Progress 06/01/23 to 05/31/24
Outputs
Target Audience:Farmer operators, agricultural scientists and extension faculty, private sector consultants, policy makers and commodity groups. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?In our third year, we were able to support and engage 6 undergraduate students, 3 graduate students, and 4 postdoctoral fellows. Students and project staff receive valuable experience and training on protocol development, sample chain of command, human subject privacy and confidentiality measures, participatory on-farm work, and interdisciplinary research. They also gain valuable experience collecting field data and interacting with operators on working farms and were directly involved in a team-science project where our interdisciplinary faculty, students, and staff collaborated to plan and implement our project activities. Graduate students and post-doctoral employees have gained experience in presenting results and data analysis. Since we will use ground truth data for simulation with IFSM, one post-doc has been trained to use IFSM and is exploring the best way to fit the data into the model. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Extension outreach activities in the past year have included two field days focused on our project, a published article in Ohio State University's e-fields on-farm research report, and presentations at multiple farmer and academic conferences, including the Conservation Tillage Conference, Ohio Ecological Food and Farm Association Conference, the Ohio Forage & Grassland Council Annual Conference. Team members also met with a regional dairy association and executive members of Certified Angus Beef. Participating farmers in each of our two nodes met as groups with project PIs and staff in March 2024. Our team presented aggregated two-year results to the group, along with information on sampling and testing methods and existing knowledge. We answered questions, discussed how to interpret observations from the data set, exploring differences between farm types and across our two regions. We also engaged the farmers in group discussions about the strategies, pros and cons of diversification/specialization, and asked them individually to share their big take-aways from the project as well as lingering questions, and final input on how results from on-farm research might impact their own farm decision-making. Participating farmers received a binder with all slide sets, and results of all their individual farm's data that was available at the time of the meeting. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?In this final no-cost extension year, we will focus on data analysis, modeling, academic publications/presentations, and development and dissemination of extension materials that will outlast the project and reach a larger audience. We will share results of our study using a project webpage, multimedia outreach products and presentations at conferences, meetings, and extension events. Two field days are already planned for late summer 2024 and at least one fact sheet is underway. We plan to contribute articles to Ohio State's on-farm research publications eFields and eBarns. At least three papers are in progress and a doctoral thesis which includes data from this study. Outreach tasks from this project have already provided opportunities to collaborate with Extension and research partners outside of our current team and have led to additional involvement with our participating farmers as well. Our team will also seek opportunities to share these identified barriers with policymakers and others in our scientific and larger agricultural communities.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
In our third year of study (June 2023-May 2024), we completed data collection to meet our first three objectives. Our team collected physical samples in 3 replicates on each of the 86 study fields across our 31 participating farms. This included soil penetrometer readings, samples of soils, livestock feed rations (as fed), and manure (as applied to our study fields). On a select group of 9 intensive farms, we also sampled pre-harvest crops and forages. And on a set of 4 'focus' fields, we collected a second year of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from soils throughout the growing season to evaluate whether the measured GHG and nutrient losses are consistent with expectations from the published literature. We also monitored ground water levels continuously at each sampling location for the 4 'focus' fields. In the winter of 2023-24, we conducted in-depth, face-to-face interviews with all farmer participants to gather data on their 2023 field and farm management practices, including detailed economic data. Soil samples were analyzed for a range of parameters, including standard soil physical and nutrient analyses, but also soil texture and indicators of soil health including aggregate stability, permanganate oxidizable carbon (POXC, or active carbon), soil respiration, and soil protein. Crop and forage samples were analyzed for nutrient content and feed quality. Crop and soil samples were also analyzed for C:N content. Soil greenhouse gas samples were analyzed for emissions or uptake of the three main GHG: Carbon Dioxide (CO2), Methane (CH4), and Nitrous Oxide (N2O). Water samples were analyzed for: nutrients (Ammonia (NH3), Nitrate (NO3), Total Nitrogen, Phosphate (PO4), and Total Phosphorus), stable water isotopes (O18 and H2), and standard water quality parameters (temperature, pH, specific conductance, and dissolved oxygen). Data across all biophysical, management, and economic parameters were integrated using an MS-ACCESS