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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Crown rust of oats is a plague that has been around as long as oats have been raised in the Midwest. It’s often invisible, but crown rust sometimes devastates the crop, as in 1996 in northeast Iowa. PFI …
Doug Alert and Margaret Smith (Hampton) grow soybeans once in their five-year rotation. They wondered whether under those conditions there is a significant benefit to inoculating soybean seed with a fresh dose of the Rhizobia bacteria that fix …
By Richard and Sharon Thompson “We started farming together in 1958 with the high inputs of purchased fertilizer, herbicides and insecticides that were required with the continuous corn program. In 1968 we changed back to a rotation of …
Sweetcorn is one of the most popular treats from the garden and an easy crop to grow for farmers accustomed to raising field corn. Unfortunately, sweetcorn isn’t easy to grow well because of the worms that often infest …
In 2007 Paul and Karen Mugge (Sutherland) carried on a line of questioning researched earlier by Kathleen Delate, ISU Organics Specialist. Paul wanted to know where to put flax in the crop rotation and how to prepare the …
Project Summary Six certified organic farmers and one conventional farmer tested three weed management strategies for flax at nine sites in 2005 and 2006. Drilled flax with no underseeding was compared to flax grown with alfalfa and with …
If there is anything we know for sure it is that tillage destroys weeds. Yes, but phrase it differently, and the truth shifts. Tillage can stimulate weeds. Repeated, light spring tillage is used to “wake up” – and …
The PFI research summary for 2001 reported on the composting project that PFI cooperators were carrying out with ISU scientists Tom Richard and Matt Liebman and graduate student Terry Loecke. The research had to do with the bedding-manure …
Sustainable farmers are often more concerned about corn’s nutritional quality for their livestock or their consumers than in, say, the crop’s characteristics as a feedstock for ethanol fermentation or how many transgenic traits are stacked into its DNA. …
Since 2006, Iowa State University has supported on-farm research through the ISU On-Farm Research and Demonstration Program, and PFI has helped promote this program. Projects submitted for funding must represent collaborations of farmers and ISU faculty, staff, or …
The swine industry is in change. Consumers are showing interest in pork that “tells a story” of sustainable farming in concert with the environment and quality of life ideals. A growing number of farmers who raise pigs on …
Iowa is a leader in a new kind of soybean thanks to ISU plant breeder Walt Fehr and to several farmer organizations that are promoting soybeans low in linolenic acid. The oil from these “low-lin” soybeans does not …
