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Throughout history, agricultural innovation has sprung from the
creativity of farmers. Many of the techniques currently in practice
originated when creative farmers faced the challenges of farming,
and developed a new way to farm better.
Since 1995, the RAFI-USA On-Farm Research program
has assisted peanut and cotton farmers in northeast North Carolina
in developing the answers that they need to stay ahead of the changes
in agriculture by doing their own research and sharing information.
RAFI staff assist farmers in using statistics to get more information
and a greater level of confidence in the experiments that farmers
have always done, and to share information with other farmers and
agriculture professionals.
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| Activities include:
- field experiments of reduced-pesticide pest management
strategies and crop management techniques including biological
control of pests and soil quality
- field days and farm tours
- information sharing meetings
- newsletters.
Basic to this program are the ideas that:
- The solutions that farmers need to survive and prosper
will be found on the farm, and that the experience of farmers
is integral to innovation.
- Economic, environmental and community sustainability
are complimentary rather than mutually exclusive.
- Everyone benefits when farmers interact with other farmers,
university researchers and other agriculture professionals
as peers and share information freely.
- The current problems in agriculture today are too complex
and change too rapidly to be addressed through traditional
technology transfer models.
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On-Farm Research Resources
A Non-Wonk Guide to
Understanding Federal Commodity Payments.
May 2005 (PDF, 4 MB). A 30-page publication explaining how
field crop commodity programs work.
View North Carolina
On-Farm Research. May 2003 (PDF file). Newsletter
topics include cotton tillage practices, wasps to control
bean beetles, steps to a successful research project, weed
control for firs, organic apples and reducing peanut production
costs.
Order the RAFI-USA printed 1998 report, The Peanut
Project: Farmer-Focused Innovation for Sustainable Peanut
Production, from our Publicationspage
(look under "Print Publications.") RAFI-USA's Peanut
Project assisted peanut farmers in eliminating over 25,000
pounds of active ingredient of pesticides on over 2000 acres.
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| Field research
Farmers involved in the RAFI On-Farm Research program use paired-comparison
statistics to test production methods. A list of experiments includes
integrated pest management strategies for thrips and corn rootworm
in peanuts, biological control of peanut diseases, comparisons of
alternative growth regulators and defoliants in cotton, and comparisons
of cover crop species.
In 2001, based on farmer observations of the effects of limited
soil quality on peanut and cotton yields, the On-Farm Research Program
began a soil quality initiative with the goal of increasing the
health of their farms and further reducing their dependence on off-farm
inputs. This work included intensive monitoring of soil quality
parameters and comparisons of the effects of production practices
on soil quality.
During 2000 and 2001 RAFI staff partnered with faculty of North
Carolina State University and North Carolina A&T State University
to teach a course on participatory on-farm research to North Carolina
cooperative extension agents. Agents from across the state participated
in the class. Projects that originated in that class and have continued
include strip till versus conventional till cotton, production of
organic apples, weed control in Christmas tree production, and others.
RAFI staff continue to advise these projects on experiment design,
analysis, and program administration.
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