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
Filter Research
This research was funded by Ceres Trust. In a Nutshell: Arugula is a popular crop in farmers markets and Community Supported Agriculture, but the risk of flea beetle damage is high. Emily Fagan, Hannah Breckbill and Jon Yagla …
This research was funded by the 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 …
In a Nutshell The practice of cover crop grazing provides economic returns, and farmers wonder if benefits to soil health follow suit. Economic returns are realized within a year’s time, while soil health impacts are slower to manifest. …
This research was funded by Ceres Trust. In a Nutshell Kathy Dice assessed mass loss of green and black tea bags buried in four diverse agroforestry sites, one wooded site and one conventional crop field. Mass loss of …
This research was funded by the Walton Family Foundation. In a Nutshell: July harvest of Tom Frantzen’s organic hybrid rye crop affords him the opportunity to grow a nitrogen-fixing green manure between rye harvest and planting corn the …
This research was funded by the Walton Family Foundation. In a Nutshell: The objective of this trial was to determine the most profitable and sustainable green manure system for planting between winter wheat and corn. Sloan compared cover …
This research was funded by McDonald’s and USDA – Natural Resource Conservation Service. In a Nutshell: Oats were once a common feed source for livestock, but over the last seventy years were replaced by corn. Farmers have a …
This research was funded by Ceres Trust. In a Nutshell: Mid-summer cabbage is popular, so Carmen & Maja Black, Kate Edwards, Alice McGary, Hannah Breckbill & Emily Fagan wanted to determine which cabbage variety: Farao, Red Express, Tiara, …
This research was funded by the Walton Family Foundation. In a Nutshell: Jack Boyer was curious to determine if the benefits of long-term cover cropping to soil health would allow him to reduce his nitrogen program. In a …
This research was funded by the Walton Family Foundation. In a Nutshell: Dick Sloan questions the value of neonicotinoid seed treatments and is concerned about their negative impacts. Th e objective of this trial was to measure the …
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. In the second year of a two-year project, four cooperators …
This research was funded by the Walton Family Foundation. In a Nutshell: The objective of this trial was to determine the effect of seeding a cereal rye companion cover crop just prior to planting organic soybeans on weed …
