Nutrient management experts in the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences at The Ohio State University are asking farmers, producers, agriculture agencies and others to complete a survey on how they receive and use information on manure nutrient management.
Called the Pathways Project, the survey will tell Ohio State University Extension what are the most effective ways to get information on nutrient management into the hands of those who need it, said Amanda Douridas, an OSU Extension agriculture and natural resources educator. OSU Extension is the outreach arm of the college.
People working with manure nutrients are invited to complete the survey at pathwaysproject2015.questionpro.com/, Douridas said.
“The objective of the Pathways project is for researchers and educators to learn how information on responsible manure management is being disseminated and used by farmers, educators, the agriculture industry and government agencies,” she said.
“With the nutrient management issues and legislation we are seeing in Ohio, it is important that everyone, from producers to state agencies dealing with manure nutrient management, have access to current research and information.”
The Pathways survey is a national survey created by Erin Cortus, an assistant professor and Extension specialist in environmental quality at South Dakota State University, and Nichole Emberston with the Whatcom Conservation District, a Washington State-based organization that offers technical and financial assistance to help farmers conserve natural resources.
“The overall goal of the project is to figure out the best way to get information on nutrient management to farmers, so that we can better reach our target audience with information on the research we are doing,” she said. “We want to make sure that we are providing information about our research to farmers in the best, most useful and valuable way possible.”
Current studies that OSU Extension educators and researchers are conducting in this field include applying manure to cover crops; comparing sidedressed manure with commercial nitrogen sources; and drag-lining standing corn, Douridas said. Published results from earlier research can be found at agcrops.osu.edu/on-farm-research.
Looking for Participants
