By Mike Staton
2016 SMaRT on-farm research projects and locations.
Download the results from 10 different on-farm research projects conducted by the SMaRT (Soybean Management and Research Technology) project in 2016.
The 2016 SMaRT (Soybean Management and Research Technology) On-Farm Research Report will be mailed to 11,000 Michigan soybean producers in early January 2017. It is also available online at the Michigan State University Extension Field Crops Team and Michigan Soybean Promotion Committee websites. The online version is the best way for agribusiness managers, sales representatives and agronomists to access the report as it will be mailed to only Michigan soybean producers.
The 2016 SMaRT On-Farm Research Report summarizes the results from 10 different soybean projects, evaluating products and management practices that have the potential to increase soybean yields and income. Many of the projects were conducted at multiple sites in 2016 and some were conducted over multiple years. Sixty-one soybean producers conducted 72 individual on-farm trials in 2016. The trials fall within five categories: soil fertility, plant health, pest management, seed treatments and agronomy.
The treatments were replicated four times in nearly all of the trials to reduce the effect of field variability on the results. Proven statistical methods were used to determine if the treatments had a statistically significant effect on soybean yields. Finally, the effect the treatments had on income was determined for each project.
One of the comments I’ve heard most often about past SMaRT research reports is there is little or no difference in the yields produced by the treatments and the untreated control in some of the trials (no magic bullet was found). This is the case for some of the products evaluated in 2016. However, this is still valuable information as there are two components to increasing income: increasing yields and reducing costs. If the new treatment does not perform significantly better than the untreated control when evaluated across multiple locations and over several years, producers may be able to save money and increase income by not using the product or management practice.
Source: msu.edu