Farmers urged to try test plots of their own
By Permission of
Case International
Farm Forum
RACINE, WI. - High per
formance farmers know that it
pays to operate their own
‘‘laboratories.” Every year they
set aside acreage for on-farm test
plots. In these special tracts, they
give their imaginations room to
evaluate new theories, products
and practices.
These farmers aren’t just idly
tinkering with plants. The plots are
a serious tool, especially when you
consider agriculture’s prospects.
As innovative growers like Burnie
W. Rye find, this proving ground
can contribute to the long-term
viability of his operation.
When Rye and his wife, Thelma,
purchased their farm in 1965,
neighbors claimed the retired
Army officer couldn’t profitably
farm his worn land in Mississippi’s
northern hills. But Rye stayed with
the farm and used plots to engineer
60-bushel double- crop bean
averages and corn yields topping
the 200-bushel barrier.
“You’ve got to assume beans
always will be $5 a bushel,” Rye, of
Smithville, Miss., who farms with
his son, Burnie L. Rye. “Sky-high
markets in the ‘7os threw
everything out of perspective.
People can’t wait for $lO beans to
pull them out of trouble. Intense
production is what really mat
ters.”
Rye doesn’t shoot for these high
yields without considering costs.
He watches inputs and only invests
extra money in the crop when he
figures that added yields will more
than cover the outlay. In test plots,
Rye aims for maximum yields. But
in the field, he strives for
Maximum Economic Yields
(MEY).
The terms sound similar, but
there’s a difference. In maximum
yield plots, production costs aren’t
a consideration. Growers and
researchers use whatever it takes
to churn out more bushels. To
achieve MEY, they transfer these
strategies to entire fields - but
only with input levels balanced
against the potential offered by
land, weather and markets.
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Per-acre costs go up. But yields
increase at a faster rate and, in
turn, cut the per-unit costs. With an
MEY strategy, you produce a
commodity at the lowest, most
efficient unit cost, which also of
fers the best potential for a net
profit. Economically, it makes
sense.
“We generally believe farmers
are better off boosting yields and
revenue, even if they spend a little
more to do it,” observes Martin
Thornton, vice president and
senior farm manager for Peoples
Bank of Bloomington, 111. “And
maximum yield plots show you
what doesn’t. From the plots, you
can transfer cost-effective ideas to
a full-scale production and know
they give a return on the in
vestment.”
An effective testing program
isn’t necessarily complicated or
time consuming, note farmers and
yield researchers who work with
plots. The plots will pay if you:
Set goals and understand how to
reach them. Don’t just blindly
pump more inputs into the plot,
advises Dr. J.W. Johnson, an Ohio
Extension agronomist who boasts
a 200-bushel, six-year corn yield.
His secret: Sticking to the basics
and balancing all the growth
factors.
“Always remember that you
improve yields by capturing more
raw materials-sunlight, water and
nutrients,” instructs Johnson.
“These materials are inter
related, too. You can increase
seeding rates to gain more
sunlight, provided you don’t
weaken the stalks with too high a
population. Yields go up, provided
there’s enough water and nutrients
to support populations. If you
overplant and overload the stand,
however, lodging reduces yields.
“No single change will con
sistently add another 80- to 120-
bushels to your corn crop. Even
irrigation won’t give you that in
crease without altering
populations, fertility and maybe
pest control,” Johnson says.
With these fundamentals in
mind, set a goal. For example, tell
yourself, “In this plot, I will learn
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to grow 80-bushel soybeans. ’ ’
An 80-bushel goal may not be
practical over an entire farm. That
requires too much expense and
management time. But by learning
how to hit 80 bushels in the plot,
you discover what’s needed to
obtain 50 or 60 bushels across the
farm.
Research before you plant.
Every year, Danny Stevens travels
hundreds of miles to study other
farmers’ equipment and growing
techniques used to achieve higher
yields. The travel has paid off for
Stevens, a custom farmer in
Trenton, Fla. He has recorded a
284-bushel corn yield in a 10-acre
block, and typically cuts 30-ton
yields on single-crop silage (double
the state average).
“I’ve traveled as far as Texas
and talked to people in Australia to
get information I need,” says
Stevens, who oversees 4,000 silage
acres for dairy and livestock
feeders. “You can’t live in a
vacuum. Without these contacts.
