One year's seeding: a seedbank approach to sustainable weed management

One year's seeding: a seedbank approach to sustainable weed management

Summary

To fulfill the lack of information available on sustainable weed management the extension bulletin “Integrated Weed Management ‘One Year’s Seeding…’” (IWM) was released in February 2005 as the result of a collaborative effort of researchers, extension educators, and producers. Since then over 2,000 copies have been sold, several workshops have been held to present the information to North Central Region farmers, and seven on-farm trials have been conducted to test some of the weed management methods published. Thus far, information we have collected from growers indicates that these activities have increased their knowledge of the diversity of weed management techniques.

Objectives/Performance Targets

This project addresses the lack of practical information on sustainable weed management by engaging farmers and land-grant professionals in a continuous improvement process. A decision support manual for ecological weed management (Integrated Weed Management: One year's seeding... E-2931 Michigan State University Extension bulletin) will be presented to farmers, farmers will be asked to use and evaluate the manual, and the manual will be revised according to farmer feedback.

In the short-term, over 400 producers and extension agents will learn to use a practical manual for sustainable weed seedbank management at workshops in MI, IN, OH, IA, MN, and WI. The manual will help farmers manage the whole weed life cycle, rather than focus on the seedling stage only.

In the intermediate-term, up to 70 producer-evaluators (PE's) in five states will use the manual to help them manage weeds on their farms and record impacts on their operations. Over 50% of the PE's will diversify their approach to weed management as a result of using the manual. Eight on-farm trials will explore new management options for reducing weed seedbanks through sustainable practices. At least 30 PE's will evaluate on-farm trials and share results of their own field-tests. Feedback from producer workshops and PE's who use the manual on their own farms, in addition to results of on-farm trials, will be used to improve the first edition of the Integrated Weed Management Guide.

In the long term, this project will give farmers practical alternatives to over-reliance on herbicide resistant crops and chemically intensive post emergence weed control. The rapid loss of hard-won farmer knowledge of integrated weed management will be slowed, or even reversed, as farmers are engaged in the process of making practical knowledge available for their neighbors and for future farmers. Stronger partnerships between farmers and university personnel will be formed, with better correspondence between farmer needs and researcher activities, resulting in a sustainable agriculture that gains its strength from both human relationships and scientific understanding.

Accomplishments/Milestones

The 2,000 copies of the IWM bulletin that have been sold thus far have reached beyond the North Central Region, spanning from Wyoming to Delaware and into three provinces in Canada.

Listed below are the meeting locations, dates, and attendance for 2005-2006 for the workshops held covering the “Integrated Weed Management ‘One Year’s Seeding…’” (IWM) extension bulletin.

Meeting Location
Meeting Date
Attendance

Dane and Columbia Co., WI
03.09.06
17

Dunn Co., WI
03.10.06
26

Branch Co., MI
02.21.05
60

Clinton Co., MI
03.03.05
28

Gratiot Co., MI
02.01.05
13

Kalamazoo Co., MI
01.28.05
170

Lapeer Co., MI
03.16.05
35

Monmouth, IL
08.17.05

65

Ottawa Co., MI
03.02.05
5

Sanilac Co., MI
03.03.05
25

Tuscola Co., MI
12.20.04
125

Total
569

With attendance of 569 people to our workshops we have exceeded our original short term goal of reaching 400 farmers and extension agents. Evaluations, filled out at the end of 4 of the workshops in 2005, revealed that overall attendees rated their increase in overall knowledge and understanding of weeds at ~3.7 on a scale of 1 to 5 (1= none, 5= a lot). When asked about the likelihood that the information they learned would change the way they managed weeds the average rating was a ~3.6 on a scale of 1 to 5 (1=none, 5= a lot). Based on this feedback and the verbal communications of the farmers at the other workshops, the meetings are proving effective. Currently, we are holding further meetings to introduce the guide to more farmers in MI, IL, MN, and WI.

To meet our intermediate project goal, we sent out 110 evaluations to growers who both attended a workshop and purchased the bulletin. Through these extensive, 21 page evaluations we collected information on improvements that could be made the IWM bulletin to create an improved second edition. Forty-seven of the evaluations were returned. The responses clearly indicated that growers increased their awareness of sustainable weed control options through information learned from this bulletin, and they requested additional information in key aspects of weed management.

