Farming Systems Design 2007 - International Environmental ...

Farming Systems Design 2007
Field-farm scale design and improvement
High elevations in this region (1200 to 1500 meters above sea level) cause cool temperatures and
short growing seasons. The average frost-free period is about 125 days and average annual
precipitation is 300 to 400 mm. Over 75 percent of precipitation comes during the growing season
from thunderstorms that can be extremely heavy. Strong winds in winter and spring dry out soils
and can damage crops. Soils are typically deep loams with native soil organic matter content of
about one percent, but 60 percent has been lost from farmlands due to cultivation over the last 100
years (Aguilar et al., 1988). The majority of agricultural production is dryland winter wheat-fallow
rotation systems. Beef cattle production is important near native rangelands. Irrigation is generally
limited to flood plains of tributaries to the Platte River and is used mostly for winter livestock feed.
The SAREC farm was established in 2001 for discovery, dissemination, and dialogue of integrated
agricultural systems. The farm is in Goshen County, Wyoming, on 1570 ha, with 154 ha irrigated
croplands, 617 ha unirrigated croplands, and 775 ha native rangelands. Facilities include a beef
herd with feeding facilities, laboratory and dormitory facilities, and equipment for field experiments.
The Farming Systems Project will occupy 170 ha for assessing conventional, reduced-input, and
organic approaches toward integrated dryland crop, irrigated crop, and livestock production. Each
of the three approaches will occupy six ha of range, dry crop, and irrigated land randomly located
in three replication clusters. Half of each six-ha plot will be long-term baseline operation, with
annual crops, perennial forages, and pasture under the conventional, reduced-input, or organic
approach. The other half of each plot is for shorter-term evaluation of variations to base systems.
Results
The project provides a framework for multidisciplinary problem-solving among producers,
educators, and researchers. Involving producers ensures short-term changes in knowledge, skills,
and attitudes and medium-term incorporation of that knowledge into on-farm decisions.
Team building has fostered cross-discipline collaboration on a proposal to the US Dep. of
Agriculture Western Region Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program. New
channels of communication are yielding improved understandings. For instance, research team
producers interested in organic production say they need information on how to economically
survive the three-year transition period while building soil organic matter to improve yields without
synthetic fertilizer. This issue is not currently being addressed for the Western High Plains region.
Conclusions
The high, cold, and dry climate makes farming precarious in the Western High Plains of the United
States. Conventional farms with low yields depend on large scale to sustain profits in wheat-fallow,
irrigated crops, and range livestock systems. Producers want to increase value and reduce costs,
but transition to organic, or reduced-input systems involves uncertainties about short- and longterm
sustainability. The Farming Systems Project was initiated for long-term evaluation of
strategies for transition and operation of sustainable farming systems.
References
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