. Also, some project methods and results have been condensed into teaching modules or lesson plans. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.
Impacts
Results generated from the PSU OFR and Rodale Institute programs are being disseminated through the farm press, on websites, at local producer meetings and statewide conferences, and during local field days where one-on-one interaction is often possible. When possible, field plots that provide a visual backdrop are often included in these field days. Also, many of the timelier, producer-valued data are also shared with county extension educators during in-service trainings. The multiplier effect is realized as these educators are then able to share these new findings widely with their local farmer clientele. Presenters from the two institutions have participated in nearly three dozen local and regional field days and field crop production/weed control clinics during 2009 and early 2010 where total attendance exceeded two thousand. These participants included farmers, federal and state conservation program personnel, and researchers and outreach staff from federal, state, and non-profit entities. Increased attention has and is being given to documenting the changes in producer attitudes and practices as a result of their attendance of the various informational programs. Many producers have indicated in discussions with presenters and in written and on-line surveys that they have or will make changes to their operations based on the latest ideas being shared. Farmers who are participating in the on-going evaluations of the manure injection equipment have expressed a strong desire to reduce the impact that their animal farms have on the environment IF it can be demonstrated on a larger (farm) scale that these techniques can be implemented with minimal additional costs to their production systems. Findings from two years of recent soybean seed treatment studies indicate that there may be merit in buying treated seed and that this additional expense may be more easily justified during years when soil moisture and soil-borne disease organisms are plentiful. While treatment does add to the cost of the seed, there are indications that seeding rates can be reduced enough to result in a net savings to the farmer in the cost of planting an acre of soybean. The numerous cover cropping studies being conducted at PSU and Rodale have generated huge interest in this topic amongst farmers and the extension educators who serve them. With the assistance of the OFR coordinator and several campus-based research and extension specialists, support for additional county-based research and extension programs with a focus on increasing cover crop usage was sought during early 2009. The scope of the project will be greatly enhanced as a USDA-NRCS Conservation Innovation Grant was awarded to the team just weeks prior to the completion of this project report. Consistent results from Rodale's FST continue to capture the attention of farmers who strive for high system output without the extensive use of off-farm crop production inputs.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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