Progress 07/15/10 to 01/31/12
Outputs
OUTPUTS: Several projects managed under the Penn State on-farm research (OFR) program and at the Rodale Institute were supported by this CSREES project. Many of the OFR projects were also supported by additional USDA grants. A four-year USDA-OREI that focuses on reducing tillage in organic grain production systems was begun during 2009. The OFR coordinator serves as a liaison between the two private farmers who are conducting research and principal investigators. Field trials were initiated on two PA farms in spring 2011, with one having been ruined due to poor corn seed quality; however, the second trial found a favorable 5 bu/ac yield response where soybeans were planted into rolled and crimped cereal rye compared to where rye was conventionally tilled ahead of soybean planting. A NE SARE research and education grant is supporting a multi-faceted dairy cropping systems trial in which a simulated herd of dairy cows and replacements are being fed. The biological and economic performance of several cropping systems, some of which include production of canola for on-farm tractor liquid fuel, are 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 2010, and continued again the following season. 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 from green up through destruction were principal determinants of the amount of biomass produced. Field days that highlighted project activities were attended by more than 400 farmers and policy makers were held during November 2010 and April 2011 at most locations. The results of an evaluation of commercially available products that reduce volatile losses of N from surface applied urea found that some products are more effective in reducing these losses, as measured by improved corn grain yields. With a three-year USDA-NRCS Conservation Innovation Grant, the OFR coordinator and four county extension educators are conducting replicated plot trials to evaluate injected vs. broadcast slurry manure. In previous on-station 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 drought of 2010 minimized the opportunity for conserved N through manure injection to improve corn grain yields. The drought of 2011 was even more severe than that of 2010, and again results of field trials were compromised. The crops in the Farming Systems Trial (FST) at Rodale endured a wet spring, then a dry summer, and are being harvested during a very wet fall. 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 have actively participate in this program include Doug Beegle, William Curran, Justin Dillon, Sjoerd Duiker, Scott Harkcom, 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 Jennifer Bratthauar, John Bray, Alyssa Collins, Paul Craig, Andrew Frankenfield, Jeffrey Graybill, Mena Hautau, David Hartman, Mark Madden, 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 2010 and January 2012; many who have included an on-farm component in project proposals have indicated that the OFR program greatly enhances projects being proposed and improves Penn State's position for these competitive grants. 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: Maria Pop (outreach event coordinator), Rita Seidel (research associate) and several summer support personnel. 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, conduct, and disseminate information from projects that are primarily or entirely focused on applied production challenges. Farmers and their farming 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 2010 and early 2011 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. Cover cropping continues to increase as indicated by NASS and extension meeting surveys. 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 2010. The scope of the project was greatly enhanced with a USDA-NRCS Conservation Innovation Grant was awarded to the team during fall 2010. Rodale Institute FST results continue to capture the attention of farmers who, along with farmer advisors and agency representatives numbered nearly sixty at summer 2011 field day at the Institute.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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Progress 07/15/10 to 07/14/11
Outputs
OUTPUTS: Several projects managed under the Penn State on-farm research (OFR) program and at the Rodale Institute were supported by this CSREES project. Many of the OFR projects were also supported by additional USDA grants. A four-year USDA-OREI that focuses on reducing tillage in organic grain production systems was begun during 2009. The OFR coordinator serves as a liaison between the project's farmers and principal investigators. Field trials were initiated on two PA farms in spring 2011, with one having been ruined due to poor corn seed quality. The other will be harvested later fall 2011. 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 2010, and continued again the following season. 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 from green up through destruction were principal determinants of the amount of biomass produced. Field days that highlighted project activities were attended by more than 400 farmers and policy makers were held during November 2010 and April 2011 at most locations. The results of an evaluation of commercially available products that reduce volatile losses of N from surface applied urea were continued during 2010. Reducing the need to over-apply nitrogen to maintain high corn yields, to reduce the overall cost of corn crop production, and to reduce the loss of nitrogen into the environment are goals of this project. The results from this third year of testing found that some products are more effective in reducing these losses, as measured by improved corn grain yields. With a three-year USDA-NRCS Conservation Innovation Grant, the OFR coordinator and four county extension educators are conducting replicated plot trials to evaluate injected vs. broadcast slurry manure. In previous on-station 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 drought of 2010 minimized the opportunity for conserved N through manure injection to improve corn grain yields. The crops in the Farming Systems Trial (FST) at Rodale endured a wet spring, then a dry summer, and are being harvested during a very wet fall. 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 have actively participate in this program include Doug Beegle, William Curran, Justin Dillon, Sjoerd Duiker, Scott Harkcom, 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 Jennifer Bratthauar, John Bray, Alyssa Collins, Paul Craig, Andrew Frankenfield, Jeffrey Graybill, Mena Hautau, David Hartman, Mark Madden, 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 2010 and July 2011. 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: Maria Pop (outreach event coordinator), Rita Seidel (research associate) and several summer support personnel. 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, conduct, and disseminate information from projects that are primarily or entirely focused on applied production challenges. Farmers and their farming 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 2010 and early 2011 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. Cover cropping continues to increase as indicated by NASS and extension meeting surveys. 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 2010. The scope of the project was greatly enhanced with a USDA-NRCS Conservation Innovation Grant was awarded to the team during fall 2010. Rodale Institute FST results continue to capture the attention of farmers who, along with farmer advisors and agency representatives numbered nearly sixty at summer 2011 field day at the Institute.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
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