relational database. Results from the combined 2-years of fieldwork were analyzed using bivariate and multivariate statistics (t-tests, ANOVA post-hoc tests, regression models) to assess whether soil type, field-level management history, and overall farm type (e.g., level of crop-livestock integration) were systematically linked to variability in soil quality outcomes. Successful on-farm collaborative research requires close contact and strong trusting relationships between scientists and farmers. In this third year, we continued to maintain regular contact and build relationships with the 31 farms recruited for this study. In addition to regular farm visits for sampling and phone check-ins, we again held winter meetings to gather farmer participants in each of our two nodes in March 2024. Participating farmers met as a group with project PIs and staff who presented aggregated two-year data analysis results to the group, answered questions, and engaged the farmers in discussion about the pros and cons associated with different pathways of diversification/specialization. Participating farmers received a binder with all slide sets, and results of their farm's data analysis. In this third year, we also worked to refine the integrated whole farm modeling approach we will be using to assess the environmental and economic synergies and tradeoffs associated with specialization vs. diversification. Using our refined field and farm type categories, we explored the ways that farms in each type class utilize different mixes of field types. Our five farm types now include: (A) cash grain only without livestock or manure; (B) cash grain only without livestock who do use manure; (C) integrated crop-livestock beef farms who grow grains and forages and use manure; (D) integrated crop-livestock dairy farms who grow grains and forages and use manure; and (E) livestock (beef and dairy) farms that do not grow grains, but rely on hay and pasture to raise forages for their cattle. The integrated MS-Access database was also used to compare the levels of key nutrient and environmental parameters found in the field with assumptions built into our IFSM model. We worked on cleaning and converting raw interview data into consistent formats and units. We also began to incorporate field data to calibrate our whole-farm systems model for the two of the five farm types and will continue this work in the coming year. The hiring of a new post-doctoral researcher in November 2023 allowed us to convert manure, fertilizer, soil disturbance, and cover cropping management data into standard indices based on current literature. This also allowed us to perform multivariate analyses to further investigate the impact of management approaches on soil health and other environmental outcomes. Our team continues to meet on a biweekly basis, sharing project updates, ideas for analysis, and procedural changes. We have begun sharing these results with farm and academic audiences at a variety of events. Faculty and graduate students presented initial results of our work at the November 2023 annual meetings of the agronomy Tri-Societies. We have drafts of paper manuscripts describing the differences between assessing crop-livestock diversification at the field vs. farm-scale, the relative role of manure and perenniality on soil biological health, and ground water quality on fields with different legacy management that we plan to submit for review in fall 2024. We also have working drafts and plans for summarizing key project findings in research briefs and media for dissemination through our extension network.
Publications
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
Ribeiro, Ricardo Henrique. "Greenhouse Gas Emissions Under Different Crop-Livestock Integration Methods." Presented at 2023 American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America, Annual Meeting, October 29-November 1, 2023 (Session 279-1). https://scisoc.confex.com/scisoc/2023am/meetingapp.cgi/Paper/149208
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2024
Citation:
Otaviano*, Emanoella, Ricardo Ribeiro, Steve Lyon, Ryan Haden, Douglas Jackson-Smith, Marilia Chiavegato. "Greenhouse Gas Emissions Under Different Crop-Livestock Integration Methods." presented by Emanoella Otaviano. Ohio State College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences Annual Research Forum Poster Competition, April 9, 2024. https://research.cfaes.ohio-state.edu/poster-competition
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2024
Citation:
Otaviano, Emanoella. "Ohio State University Forage Research Updates: 'How good are our model projections of forage and manure quality and why does it matter?'" Ohio Forage & Grasslands Council 2024 Annual Conference, February 9, 2024. https://ohioforage.com/annual-conference/
- Type:
Other
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2024
Citation:
Soil Health and Integrated Livestock, 2023 eFields Report, January 2024, Ohio State Digital Ag Program, CFAES-Ohio State, p. 184. https://digitalag.osu.edu/sites/digitag/files/efields/2023_efields.pdf
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Progress 06/01/22 to 05/31/23
Outputs