Comments from growers in regard to the IWM bulletin:
•“Over the years I have acquired several books and pamphlets on weeds and the control of weeds. I have ranked your IWM as one of my BEST. Please continue to expand our knowledge on this subject.” (Dennis Kellogg, Carson City, MI).
•“I learned a lot of things that will help me in my weed control. I feel more confident knowing more about some problem weeds on my farm. I now know when to spray them so that I can control them.” (Paul Swartzendruber, Pigeon, MI)
•“This manual provides a very good start for the complex journey of learning to manage weed populations in a biologically based system.” (John Simmons, North Branch, MI)
•“Has a lot of good points in controlling weeds. It will be useful in the years to come. Already use some of the practices and maybe use some of the other ideas that I have not thought of or known about. ” (Anonymous)
•“I have been an agronomist for almost 20 years and a CCA for over 15. I sincerely appreciate having a reference that is useful to both the experienced and novice. I learned things reading this book, which was an unexpected and wonderful surprise. I am glad that it goes beyond introductory.” (Anonymous)
•“I have seen some good resources on weed control in my 30 plus years of organic farming although nothing compares to the quality of this book. Not only is this a good reference book, it is a book that should be mandatory reading for every organic/sustainable farmer during the winter months when time usually allows for more detailed reading.” (Dave Campbell, Maple Park, IL)

A brief survey of the North Central Weed Science Society listserv, that includes weed extension educators and university faculty, showed that the IWM bulletin has been a valuable resource.

Comments from extension personnel and university faculty:
•“I have used this bulletin quite a bit for extension presentations. The bulletin is extremely helpful.” (Mark VanGessel, University of Delaware)
•“I have used the IWM bulletin for extension talks. I also taught Weed Management in the off-campus graduate program, and required the students to buy it for class.” (George F. Czapar, University of Illinois)
•“What a great resource. I distribute copies to interested ag producers in the county and the bulletin is well received by those who are actually questioning their farming practice. I have referred the bulletin to the University of Wyoming Cooperative Extension where there was great interest.” (John L. (Lars) Baker, Fremont County Weed and Pest, WY)

Overall, the evaluation of the IWM bulletin has shown it is an excellent resource; however, there are still several areas where survey participants thought it could be expanded. Evaluators suggested a ‘Part II’ or ‘Supplement’ to the IWM bulletin, to complement what they currently are using as a reference. We are currently seeking opportunities to fund the creation of a supplement to the IWM bulletin.

Another intermediate goal of this project was to hold on-farm, grower-designed trials to test some of the weed management strategies mentioned in the bulletin. For the 2006 growing season we were able to fund seven successful on-farm trials. Three of these trials were in Michigan, 2 in Illinois, and 2 in Iowa. Projects titles included:
Flaming and rotary hoeing in soybeans (Alma, MI) and corn (Creston and Panora, IA)
•Cover crops for Canada thistle suppression (Maple Park, IL)
•Intercropping for weed control in corn (Alma, MI)
•Cultivator comparisons for weed management (Schoolcraft, MI)
•Effects of corn planting time on weeds (Good Hope, IL)

The results of these trials were presented at the Great Lakes Vegetable and Farm Market Expo in Grand Rapids, MI and a panel of the participating Michigan growers was available for audience questions. The results were also presented at the 2006 North Central Weed Science Society annual meeting in Milwaukee, WI. We are planning to repeat most of these trials in 2007 along with adding some additional trials.

The workshops, on-farm trials, and presentations at meetings thus far have set us up to meet our long term objective of increasing farmer awareness of alternative methods of weed control. We are also creating a bond between the grower and researcher communities. Furthermore, we anticipate that the information collected from the IWM bulletin evaluations will help us meet the long term goal of focusing research on farmers needs.

Impacts and Contributions/Outcomes

So far the feedback we are receiving from the IWM bulletin evaluations, workshops, on-farm trials, and meeting presentations have increased farmer’s awareness and implementation of sustainable weed control options in the North Central Region.