Friday, January 27, 2012

Purdue On-Farm Research Opportunities

Over the years, Spencer County has been the site of many field crop research efforts and variety trials, including the wheat variety plot, one of just three Extension-sponsored wheat plots in the state, the soybean cyst plots of years past, and various industry-sponsored research.

Planting Spencer Co. corn seeding rate
trial in 2010

In recent years, Purdue Extension has renewed its focus towards on-farm research. These new research efforts involve full-scale, field-sized research trials in which producers around the state collaborate with local educators and state specialists and host the trials.

On-farm research not only seeks to identify answers to important questions but may also serve to validate previously discovered answers or convince growers that an alternative crop management practice is profitable for their own situations.

Current on-farm research efforts include:
     1) Seeding rate trials in corn and soybeans

     2) Evaluating early-applied foliar fungicides in corn

     3) Nitrogen rate trials in corn

     4) Soybean fungicide efficacy trials in soybeans.

The efforts require very little extra effort on the part of collaborators beyond normal field operations.

We are currently looking for Spencer County producers who are interested in serving as collaborators in any of these research efforts.

Additional information on the five research efforts can be found at the On-Farm Research website.  If you are interested in participating in one of these projects or would like more information, please contact the Extension Office at (812) 649-6022 or nheld@purdue.edu.

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