Taking Action I
owa Soybean Association (ISA) farmer-member Joe Shirbroun from Farmersburg dedicates time and land each year to implement trials. “I encourage farmers to take two- to three percent of their farm operation and try something you haven’t done before,” says Shirbroun. “Try to get out of that comfort zone and take the challenge.” By making trials a part of his annual plan, he is able to check the results and
Farmers turn plans into actions. BY KRISS NELSON
decide how to transform those findings into action on his farm. It’s part of the plan, do, check, act model that ISA’s Research Center for Farming Innovation (RCFI) encourages its farmer participants to adopt.
Acting on results Shirbroun has implemented a variety of trials on the farm near Farmersburg. One of the most robust trials was
This image shows a 3D view of planter prescription where seeding rates change according to the elevation change in the f ield. Image: Aaron Friedlein/Ag Mapping Solutions
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researching variable rate seeding. ISA RCFI research agronomists initially encouraged Shirbroun to participate in the variable rate seeding trial to see how seeding rates for soybeans and corn perform in different sections throughout the field. “They challenged us to try it,” he says. “They wrote the scripts, and we followed them.” After more than 10 years of participating in this particular trial, Shirbroun now has the data to help make decisions on every acre. “We looked at our ratio of seed plants per acre versus yield and have learned when we over-apply seed in lower production ground, we tend to get less yield, so we treat those areas with expectations, knowing there will be less output.” On their family’s farm in the rolling hills of northeast Iowa, Shirbroun makes variable rate planting scripts based on the field’s elevation and past yield history. “We plant for the ability of the soil’s production level,” he says. “In our low-lying areas, we have to lower our populations because soybeans will favor plant growth and not seed product.”
