With a $10 million grant from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, From The Ground Up (FTGUp) is pioneering a shift in who leads agricultural research. For decades, agricultural research has followed a familiar path: designed by academics, tested in controlled settings, and results shared with farmers through extension networks.
With work from researchers and educators at four universities in Ohio and Missouri, including faculty at The Ohio State University College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences (CFAES), FTGUp is turning that model on its head. This time, the research ideas originate from working farmers, and their on-farm innovation is supported by research and extension networks.
The project seeks to improve the performance of conservation practices on Midwestern farms. Farmers themselves have chosen research questions about conservation practices they want answered and are working with scientists to gather results on their own land. Over the last two years, 10 groups consisting of five to nine farmers have been formed across Ohio and Missouri.
Farmers, researchers and other stakeholders gather on Scott Myers’ farm in Wayne County, Ohio.
Other universities included in FTGUp research are Central State University (Ohio), the University of Missouri, and Lincoln University of Missouri. Together with the non-profit Solutions from the Land, this farmer-researcher collaboration is seeking to document outcomes and identify innovative solutions that address performance gaps across different types of farms in each state.
"The best thing over the last two years has been the active engagement and ownership of the project by our farmer leaders and collaborators," said Douglas Jackson-Smith, project director for FTGUp and professor and Kellogg Endowed Chair of the Agroecosystem Management Program at the CFAES School of Environment and Natural Resources. "I’ve been thrilled to hear them talk publicly about how different their experience has been on this project compared to prior on-farm research collaborations."
Adam Boman of Good Life Grass Farms, a sheep and grass-fed cattle farmer who runs a 160-acre operation in Pierce City, Missouri.
Adam Boman of Good Life Grass Farms, a sheep and grass-fed cattle farmer who runs a 160-acre operation in Pierce City, Missouri, says the idea initially sounded unrealistic when he was approached to join the research.
“I was told that the farmers were going to be able to design the research," Boman said. "And I was like, Oh, that sounds too good to be true.”
But that skepticism quickly turned around as the project delivered exactly that, putting him and farmer-neighbors in the driver’s seat. Boman recruited five other ranchers in southwest Missouri. They met as a group to decide their research questions, invited the university scientists to help them design a research protocol, and are now measuring how different soil amendments impact their pastures.
“The purpose was to have it be led by farmers so the research would be more applicable and more producer focused, Boman said. "I think it's pretty powerful coming from a real-world example compared to traditional research that may not relate well to some of the real-world situations.”
Other farmers have also been inspired to join. Donee Boykin, founder of Endigo’s Herbals & Organics, LLC in Trotwood, Ohio, grows tomatoes, okra, herbs and a variety of other specialty crops on her one-acre farm.
Donee Boykin, founder of Endigo’s Herbals & Organics, LLC in Trotwood, Ohio.
“I decided to get involved with FTGUp because I love the idea that there is actual research that is being conducted on the farm by farmers,” Boykin said. “In FTGUp, through design meetings, we built our own study protocol. We decided what questions actually matter, what methods make sense, and what information would help us improve our practices.”
Boykin says that she knows FTGUp can be successful because when research starts with farmers, the team can get real solutions.
“FTGUp is elevating the voice of farmers whose experience and insight too often go unheard in the decision-making rooms that shape agricultural policy and practice,” Boykin said. “Farmer-led research is going to shift how the agriculture community sees us and how they value our knowledge. Farmers are the hands-on deck. We’re the feet in the dirt.”
Up next
Stay tuned for Part 2 of this series for a closer look at how FTGUp is addressing longstanding agricultural challenges in Ohio.
About this series
This FTGUp photo essay series showcases the stories and images of farmers driving on-farm research ideas and innovation that is supported by research and extension networks.
