2005 On-Farm Research ProjectsThe five On-Farm Research projects selected for funding in 2005 offered some particularly innovative approaches to problem solving. Reviewers liked the bold approach of OS05-023 that seeks to demonstrate a farm system that would produce ethanol for farm vehicles while increasing the nutritional value in corn for cattle feed. While questioning the widespread applicability for other farmers, they gave it high marks for it fresh approach to an important problem, for investigating an alternative crop and for having a creative, capable and entrepreneurial farmer cooperator. A competitive proposal shows efficient, integrated use of on-farm resources like OS05-024 which will use warm season native grasses, no-till practices, and perhaps, even existing weeds to improve marginal, rocky land prone to erosion while also providing grazing for cattle. Reviewers like for a research project to show clear methodology such at OS05-025 which will build on previous and conflicting comparisons of salmonell contamination and antibiotic resistance in pastured poultry and conventionally raised poultry. However, a project doesn't have to be devoted to pure research. Reviewers recognize the importance of novel ways to help producers understand the impacts their production practices have on their natural resources such as in project OS05-026 which uses a dye in irrgation water to help farmers track water movement in their soil. Make it easy for reviewers to see that your proposal addresses all three areas of sustainable agriculture:profitability, environmental soundness and benefits to society. Project OS05-027 clearly pointed out how changing the way coffee seedlings are planted would save tons of precious soil, storage space in nurseries, hours of labor, and chemical exposure to laborers while making more profit for the coffee growers. You can keep up with these projects by reading progress reports which are posted online each April. Just click on Projects and follow the link to the data base.
OS05-023 Livestock and FeedstockA farmer with a stable, diversified operation can provide for many of his own needs, thereby safeguarding his ability to maintain operations during times when market volatility unsettles his economic viability. Some safeguarding steps addressed in this project include enhancing the quality of the feedstock and producing low-cost fuels for energy use and backup. In some parts of the country distillers grains, a by-product of ethanol production, provide an important livestock feed supplement, but not in the South where there is a dearth of ethanol manufacturing facilities. It is possible for a dairy farmer to coordinate activities that will produce an excellent distiller's grain to augment dietary supplements for their cattle while producing energy efficient and ecologically-sound fuel ethanol. We seek to evaluate through demonstration a system where value-added processing of feed for dairy animals also produces clean energy as fuel ethanol. Efficient processing of high-protein distiller's grains enhances dietary supplements to dairy cattle while adding the benefits of fuel ethanol to farm energy resources. The corn remaining after distillation has 13% increased nutritional value and can be used immediately as feed. Also, having the product on site allows the farmer to locate feeding stations throughout his farm, thereby reducing manure build-up. Producing "in-house" non-competitive grain, fuel, and other byproducts stabilizes farming operations allowing the farmer to be self-sufficient during the times when market values are not favorable for his particular production efforts. Sustainability becomes not only a year-round practical use of resources, it becomes a year-after-year production-based operation suited to individual needs for each farm. Peggy Gates Korth OS05-024 Sustainable Grazing Systems for Arkansas : Native warm season grass establishment and control of cool season annual weedsA sustainable grazing system is a large component of conservation planning in USDA farm bill programs such Conservation Security Program (CSP), Environmental Quality Incentive Program (EQIP) and Grasslands Reserve Program (GRP). These programs are primarily geared to rewarding farmers for good stewardship, encouraging practices that protect water quality and prevent soil erosion, and allowing economic sustainability of grazing lands to be compatible with conservation practices that encourage quality wildlife habitat. Therefore, we need scientific based information to use in educational programs that teach farmers how to carry out sustainable grazing practices and about the benefits achieved. Additionally, we need a collaborative effort of technical specialists in cooperative extension and NRCS to study these relationships and transfer the knowledge to the farmers and educators planning these practices. A component of grasslands management that needs more work is the use of native warm season grasses in grazing programs. At present, seeding recommendations entail a prepared seedbed to ensure success; unfortunately, the land that would benefit wildlife habitat the most is marginal land that can be rocky and erosive. This is land that cannot be plowed or have a recommended seedbed prepared. Therefore, we need information on how to establish the native warm season grasses through a no-till program. A second area of concern is the management of forbs (weeds) in a grazing situation. Typical recommendations are to control weeds through some type of herbicide treatment. There are several research programs being implemented that reflect that certain forbs in a grazing program have some type of medicinal advantage, particularly in the control of internal parasites. Farmers learn from farmers. Additionally, demonstrations of practices and on-farm research results