FARMLAND, Ind. — Joining more than 400 crop producers across Indiana this year, a small band of farmers in Jay County will evaluate their management practices using technology provided through the On-Farm Network.
"We’ve got a lot of questions," said Kurt Theurer, chair of the Jay County Soil and Water Conservation District, and a participant. "I’m already planting cover crops. That’s a start. This (program) is a tool to determine if I need to make changes."
Theurer said the county’s water tests high in nitrogen and E. coli, and he is concerned about water quality in his community as well as efficiency on his farm. He is recruiting more growers to join him in the On-Farm Network, which will provide participants with an aerial image of their fields, stalk test results and management data on nitrogen rate, tillage, crop rotation and others.
The program is free and voluntary to growers in Indiana, organized by the State Department of Agriculture and funded by Hoosier checkoff dollars through its partners. Indiana began its program in 2010 with 15 farmers.
Candace Kindt, soil health director for Delaware County Soil and Water Conservation District, explained the On-Farm Network program to Jay County farmers last week in an information session, hosted by the Upper Mississinewa River Watershed Project.
Kindt said participating farmers have the option of enrolling 2-6 fields, which will be analyzed biennially. In any given geographical area, the network links 10-20 farmers for the purposes of collecting data that will inform future decisions about nutrient application rates, timing and form.
Asked if this data is confidential, Kindt said names and other identifying markers are deleted from shared information. "We make the information available online to help other farmers, but there is no way to identify the farm. EPA and IDEM won’t get names," she said.
A key component of this program is cornstalk nitrate tests. Kindt explained tests are completed on four locations of the farmer’s field to determine if the right amount of nitrogen is being used. After the stalk matures, an 8-inch sample is taken 6 inches above ground.
She explained the field tests are more helpful when completed for multiple years, which would allow for weather anomalies. "One year will not tell you a whole lot. You need to do several years to account for weather patterns," Kindt explained.
Replicated strip trials also give farmers a chance to compare four nitrogen rates and their resulting yields. "The benefit of replicated strip trials is that it gives more information than guided stalk sampling," she said.
In hosting the meeting, Colby Gray, director of the Watershed Project, said its organizers see value in the On-Farm Network because it will benefit landowners.