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Network helps Iowa farmersBy Jennifer Bremer Increasing profitability by working with other farmers to learn new and improved management practices is the goal of the Iowa Soybean Association's On-Farm Network. Boone County farmer Ron Heck was instrumental in starting the network seven years ago. "We saw a need to share information among farmers to become better producers of both soybeans and corn," he said. Heck, who served as president of both ISA and the American Soybean Association and farms 3,600 acres of soybeans and corn, used his experiences representing farmers as a way to communicate with people in all aspects of production. The On-Farm Network is a collection of over 300 growers who conduct meaningful on-farm evaluation of products and practices that may impact their farm profits. In 1994, Heck received the first yield map of his farm. That information proved to be extremely important and he still receives yield maps each year. "I thought I knew the answers as to how to improve production on my farm, but the yield maps just raised more questions that needed to be answered," he explained. The next step Heck took was doing precision farming research on his farm in cooperation with Iowa State University. He said this gave him some very useful information and allowed for some good recommendations for farmers, but more information was still needed. "That was when the ISA Board decided to start the On-Farm Network in order to answer a wide array of questions brought up by farmers," said Heck. Group gets answers The Network was the first group to take advantage of technology and get real world answers to questions related to nitrogen needs, environment, fungicide treatments, row spacing, tillage and many other subjects. The Network started in 2000 as a nitrogen management network. While nitrogen management is still one of the focal points of this farmer conducted, farmer driven research program, growers are also involved in other areas of research. Trials are done to compare the current management practices to alternative nitrogen management practices, and it is done on their farm in controlled, replicated trials. Because the ISA wanted to make sure the trial and research was done properly, staff members were added to watch over the program. This summer, the Network received its fourth Conservation Innovation Grant from the NRCS in four years. Conservation Innovation Grants are awarded from the Environmental Quality Incentives Program to fund groups and organizations that are looking for new ways to encourage conservation and environmentally conscious crop production. The $750,000 grant ISA received will be used in 2008 to continue On-Farm Network studies in nitrogen and manure management in Iowa and the partnership program in the Upper Chesapeake Bay watershed which was started this year. Program is credible, convincing The process used by the On-Farm Network has credibility and has proven to be profitable and convincing for growers because the methods used are scientifically sound. Participants make comparisons using replicated strips of each practice, such as varying N application rates or testing the use of fungicide versus no fungicide, and measuring the grain yield at harvest. Trials are generally conducted over one variable, comparing a normal practice with a possible change. Accurate comparisons of the different options mean a management improvement can be identified or growers can establish that their current practice is better than the alternative tested. Heck said the use of GPS and yield monitors can ensure accuracy and reliability of the data generated. "This is a huge piece of the puzzle because we can coordinate what we want in the two tests and get results over several years. It is an ultimate conclusion of a sophisticated trial and error test," he said. He said this system has continually worked toward providing farmers answers to their production questions, with the answers coming from farmers, crop protection companies, herbicide and pesticide companies, cooperatives, the state legislature, Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, the federal government, Natural Resources Conservation Service and many others. Changes seen "Two of the most important changes seen with this Network are nitrogen application on corn and planting management," said Heck. The Network recommends applying a lower rate of nitrogen on corn with spring application. In quite a few soil types this practice works best and will help producers save money in the end. He said learning proper planting management includes the correct seed population, proper tillage programs and the proper fungicide application amount. Heck practices minimal tillage on his farm and has altered several pieces of machinery to get the proper amount of tillage in his fields. He has a good relationship with a local company that makes disk blades and has changed his disk blades from the traditional round one to a square-shaped blade that moves the soil more with less compaction. "The key is to mix the soil and corn stalks enough for the stalks to decompose. This blade serves more as a rotary tool and keeps from disturbing the soil as much," he explained. Most disking is done in the fall, while he uses the altered field cultivator more in the spring. His cultivator has been altered from the traditional v-shaped blade to a round, wavy blade. This blade allows for leveling of the soil in the field without disturbing the soil. It also pulls behind a tractor easier and saves both soil and fuel. Results The changes he has made have helped when it comes to soybean harvest time, with a higher yield in fields that may have been a problem in the past. The 2007 growing season has been a challenge for many farmers across Iowa. Heck said with wet conditions both early and late in the season, he expects to see a slight yield loss, but yields are expected to be in the 50 bushels per acre mark. He expects the corn in his area to average about 175 bushels per acre. Because of the positive trend in grain prices, Heck added a new leg to his grain storage system. He raises all specialty soybeans for different markets to take advantage of even better market prices. All his grain is stored on-farm, which allows him to market the grain when he wants to. "Today, February corn was a quarter higher than harvest-time corn. That quarter can help pay for additional on-farm storage," he added. Storage is another addition farmers in the Network have been able to discuss, with additional storage being seen on many farms, which can help lead to more profits. In the end, the main goal of the Network is for producers to discern if a particular change will be beneficial to their operation or if their current practice is the more profitable of the two. "Growers in the Network are sharing their findings with other growers both in and out of the network, in their area and across the state. They have built a set of data that's applicable to their farms, their soil and their topography," concluded Heck. "Sharing this with other growers helps others learn from their experiences as well, and then the network continues to grow." For more information on the Iowa Soybean Association's On-Farm Network, call 515-251-8640 or log on to www.isafarmnet.com/index.html. Jennifer Bremer can be reached by phone at 515-833-2120 or by e-mail at jbremermaj@hotmail.com.
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