Transcript Lessons learned from on-farm demonstrations to implement conservations tillage.

Lessons Learned From On-Farm Demonstrations to
Implement Conservation Tillage
Jim Stiegler
Oklahoma State University
Stillwater, OK
Farmers Perception of Conservation Tillage
• Complex system with challenging production practices
• Difficult to understand and requires a high level of
management skill
• Involves new equipment and herbicides that are costly
• Crop yields, profits, and return on investment are lower
• Not compatible with existing ideas and beliefs
• Others
How do we as “educators” address these concerns?
How do we speed up the time lag between farmers
hearing about a practice and adopting it as part of
their production?
Before we can discuss on-farm demonstrations, we
need to look at where these activities fit into the
ADOPTION PROCESS!!
Stages of the Adoption Process
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Awareness
Interest-Information
Evaluation-Application-Decision
Trial
Adoption
Is there a problem?
Awareness
Is there a problem?
Awareness
Does the farmer have any control?
Understand the value of crop residue:
Wind erosion
Water erosion
Runoff
Infiltration
Evaporation
Soil temperature
Organic matter
Crop yield
Awareness
Things that work!!
• Meetings
• Demonstrations
• Tours
• Field days
• Rainfall simulator
Education meetings
Interest-Information
University research studies
Interest-Information
Rainfall simulator
Interest-Information
Equipment Demonstration
Drill/Planters
Tillage
Evaluation-Application-Decision
Evaluation-Application-Decision
Innovative farmer
Evaluation-Application-Decision
Trial types:
*Strips
*Large blocks
*Multi-function
*Replicated
Trial
Replicated small plots
Trial
Involve the producer!
Work with him and his equipment!
*Practices must be “do”-able.
*Time, and cost effective.
*Profitable.
Adoption
No-till soybeans
Adoption
THINGS TO REMEMBER
• Demonstrations are a powerful teaching
tool!
• “Activity” is more successful than
“Function” in speeding up adoption!
• Key, innovative farmers need to be
identified to help sell conservation tillage they can serve as spokesmen for University
personnel!
• Don’t get things too complex!
• Partnerships!
Row-till cotton
“What a man hears, he may doubt
What he sees, he may possibly doubt
What he does himself, he believes.”
Seaman Knapp