Target Audience:Participating/collaborating farmers (notebooks, presentations, winter collaborative research meetings) General farming audiences (field days, outreach materials) Extension educators and agriculturaladvisors (field days, outreach materials) Academic/scholarly audiences (peer reviewed manuscripts, presentations at professional meetings) Changes/Problems:Because of rapid turnover in the Ohio State University Extension system, we lost 2 of our core county extension partners in year 2 of this project but were able to replace them with new extension associates who are actively participating in our fieldwork and plans for field-days and farmer meetings. Weather conditions delayed soil sampling and made it difficult to gather complete forage/grazing samples on some of our intensive farms. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?In our second year, we were able to hire 7 undergraduate students, 4 graduate students, and 2 postdoctoral fellows. Students and project staff receive valuable experience and training on protocol development, sample chain of command, human subject privacy and confidentiality measures, participatory on-farm work, and interdisciplinary research. They also gain valuable experience collecting field data and interacting with operators on working farms and were directly involved in a team-science project where our interdisciplinary faculty, students, and staff collaborated to plan and implement our project activities. Graduate students and post-doctoral employees have gained experience in presenting results and data analysis. Since we will use ground truth data for simulation with IFSM, one post-doc has been trained to use IFSM and is exploring the best way to fit the data into the model. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Participating farmers in each of our two nodes met as groups with project PIs and staff in Winter 2023. Our team presented aggregated first year results to the group, along with information on sampling and testing methods and existing knowledge. Presentations were recorded for those unable to attend. We answered questions, discussed how to interpret observations from the data set, including explaining differences between farm types and across our two regions. We also engaged the farmers in group discussions about the strategies, pros, and cons of diversification/specialization. Participating farmers received a binder with all slide sets, and results of all their individual farm's data that was available at the time of the meeting. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?In year 3 we will complete collection of on-farm biophysical samples and conduct a final one-on-one interview with each farmer to gather management history for study fields for the 2023 season, as well as to solicit final input on how results from on-farm research might impact their own farm decision-making. During the year, we will shift our focus from sampling efforts to data analysis, modeling, academic publications/presentations, development of extension materials, and outreach and engagement events with larger audiences. We will share results of our study using: a project website; presentations at conferences, meetings, and extension events; and in written articles or fact sheets. Two field days are already planned for late summer 2023 and three presentations have already been secured for the coming fall and winter. At least three papers are in progress and a doctoral thesis which includes data from this study. During field days and a final winter meeting (Winter 2024) we will work with our participating farmers to examine the study results and implications, and to identify educational products to help farmers examine strategies for diversification. Completing this outreach task will provide opportunities to collaborate with Extension and research partners outside of our current team. We will also work with farmers to address barriers to diversification, including information gaps, policies, and economic realities. Our team will also seek opportunities to share these identified barriers with policymakers and others in our scientific and larger agricultural communities.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
In our second year of study (June 2022-May 2023), we gathered numerous points of data to meet our first three objectives. Our team collected physical samples in 3 replicates on each of the 86 study fields across our 31 participating farms. This included soil penetrometer readings, samples of soils, pre-harvest crops and forages, livestock feed rations (as fed), and manure (as applied to our study fields). On a select group of 9 intensive farms, we also collected 2 additional rounds of soil samples (in summer and autumn 2022) to assess the presence of potential temporal variation in key soil health metrics variables. On intensive farms that raise perennials (types D and E, see below), we also collected forage samples prior to each grazing episode or hay cutting. And on a set of 4 'focus' fields, we collected greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from soils and water samples throughout the growing season to evaluate whether the measured GHG and nutrient losses are consistent with expectations from the published literature. We also began sampling of these data for our second field season in April-May 2023. In the winter of 2022-23, we conducted in-depth, face-to-face interviews with all farmer participants to gather data on their 2022 field and farm management practices, including detailed economic data. Soil samples were analyzed for a range of parameters, including standard soil physical and nutrient analyses, but also soil texture and indicators of soil health including aggregate stability, permanganate oxidizable carbon (POXC, or active carbon), soil respiration, and soil protein. Crop and forage samples were analyzed for nutrient content and feed quality. Soil greenhouse gas samples were analyzed for emissions or uptake of the three main GHG: Carbon Dioxide (CO2), Methane (CH4), and Nitrous Oxide (N2O). Water samples were analyzed for: nutrients (Ammonia (NH3), Nitrate (NO3), Total Nitrogen, Phosphate (PO4), and Total