On-farm research can be a powerful tool to test new products or practices under conditions specific to any one farm or area. Trials could be used in-season to test practices like nitrogen top-dress and sclerotinia stem rot fungicide, to give just two examples.

The following article was prepared by Taryn Dickson, resource manager for Crop Production and Innovation with the Canola Council of Canada.

Here are the basic steps to generate results that provide a fair comparison:

Start with check strips. Put strips of treated versus untreated crop in a uniform part of the field. If a uniform area is not possible, choose an area of the field that reflects the field as a whole.

Replicate the strips. Try a few untreated and treated strips in the same block (four strips of each are ideal), in different areas of the farm and, ideally, in different years. This increases the confidence that differences between treatments are because of the treatments, and not because of chance variation is caused by differences in weather, soil and other factors.

Control other variables. If comparing a fungicide, for example, make sure the treated and untreated strips are the same variety, seeded the same day with the same tool, and follow the same practices for fertilizer, weed control and harvest. If it’s a fertilizer trial, have details soil sample results for the treatment area to rule out natural variation. That is another reason why multiple strips within a relatively uniform part of the field are important. Another consideration: If applying fungicide to a test area, spray perpendicular to the direction of seeding to ensure the same amount of wheel tracks throughout the trial. Apply to entire trial on the same day.

Weigh the results. Harvest all treatments on the same day. Ideally, the strips will be wider than the swather or combine header. Cut through the middle of each strip to avoid edge effects and combine each row separately. Use a weigh wagon to get the most accurate yield data for each strip. Measure the exact length and width of the strips. Make sure hopper is empty after each treatment.

Keep notes. Record weather conditions, soil moisture, seeding date, pest pressures, harvest date, harvest quality and anything else you can think of. That will help create scenarios where a product may or may not work.

This is a brief overview of the protocols for on-farm trials. For more detailed tips, please go to canolacouncil.org/research/#onfarm-research.