farmer motivation and decision making - radatz
TRANSCRIPT
Farmer Motivation and Decision Making to Implement Water Quality Protection Practices Amber RadatzDecember 2, 2015Nutrient Management and Edge of Field MonitoringMemphis, TN
Going on almost 15 years of farmer led on-farm research
15 member Steering Committee
20 farms ● 200 site years monitored
10 events per year
3,000 downloads per year
80 presentations annually
Discovery Farms Has a Large Dataset With Diverse Farm Systems and Locations
Discovery Farms has grown to other states. Some details are unique, all follow the same principles
Farmer engagement & leadership
Credible water quality research
Communicating results
The research is only half of it…but a very important half
Runoff ● Sediment Nitrogen ● PhosphorusWeather ● Soil
Working at different scales and in different land uses can be a challenge and an opportunity
Late winter manure application increases phosphorus concentrations in snowmelt by 2 to 4 times
However, Reducing Soil Loss Does Not Always Reduce Phosphorus Loss For the Entire Year
Till Count: 49; No-till Count: 36
Till median: 230 kg/haNo-till median: 74 kg/haRank sum p value: 0.002
Till median: 1.2 kg/haNo-till median: 1.4 kg/ha Rank sum p value: 0.371
Till median: 0.4 kg/haNo-till median: 0.9 kg/ha
Rank sum p value: <0.001
The farmers really make the wheels turn
Farmers need us to provide reasonable expectations because it is a complex problem
‘Its important to remember that we can’t incorporate manure in the fall with the chisel plow, magically leave all the crop residue on top, and think we are going to be “no-till” the following spring!’
-John Koepke, Koepke Farms
We monitored other areas per request of the farmers, and changed the conversation
We deliver information gleaned from data back to the farmers in an easily understandable format to encourage discussion
We are open to easy or non-traditional solutions
We do not start with preconceived notions of what the problem areas are or what the solutions might be
We do not offer money for everything.
We realize the connections that are already there, or not. A line on an aerial photo doesn’t mean collaboration.
We use several different methods, because not everyone responds to the same thing.
MonitoringWalkovers
ModelingSoil and
Plant Analysis
We spend time to get to know our farmers, and they know us.
The future means even more engagement with farmers and layering on assessment they can use
Idea Exchange
Soil healthNitrogen use
efficiency
Edge of field runoff data
