Agronomy Library > Soil Conservation

On Farm Research: Grasp the Opportunity - Direct Seeding Advantage 2003
Author: Brent VanKoughnet - AgriSkills
Date Created: November 18, 2003
Last Reviewed: November 18, 2003
On farm Research comes down to truthfully answering two fundamental farm management questions. What would I do if I knew, and, How will I know when I know?  What would I do if I knew?  Or, in what areas would you be prepared to change a management practice if you were to gather adequate evidence to support a change? Some changes would require more equipment, more cash, more learning or maybe all of the above. Although most farm managers will say that they are prepared to do what it takes to be successful, lets be realistic, most of us will only make changes if it is something we really want to do or there is a substantial benefit to making the change or both. On farm research needs to focus on things that are most likely to lead to information that will support farm decisions in an area where the farm is really prepared to explore alternatives.  How will I know when I know?  Or how much information of what certainty do I need to gather from what sources to give me the confidence to base a new decision on. Mother nature is a very moody lady. The result from one individual event needs to be weighed against all of the other factors that may be involved, including statistical randomness. Farm decisions are normally based on a variety factors each with a degree of uncertainty connected to them. There is no perfect science to quantitatively weigh the risk of good or bad information but there tools and concepts that Farm CEO’s can use to guide them. Open the PDF for the complete paper