Principles of Good On-Farm Trials – Practical Guidance

This guide from ADAS Principal Research Scientist Susie Roques highlights five key principles for running successful on-farm trials. Trials are an excellent way for farmers to test new products, methods, or approaches under their own conditions, but their value depends on how well they are designed and carried out.

The key tips include:

1. Collaborate with other farmers or researchers and share findings via platforms such as Farm PEP.

2. Keep treatments simple, ideally comparing just one new practice against your farm standard.

3. Account for in-field variation when selecting trial sites and designing plots.

4. Replicate treatments to avoid drawing false conclusions.

5. Plan assessments carefully, using tools like yield mapping, satellite imagery, or crop assessments.

   
   

The document also introduces Agronomics, an ADAS service offering trial design, data analysis, and precision yield mapping to generate robust, accurate trial results.

Principles of good on-farm trials.pdf

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