Project Overview

View the project final report

Commodities

• Agronomic: corn, rye, grass (misc. perennial), hay

• Fruits: melons

• Vegetables: peppers, sweet corn, tomatoes

Practices

• Animal Production: feed/forage

• Crop Production: cover crops, application rate management, conservation tillage

• Education and Training: technical assistance, demonstration, display, extension, farmer to farmer, networking, on-farm/ranch research, participatory research

• Farm Business Management: new enterprise development

• Pest Management: allelopathy, biological control, chemical control, competition, cultural control, economic threshold, field monitoring/scouting, integrated pest management, mulches - killed, mulches - living, physical control, precision herbicide use

• Production Systems: transitioning to organic, agroecosystems, holistic management

• Soil Management: earthworms, green manures, soil analysis, nutrient mineralization, organic matter, soil quality/health

• Sustainable Communities: public participation, analysis of personal/family life, employment opportunities

Field days allow others to see for themselves how cropping strategies work on the ground. The farmer, who has experience hosting events that feature his use of cover crops, long-term no-till, and crop rotation, will show farmers new cropping strategies that increase profits, reduce pesticides, and improve soil health. He will also educate the general public about what farmers are doing to be good stewards of the lands and water, and promote the acceptance of the principles of sustainability by demonstrating its effect on his farm’s health and profitability.