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An assessment of on-farm experiment designs and implications for involving farmers and extension agents in applied agronomy research
Abstract
Research and demonstration trials conducted on farms involving the farmer, standard farm equipment, and local extension agents can provide unique opportunities for obtaining information and transferring technology. This study began as an investigation to determine whether experimental error was controlled on a wide variety of field trials that used plots larger than normally used by researchers. The level of experimental error in all the trials was well within normally accepted limits for research in agronomy. Plots ranging in length from 38 to 365 m and as wide as one or two passes of standard farm machinery gave statistically sound results. The objectives of the next phase of the study were to assess the involvement of farmers in on-farm testing and their opinions concerning experiment station trials, demonstration plots, and on-farm research. A mail survey of a random sample of Nebraska crop producers and two special interest groups was conducted. Comparisons of response frequencies were made by educational level, age, area farmed, percent of land rented, and between sample groups using Chi-square $(X\sp2)$ tests of association. Seventy-one percent of the random sample participants conducted on-farm comparisons of new technology with their current farming practices. Willingness to participate in university-based on-farm research using field-length strip plots was most evident among younger participants and those who rented a portion of the land they farmed. Approximately one-third of the random sample participants were willing to use an experimental design involving replication and randomization for their own on-farm tests. The final phase of the study was to assess the capabilities and interests of Nebraska extension agents to be involved in on-farm research. Agent responses indicated strong support for applied research and willingness to be active participants in the planning and analysis of on-farm experiments using farm machinery. They requested designs that are simple and provide reliable results. More training in statistical analysis and in selection of experimental designs needs to be provided to the agents.
Subject Area
Agronomy|Agricultural education|School administration
Recommended Citation
Rzewnicki, Philippe Edward, "An assessment of on-farm experiment designs and implications for involving farmers and extension agents in applied agronomy research" (1991). ETD collection for University of Nebraska-Lincoln. AAI9219386.
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/dissertations/AAI9219386