Pennsylvania’s On-Farm Network provides real-life, on-farm production scale data to aid farmers in their ongoing crop management decision-making.
The Network works by conducting research in real-world conditions on test plots planted by farmer/collaborators throughout Pennsylvania on their own farms with their own equipment to see which management practices have an appreciable impact on production. The On-Farm Network is funded by the soybean checkoff and administered by Penn State.
Working with farmers
Farms throughout Pennsylvania with varying field, equipment and crop conditions contribute to the research data. Last year, farmers in 28 counties contributed to the research projects.
Field trials conducted at Penn State’s Research Farms are compared with results from on-farm trials throughout Pennsylvania using grower production practices. This two-tiered approach seeks to validate the results obtained on the small plot trials with those on-farm using long strips. The research results are shared online, at field days, in research summaries, and at crop production workshops.
