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Grazing
- Low-cost
in-pasture handling facilities
- Monitor
forage quality, animal and environmental improvement with pasture
renovation
- Forage
mixes for grazing, season extension
- Grazing
cover crops
- Measure
seedbank distribution in the soil
- Mob
grazing's effect on animal/pasture performance
Field Crops
- How
can cover crops be used to improve weed management?
- How can I scale up the size
of my machinery in a diversified farming system?
- How can I improve the design
of my farming system to improve time/labor management? How can I
substitute more August hours for April hours?
Poultry
1. Nutritional
composition of chickens (vs. store) and how it is affected by breed, feed,
& pasture
Hort Crops
Pest control
- Flea beetle control in eggplant
- Surround
(slurry @ planting, spray until fruit are ¼ size)
- Row
cover
- Control
- Cabbage
moth control in brassicas
- Dipel
- Surround
- Row
cover
- Flea
beetles control in arugula
- Row
covers
- Control
Marketing ecofootprint
- Miles
traveled to provide local
- Brix
readings of local produce (vs. grocery store)
- What
motivates Iowa
consmers to purchase local? (survey)
Season extension
- Low
tunnels in high tunnels-optimize heat gain vs. light loss
- Long
term fertility tracking in high tunnel systems
- Low
tunnel technology options in the field
Soil health
- Replicated trials of cover crops
- throughout
the state
- for
conversion to hort use
- loosen
soil, ease compaction
- increase
fertility, organic matter, and soil biology
- Simulating
extreme weather in hoophouse
- effects
on plant varieties, soil compaction
- Switch
to permanent raised beds from narrow, temporary rows
- Double
digging?
- Layered
beds?
- 3-5
year project
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Grazing
- How do we improve pastures to extend the grazing season and reduce hay feeding?
- How do we improve animal performance in grazing systems (weight gain, efficiencies)?
- Ho do we conduct successful mentoring/outreach projecs to get young people involved?
- What are the ecosystem benefits of grazing systems (i.e water quality, runoff, wildlife, soil biology, carbon sequestration)?
- What facilities will help me handle my cattle better?
Field Crops
- Can I be profitable while adding cover crops/living mulch/rotations to my system?
- When is the proper time/equipment to plant a cover crop?
- How do cover crops affect the following crop yield?
- What cover crops can be grazed? How many grazing days per acre?
- How much carbon is sequestered with the addition of a cover crop in a rotation?
Niche Pork
- How can we reduce breeding herd feed costs?
- How can mange be best controlled in organic herds?
- What alternative protein sources could be grown in Iowa?
- How can diseases in niche herds be best detected and identified?
- How can niche producers develop feed formulations that help reduce costs?
Horticulture
- What are effective pest control methods in a chemical-free fruit and vegetable system?
- How do I control weeds in my fruit and vegetable system without using synthetic chemicals?
- How can I successfully extend my season?
- How do I maintain and increase soil health on my fruit and vegetable farm?
- How do I investigate and market the ecological benefits of local produce?
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