Phosphorus), stable water isotopes (O18 and H2), and standard water quality parameters (temperature, pH, specific conductance, and dissolved oxygen). We also monitored ground water levels continuously at each sampling location for the 4 'focus' fields. Data across all biophysical, management, and economic parameters were integrated using an MS-ACCESS relational database. Results from the first year of fieldwork were analyzed using bivariate and multivariate statistics (t-tests, ANOVA post-hoc tests) to assess whether soil type, field-level management history, and overall farm type (e.g., level of crop-livestock integration) were systematically linked to variability in soil quality outcomes. Successful on-farm collaborative research requires close contact and strong trusting relationships between scientists and farmers. In this second year, we continued to maintain regular contact and build relationships with the 31 farms recruited for this study. In addition to regular farm visits for sampling and phone check-ins, we held winter meetings to gather farmer participants in each of our two nodes in February 2023. Participating farmers met as a group with project PIs and staff who presented initial aggregated first year data analysis results to the group, answered questions, and engaged the farmers in discussion about the pros and cons associated with different pathways of diversification/specialization. Participating farmers also received a binder with all slide sets, and results of all their farm's data analysis that was available by that time. In this second year, we also worked to refine the integrated whole farm modeling approach we will be using to assess the environmental and economic synergies and tradeoffs associated with specialization vs. diversification. Based on our fieldwork and interactions with the farmers, we have refined our original field and farm type categories and explored the ways that farms in each type class utilize different mixes of field types. Our five farm types now include: (A) cash grain only without livestock or manure; (B) cash grain only without livestock who do use manure; (C) integrated crop-livestock farms who grow both grains and use manure, but who rely on annual forages and do not have perennial forages in rotation; (D) integrated crop-livestock farms who grow grains, use manure, and have perennial forages in rotation; and (E) livestock farms that do not grow grains, but rely on hay and pasture to raise forages for their cattle. The integrated MS-Access database was also used to compare the levels of key nutrient and environmental parameters found in the field with assumptions built into our IFSM model. We also refined our approach to use these field data to calibrate our whole-farm systems model for each of the five farm types in the coming year. Our team continues to meet on a biweekly basis, sharing project updates and procedural changes. We made plans to initiate extension activities in year 3, including farmer field days to be held in each study region in August 2023. Faculty and graduate students presented initial results of our work at the 2022 Annual meetings of the Rural Sociological Society and have submitted a presentation for the November 2023 Agronomy Meeting. We have drafted a paper manuscript describing the differences between assessing crop-livestock diversification at the field vs. farm-scale that we plan to submit for review in September 2023, and have concrete paper outlines and plans to synthesize and publish results from different components of our interdisciplinary project in the third year. Finally, we have published research this year examining the impacts of water quality monitoring resolution to achieve more targeted and sustainable water management. This work has informed our monitoring protocol development and was partially supported by this grant.
Publications
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
Jackson-Smith, D. and H. Veisi*. 2023. A Typology to Guide Design and Assessment of Participatory Agricultural Research Projects. Socio-Ecological Practice Research. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42532-023-00149-7
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
Eaton, W., M. Burnham, T. Robertson,, J.G. Arbuckle, K.J. Brasier, M. Burbach, S. Church, G. Hart-Fredeluces, D, Jackson-Smith, G. Wildermuth, et al. 2022. Advancing the scholarship and practice of stakeholder engagement in working landscapes: A co-produced research agenda" Socio-Ecological Practice Research 4:283-304. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42532-022-00132-8
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2022
Citation:
Pace, S.; Hood, J.M.; Raymond, H.; Moneymaker, B.; Lyon, S.W. High-Frequency Monitoring to Estimate Loads and Identify Nutrient Transport Dynamics in the Little Auglaize River, Ohio. Sustainability 2022, 14, 16848. https://doi.org/10.3390/su142416848
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
Woods, T. and D. Jackson-Smith. Pathways to integration of crop and livestock production: perceived benefits and challenges of alternative production systems in Ohio. Presented at Annual Meetings of the International Association for Society and Natural Resources, June 11-15, 2023.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2023
Citation:
Jackson-Smith, D. Integrating theory and concepts from multiple social science disciplines to advance research on farmer conservation behavior." Presentation for panel on Advancing farmer behavior change research through diversifying adoption measurement innovation and panel data. International Association for Society and Natural Resources annual meeting, June 11-15, 2023.
