Better information is critical to better farm management. Without good information, it is very difficult to manage agricultural resources such as nitrogen and phosphorus for economic viability and environmental sustainability. This is especially true for farmers facing important water quality challenges combined with ever escalating nitrogen and fuel costs on the farm. In addition to enabling and fostering improved environmental viability and profitability, better farm management data collection and analysis enables farmers to assess and verify their performance, which will give them better access to emerging marketplace initiatives, such as nutrient and carbon trading, niche marketing, and other ecosystem service payment opportunities.
The goal of the Bay Farms On Farm Network is advance two critical components to driving improved farm-level performance: 1) access to and education on the use of effective, affordable tools and strategies to assess and verify on-farm environmental and economic performance and 2) coordination of data collection, analysis, and feedback to farmers using these tools at the individual farm level and in aggregate across multiple farms in a geographic region. This exciting new direction for nutrient management is the innovation of the Iowa Soybean Association, which has been implementing adaptive management through an approach called the On-Farm Network with growing success since 2001 (see www.isafarmnet.com).
Through the On-Farm Network, farmers use data from their own farms and others in their area to evaluate the effectiveness and economic pros and cons of different management practices, such as nutrient application rates, timing, and form. Farmers not only evaluate the effectiveness of different practices on their own farm, but benefit from aggregate data across multiple farms and years. The end result is farmer-driven adaptive management in real time – farmers gathering and making beneficial changes based on data from their own fields and those of others. The farmers are in the driver’s seat, which significantly increases buy in to the results and willingness to make long-term changes. Key tools include the cornstalk nitrate test (CSNT), aerial imagery, and replicated strip trials.
In 2009, the Bay Farms On-Farm Network included 180 farmers who collectively manage 120,000 acres.
For more information, contact Suzy Friedman, Regional Director for the Chesapeake Bay at EDF, at 202-492-1023 or sfriedman@edf.org.