Farmer-Led Research
Research reports are written by Practical Farmers staff to ensure consistency and quality, and are available to view or download for free.
The Latest Research from PFI
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This project was funded by USDA-NRCS. In a Nutshell: Strategies are needed to offset the cost of cover crops that precede corn while minimizing yield drag and seedling diseases and maximizing cover crop benefits. Cooperators compared the effects …
This project was funded by Ceres Trust In a Nutshell: Kathy Dice buried black and green tea bags in four diverse agroforestry sites, one wooded site, and one conventional crop field. Mass loss of the tea bags indicates …
This project was funded by Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship – Water Quality Initiative In a Nutshell: The practice of cover crop grazing provides economic returns, and farmers wonder if benefits to soil health follow suit. …
This project was funded by KWS and Albert Lea Seed. In a Nutshell: Hybrid rye is a grain commonly fed to pigs in Europe. It is high in fiber and low in energy. To evaluate the performance of …
This project is supported in part by the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, Division of Soil Conservation and Water Quality. In a Nutshell: While maximizing the benefits of cover crops requires extending their growing period, prolonging …
This project is supported in part by the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, Division of Soil Conservation and Water Quality. In a Nutshell: Organic soybean producers are interested in strategies to reduce tillage and control weeds …
This project was funded by the Walton Family Foundation and Iowa Soybean Association In a Nutshell: Cover crops, primarily cereal rye, are typically seeded in late summer or early fall in corn-soybean production systems in Iowa. Sometimes, however, fall …
This project was supported by Dr. Andy Lenssen, Iowa State University Department of Agronomy. In a Nutshell: Winter cover crops in corn-soybean production systems in Iowa are mostly limited to small-grains species like cereal rye or winter wheat because …
This project was funded by USDA-NRCS and the Walton Family Foundation. In a Nutshell This was the second year of on-farm research trials designed to evaluate planting corn in 60-in. row-widths for the purpose of improving the success …
This project was funded by the Walton Family Foundation In a Nutshell: Based on previous on-farm research he has conducted,[1] Sam Bennett has seen evidence that a cereal rye cover crop can suppress weeds and reduce herbicide inputs …
This is a joint project between Practical Farmers of Iowa and Iowa Learning Farms. Summary Farmers reported that in 63 of 70 site-years, properly managed cover crops had little to no negative effect on corn and soybean yield …
This research was funded by the following organizations: The Walton Family Foundation General Mills Grain Millers, Inc. Albert Lea Seed House Sustainable Food Lab Welter Seed and Honey Co. In a Nutshell: 16 oat varieties were screened at …
