A simple example is what happens when you add less water to farms. Additionally, the project will be focusing on specific farming practices, like the use of cover crops. Another specific process being examined in 1991 involves the appearance of thrips in orchards. In one window of a nectarine growing season they're considered a pest, but in the next window they're beneficial insects. An important component of on-farm research, Masumoto said, is the study of the farmers and the communities they live in.
Farmers are constantly changing, their needs are changing, they're very diverse.
Most research projects tended to look at the farm only, and ignore the farmer. We're looking at management decisions and the decision-making process. We're examining innovation, how it works on farms.