are more meaningful to farmers for a variety of reasons. The primary reason is because they view that the research is conducted under conditions similar to their farms and is therefore more meaningful to them than what they view as idealistic conditions at research centers. For example, data collected on farms through the University of Arkansas Beef Improvement Program in recent years has shown that an intensive rotational grazing program of stockpiled fescue increases the days grazed from 35 days under continuous grazing to 88 days per acre. These results are used at the AGLAC grazing workshops and are well received by the farmers and educators attending; however, we need more information like this. Therefore, we propose to establish on-farm research activities regarding sustainable grazing systems for Arkansas . No-till establishment of native warm season grasses will be studied on farms using combinations of prescribed burning, early season grazing and spraying with herbicides to control competition prior to no-till establishment. Both fall and spring burnings will be utilized. These plantings will be on marginal land acreages that are adjacent to wooded areas and may be rocky, on sloping ground or have a brush competition. The plantings will be grazed in a rotational grazing program to protect the development and growth of the grasses. Data gathered will be botanical composition shifts, labor and costs associated with the treatments, and productivity of the planted acreages. A strength of a management-intensive grazing program is the use of paddocks in a grazing cell as replications of treatments. This approach has been used very successfully at the University of Missouri Wurdack Farm to study the establishment of various grasses in a grazing program. In this project we will study the use of grazing management as a tool in controlling the cool season annual forbs commonly controlled through the use of herbicides. We will use various stock densities and grazing frequency to control the weeds. Data gathered will be botanical composition of the paddocks on the farms, before and after grazing composition, and a complete inventory of the weeds on the farm. Chemical control will be used as a control treatment on some of the farms. Additionally, the weeds will be scored on the perceived benefits in the control of internal parasites and the livestock grazed will be monitored for fecal egg counts. Ron Morrow OS05-025 Salmonella Contamination and Antibiotic Resistance on Pasture Poultry and Conventional Poultry farmsConsumers are concerned about Salmonella contamination on poultry farms. Poultry has been implicated as an important reservoir of Salmonella. There have been claims that the pasture-raised poultry have an increased probability of being contaminated with Salmonella , due to the birds being raised outdoors. However, many proponents of pasture poultry claim that pasture-raised poultry is nearly Salmonella -free. There is little relevant data showing whether pasture poultry farms have high or low levels of Salmonella contamination. The main goal in this research is to provide data concerning Salmonella contamination on pasture poultry farms in comparison to contamination levels found on conventional farms. The southeastern region of the United States is home to many conventional poultry farms, supplying much of the country with poultry. Conventional poultry farms use low-dose antibiotics in the feed, which can lead to the development of antibiotic resistance in bacteria, such as Salmonella , that live within the intestinal tract of the birds. The World Health Organization is urging farmers throughout the world to control, limit or eliminate low-dose antibiotic use in the feeds of food animals such as poultry because of the direct antibiotic-resistance development within the bacteria. Antibiotic resistant bacteria can be passed on to humans through the food chain, which results in an infection resistant to antibiotic treatment. Salmonella is commonly widespread throughout the world and several serotypes of Salmonella often exhibit resistance to multiple antibiotic agents. Conventionally raised poultry may contribute to the growth and expansion of antibiotic resistance as there is a constant selective pressure due to low-level antibiotic use, as growth promoters. I have completed a pilot research project on the issue of Salmonella contamination and antibiotic resistance on pasture and conventional poultry farms in Wisconsin . Thirty poultry fecal droppings from nine pasture poultry and nine conventional poultry farms were collected and screened for the presence of Salmonella . The results showed that four out of nine conventional farms (45%) were infected with Salmonella and two out of nine pasture poultry farms (22%) were infected with Salmonella . A contingency table was constructed and a Fisher's Exact Test was performed. Salmonella contamination was found to not be dependent on the farming type (p = 0.6171 at 95% confidence). The results from my study in Wisconsin came as a surprise to my North Carolina State University collaborators because the preliminary findings from their studies of swine, farms that don't use antibiotics have higher Salmonella contamination than the farms that do use antibiotics. Prompted by this observation, I was encouraged to apply for support to be able to include a wider geographical area in my study (extend my research to the southeast region) where I am currently located. By doing this I may be able to reach more valid and conclusive findings in the two production systems. By doing this research in the southeast a comparison with the findings in Wisconsin and a better understanding of the contamination of Salmonella on pasture poultry compared to conventional poultry could be established. I would also test each Salmonella isolate