1991 Annual Report for ANC91-003
Proven Sustainable Practices from Nebraska Farmers
Summary
Rationale:
Farmers and ranchers in Nebraska are currently using a number of practices that they consider
components of sustainable production systems. Some of these practices are well known and
accepted, and many have been substantiated by experiment station research on replicated on-farm
research plots. Continued use of any specific practices depends on its profitability, and its
contribution to conservation of resources or long-term productivity potential, or its role in an
ecologically sound production system. This project is designed to bring together farmer/rancher
experience and credibility with supporting data and reports from research and Extension.
Objectives:
1) Conduct interviews with Nebraska farmers and ranchers to determine which practices and
systems have proven to contribute to the sustainability of production and profit in their
operations.
2) Summarize results of interviews in language that is easily understood by farmer and rancher
clients and summarize the description of each practice in a two-page format including data and/or
supporting figures.
3) Cross-reference each farmer/rancher practice to one or more Extension publications and
Nebraska Sustainable Agriculture Society farmer fact sheets, and Nebraska Farmer articles to
add credibility to the recommendation and provide a source of more information.
4) Organize and publish at least 100 farmer/rancher practices in a book that is cross referenced by
crop, practice, and location in the state, and by farmer name.
Methods and Results:
More than 30 interviews were conducted with Nebraska producers and summarized into reports.
Extension specialists were asked to review these reports to check all the facts. The new materials
were presented in a number of Extension meetings, at a state-wide Agronomy Department
"highlights" program, and a national meeting poster with the American Society of Agronomy
(1992). Names of producers, ideas about practices, and names of resource people in Cooperative
Extension were provided to the Nebraska Farmer magazine. Copies of the completed fact sheets
have been distributed at meetings and to Extension Educators in Nebraska.