Project Overview

View the project final report

• 2012 annual report
• 2013 annual report
• 2014 annual report

Commodities

• Agronomic: corn, soybeans, sunflower, wheat, grass (misc. perennial), hay

• Animals: bovine

Practices

• Animal Production: grazing - rotational, feed/forage

• Crop Production: crop rotation

• Farm Business Management: new enterprise development, budgets/cost and returns, agricultural finance

• Pest Management: mulches - killed, cultivation

• Production Systems: agroecosystems, organic agriculture

• Soil Management: soil microbiology, soil chemistry, organic matter, soil quality/health

The Long-Term Farming System Research trial (FSRU) at the Center for Environmental Farming Systems (CEFS) was initiated in 1999 and comprises more than 200 acres with 5 different systems replicated 3 times. The objectives for initiating this trial 16 years ago were to research: 1) how the various systems impact long-term sustainability of soil and water resources, 2) whether some systems are more resilient to perturbations in weather, input and market prices, and 3) how the systems impact biodiversity, wildlife, pest dynamics and the ecological services of farmland. Our study is designed to provide a better understanding of how different systems interact with and impact the natural resource base and economic viability of farms, as well as identify alternative approaches with potential for synergistic effects, such as diversification, access to direct markets, and environmental conservation.

Over time the FSRU systems experiment has become irreplaceably unique for several reasons. First is the comprehensive nature of the systems being studied and their relevancy in the South. Second, the scale (200 acres) and large plot size gives us the ability to study important production system dynamics (e.g., insect and disease management) that others cannot, making our results more relevant to producers. We are also a model of inter-institutional collaboration with involvement of various departments and colleges at each 1890 and 1862 Land Grant university, the NC Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, and NGOs as diverse as Carolina Farm Stewardship Association and the NC Farm Bureau. Our systems experiment has also integrated outreach at every level with farmer involvement in both research and educational programming.