I’d spend time making mistakes
other people already have made.”
Thornton suggests, “Find people
who’ve cracked the yield barriers,
then visit them. If necessary, pay
for advice. Consulting fees are
worth it if the expert saves you
time in reaching your own goals.”
Pull out all tiie stops. Don’t be
afraid to test new ideas. Because
experiments are conducted on a
small scale, you also can spend
more for inputs like seed, fertilizer
and chemicals. After testing a
practice, you may find it has no
effect or doesn’t return enough
extra yield to cover the expense.
But you also may find that an
oddball theory works, at least in
your situation.
For example, in Rye’s operation,
he obtains better yields with
reduced populations- often with
seeding rates 80 percent lower than
normal recommendations. On
wide roWs, he plants two beans per
foot. Depending on the hybrid, Rye
spaces com at two to three plants
per foot on a 40-inch row. Between
rows, Rye cuts an “air furrow,” a
subsoil channel that moves more
water and air to roots. He also
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irrigates com and, when possible,
beans.
Through plots, Rye found that
larger seeds tend to produce the
largest beans and record up to a 54
percent yield gain. Now, he buys
foundation seed and screens for
largest stock. Because he plants
less seed, Rye offsets the extra
cost of foundation beans.
“Wide spacings and big seed
contribute to my yields, but neither
is a recommended practice,” says
Rye. “Without my own testing, I
wouldn’t have known for sure if
they made a difference.”
Find low-cost ways to push
yields. Ohio’s Jay Johnson at
tributes much of his 200-bushel
average to “sound management.”
He matches hybrids to their op
timum seeding rates and planting
dates, then scouts pests for top
control. These measures cost
nothing. But even an increase in
inputs may not be cost-prohibitive,
especially if you first test the
higher levels in the plots.
“Compared to the way you
normally grow a crop, it may not
cost that much extra to transfer
maximum yield levels to part of
your production,” says Johnson.
“It takes only a few more dollars to
increase the population by 4,000 or
boost the fertilizer rate by 30
percent. In plots, you may find a
consistent gain, enough to warrant
more nutrients and seed.”
Once you begin on-farm testing,
some seed and chemical com
panies might supply part or all of
your plot materials if they use the
land as a demonstration site. You,
in turn, can sample new products,
often before they’re released. And
SCS and Extension offices
sometimes loan or rent no-till
planters to allow you to try the
practice without trying up capital
for equipment.
Make valid comparisons. Begin
at planting with at least two
replicated strips for each treat
ment you’ll test, and leave un
treated zones between the plots.
These replications are necessary
to take out the variability caused
by a field’s mixture of soil texture,
pH or drainage.
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If possible, compare more than
one treatment. Increase fertility,
for example, by 10, 25 and 50
percent, and chart the effect at
each level. To broaden the test, use
at least two seeding rates. In one
set of replications, plant normal
amounts; in other plots, increase
the rate slightly. For a more ex
tensive examination, try different
hybrids or varieties.
To measure grain yields, run the
combine through at least a one
tenth-acre block for each plot and
clean out the machine when
switching the harvest from one
treatment to another. If treated
areas are large enough, a five-acre
sample provides an even better
feel for yields.
Weigh the sample at an elevator
and record the figures. Measure
the harvested area to make sure
you know exactly how much
acreage it contains. Harvest your
“check” sample from untreated
rows near the plots.
Between treated and untreated
plots, skip a few rows as a buffer
because experimental pesticides
or fertility rates could influence
neighboring plants.
To compare bulky crops like
cotton, peanuts or silage, set up
large plots. Run the harvester
through the plot until you fill the
basket, wagon or truck, then
measure the amount of acreage
you’re covered. The less area you
cover to make a load, the better the
yield. In addition, pull samples to
check moisture or quality.
Study the economics. Maintain
accurate cost records for treated
and untreated acreage, then
compare these to yields. This
shows the economic benefit, if any.
A 20 percent yield increase may
impress you until records show it
required a similar boost in
production expense.
Keep in mind the influence of
weather. In wet years, extra
fertilizer and seed may produce
impressive gains. But in a dry
year, bean yields may remain
static, and corn yields could drop.
If plots received above average
moisture, don’t fantasize too much
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