Renewing the Land-Grant Mission Through On-Farm Research.

A primary role of Land-grant universities is to facilitate agricultural research and outreach.  Today’s dynamic agriculture industry perpetuates the demand for relevant and respected research. On-farm research comparisons are designed to provide such research and outreach.  Nebraska on-farm research efforts combine the efforts of University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) Extension faculty, Nebraska farmers, and agribusiness representatives to help farmers determine profitable production and management practices.  On-farm research has three basic components:  (a) formulating a hypothesis, (b) testing the hypothesis with experimentation, and (c) drawing a conclusion based on the data. Farmer’s identify a research topic of interest to their respective operation.  Their equipment is used to establish, manage, and harvest field-size research comparisons. Agribusiness representatives and farmers monitor the fields and record relevant data. UNL faculty analyze results and document profitability differences among treatments.  Farmers report improved annual profitability of more than $14,000.  Farmers share the results of their respective research findings at an annual on-farm research symposium.  On-farm research results contribute to the continuing education and collaborative efforts of University, industry and farmer agricultural professionals.  This learner-centered team approach to identifying, studying, and evaluating farmer-focused research topics is an enduring success of the Land-grant institution.