for antibiotic resistance to see if farms using antibiotics are contributing to the expansion of antibiotic resistance in Salmonella . Cedarose Siemon OS05-026 Optimization of Irrigation Practices in Organic and Sustainable Vegetable Production with Soluble Dye as an Educational ToolTwo water-related issues are threatening the long-term sustainability of vegetable production in the Southeastern United States . First, because of high fertility levels used, vegetable production is considered a non-source pollution for the high nitrate levels found in the ground water and surface water of many watersheds including the Suwannee River basin. Second, as competition between urban, recreational, industrial, and agricultural users increases, water allotment and restrictions are becoming a reality. In short, irrigation water is becoming a valuable resource that needs to be adequately managed. This issue affects sustainable as well as certified organic growers. The environmental impact of intensive vegetable production may be reduced through the implementation of Best Management Practices (BMPs) that integrate water and nutrient management together. The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services plans to adopt by rule early 2005, the ' Florida Vegetable and Agronomic Crop Water Quality and Quantity BMP Manual' . While the effect of fertilization on nutrient discharge is well documented, too often the vector of nutrient movement in soils - water - is overlooked. As a team, we believe that the main obstacle in reaching a higher level of sustainability is the current level of irrigation management. Growers often cite the fact that they cannot see water movements in the soil as a major factor in visualizing and understanding how above-ground practices affect under-ground water and fertilizer movement. Water movement in the soil can be visualized by injecting soluble dye in the irrigation water and digging soil profiles to see where the water has moved. We have first-hand experience on how powerful these dye demonstrations are because growers for the first time see the connection between irrigation management and under-ground water movement Eric Simonne OS05-027 Coffee Seedlings in Forestry TubesThis project involves nursery production and transplanting of coffee seedlings in Puerto Rico. It seeks to reduce environmental damages of topsoil mining and reduce labor costs involved with transplanting coffee by using soil-less potting mixes in a tube system that is currently in use in forestry enterprises in the US such as Weyerhaeuser Company. These same concepts will also be applied in the production of the related citrus crops that are used in the integrated agro forestry production system. In Puerto Rico all coffee plants are still started in flats and then transplanted into plastic bags filled with soil. These bags weigh about 6-7 pounds and are then transplanted to the fields that are typically 40-60% slopes. Topsoil needs to be mined for filling the bags. Soil extraction permits are increasingly difficult to obtain from the Puerto Rico Department of Natural Resources. The present growing system creates environmental degradation because the large internal volume of the plastic bag (113 cubic inches) requires the use of large amounts of precious mountain topsoil; excavation of expansive nursery yards on steep mountain slopes to house the nurseries resulting in erosion and sitting of streams; and high use of agricultural chemicals both in quality and variety. All agricultural chemicals and fertilizers are applied by hand or by knapsack sprayers in the nursery thereby exposing workers to noxious materials. The large nursery areas necessitate the use of long range impact sprinklers. They are wasteful of waters in an island suffering a chronic water shortage. The bags are used only once and are not recycled, ending as litter on the fields or occupying space in overflowing landfills many already in violation of federal environmental laws. The aforementioned problems have been recognized by the local Department of Agriculture and the need to go beyond this antiquated technology but so far no concrete alternatives have been suggested. We propose to substitute the plastic bag system for one based on the use of forestry planting tubes. This system has never been used in coffee production in Puerto Rico though it is being used in coffee production in Australia . This system uses a growing medium based on organic materials such as coconut fiber, bark, rice hulls, coffee parchment and/or coffee hulls. Another major component are such minerals as vermiculite, perlite and pumice. The forestry tube requires only 1/11 of the growing medium volume needed by the plastic bag; it needs only 1/8 of the nursery space; and weighs at most 4 ounces (plant and tube combined) while the plastic bag weighs 25 times that amount. It replaces scare mountain topsoil as a growing medium with abundant renewable materials most of which are locally available. Because of the concentration of many plants in a small space, the reduced growing volume and its absence of pathogens the amount and variety of pesticides are much diminished. Irrigation waters are saved because wasteful and imprecise long range sprinklers are replaced by more efficient mini-sprinklers. Waters use is further reduced because the smaller volume of growing medium and higher concentration of plants per unit area require less water to saturate the containers. The mini-sprinklers also allow fertilizers and ag chemicals to be applied in solution in the irrigation water, not a practical possibility with the larger sprinklers. Thus contact of workers with chemicals is avoided and savings in labor used in spraying applications is achieved. Steven L. Welker Back to Why We Picked Them |
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