Monitoring stations have been established to evaluate long-term changes in weed, disease and insect populations, soil fertility, and input costs. The project introduces an agro-ecological approach toward production agriculture to broaden the range of alternative practices available to farmers, Posner notes. These practices include use of cover crops, rotational grazing, mechanical weed control and conservation tillage. While too early in the study to make definitive statements about these systems, the results indicate that the other crops in the rotation and lower-input costs contribute significantly to the profitability of these two rotations. In corn and soybean plots, it appears that at least two rotary hoeings and two cultivations are needed to achieve yields equal to plots that receive the recommended herbicide rates.
Cover crops have the potential to fix nitrogen.
At the Lakeland site, tests showed that spring-applied bromide, a tracer, was found in the water table within six months. Walworth County Agricultural Extension Agent Lee Cunningham has developed a sustainable agriculture curriculum for fourth grade students in his county. Schools that sign up for the curriculum visit the Lakeland Agricultural Complex, where students participate in taking earthworm counts, identifying plant species, and learning about groundwater. Our goal is not only to educate public officials who are making policy about agriculture, but also to educate the general public. This is a summary of CIAS-sponsored research on sustainable, integrated, and alternative agricultural systems.