Stewart Wuest, Baird Miller, Stephen Guy, Russ Karow, Roger Veseth, and Donald Wysocki, Washington State Univ., Univ. of Idaho, Oregon State Univ. Introduction In the United States, as in most of the world, farmers are the decision makers and managers of agriculture enterprise.
Farmers are the adopters, the adapters, and often the innovators of new farming techniques.
Farmers, as well as the public, would benefit by having effective ways to evaluate and adapt innovative production practices. The Solutions To Economic and Environmental Problems On-Farm Testing Project was developed to teach farmers improved, scientifically valid methods for conducting their own evaluations, which will in turn accelerate the adaptation and invention of new farming practices. In the single replicate on-farm test, four or more farmers establish a single replicate, that is, one complete set of treatments. The farmers use their own management practices to grow the crop, but are instructed on shape and placement of the test strips. The strips should be as long as is practical, and four to five feet wider than the combine header.