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Progress 06/01/21 to 05/31/22
Outputs
Target Audience:Farm operators, agricultural scientists and extension faculty, private sector consultants. Changes/Problems:Three of the faculty originally involved in the project (two soil scientists and one animal scientist) left Ohio State in early 2022for new opportunities at other universities.We recruited a new soil scientist (Dr. Ryan Haden) to join the team; he will lead the design & analysis of soil health measurements. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Our success hinges on recruiting and retaining students interested in working on interdiscplinary and engaged research. In our first year, we were able to hire 3 undergraduate students, 3 graduate students, and 1 postdoctoral fellow.Students and project staff have received valuable experience and training on protocol development, sample chain of command, human subject privacy and confidentiality measures, participatory on-farm work, and interdisciplinary research.They also gained valuable experience collecting field data and interacting with operators on working farms, and were directly involved in a team-science project where our interdisciplinary faculty, students, and staffcollaborated to plan and implement our project activities. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?
Nothing Reported
What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We look forward to analyzing our first full field season of environmental outcome data and developing helpful visualization tools to share the results with our on-farm participants. Sharing will be done using a written report combined with a group meeting to explain individual farm results and an overview of the whole study results. We also hope to begin sharing our results with a larger audiences using conference or meeting presentations and peer reviewed manuscripts. This fall we will be gathering detailed field and farm management data from all collaborating producers which will provide important foundations for our economic analysis. Year 2 will also mark the start of our modeling efforts. This coming winter we will collect our first year of management and economic data to complete our year one sampling. We plan to re-examine the survey instrument for any changes or missing data needed for our modeling activity. Similarly, we will reassess our field measurement protocols, our on-farm partnership techniques, and overall project management for improvement in year 2. In this first year, we have mainly worked one-on-one with our participating farmers. But starting this winter, we will be gathering participants together to build a community of practice within each of our two study regions. We will examine our first year of results and discuss implications, opinions, experiences, and next steps. Having heard from individual farmers a list of pros and cons associated with different levels of crop-livestock integration, we look forward to having these experts engage with one another (and our research team) to discuss possible pathways to expanded reintegration of livestock and midwest cropping systems. We will also be planning a series of field days and/or farm walks where collaborating producers will be able to see one anothers' farms and review on-farm environmental and eocnomic outcomes. These will also serve as venues to engage with the broader Ohio crop and livestock farming community to spread the impact of our project to broader constituencies.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
In our first full year of project work, we have focused on building the foundation to support the overall objectives of the project. Initially, we focused on recruiting farmers and identifying potential fields for data collection. In the winter and spring 2021-22 we leveraged our existing extension and professional networks and disseminated project information through radio, newspapers, and social media to identify farmers who would be interested in participating. We held in-person group meetings with interested farmers in each of our two study areas (Wayne County in eastern Ohio, Mercer/Darke/Auglaize counties in western Ohio). We successfully recruited 31 farmers across these two area that represent the four distinct farm 'types' that represent alternative levels and approaches to integration of livestock into cropping systems. We conducted intensive face-to-face interviews and farm visits with each potential farmer collaborator to collect detailed informatoin about current and historic farm management practices, and to identify candidate fields for ongoing data collection. Based on these visits, we identified our final set of study farms and fields and initiated field data collection in March 2022. By May, 2022 we had collected soil, crop, manure, greenhouse gas, and water samples from all study farms. We are continuing sampling in summer/fall 2022 on a subset of 8 'intensive farms' to assess temporal and spatial variation in key monitoring variables. Our key impacts to date revolve around establishing the foundation for a successful transdiscilinary project: (a) building and sustaining collaborative relationships with a representative set of producers, (b) building an interdisciplinary team to coordinate data collection and analysis across diverse metrics of environmental and economic performance, (c) initiating field data collection, (d) creation of a integrated database.These outcomes will provide the essential prerequisites for our planned meetings with collaborating farmers in winter 2022/23, and to provide empirical data to operationalizeand callibrateour whole-farm systems model.
Publications
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