Getting “Just the Facts” Right
January 18, 2012
UW – Discovery Farms has done a tremendous amount of on-farm research, generated some tremendous data sets on nutrient and sediment losses coming from agricultural settings and has developed a vibrant information and education program. As with any program there are supporters and detractors, but the key to the success of this program is the focus on learning the facts about non-point losses and engaging others in identifying solutions.
The “facts” for our program are based on actual measurements, derived from a number of different settings and farming systems over a number of years to account for the natural variation in weather conditions. Over the past four years Discovery Farms has worked very hard to publish our data and make it available to a wide variety of people. Publications like our graduation reports, which provide a summary of the entire data set for each project conducted in the initial phase of the program are available through our website (uwdiscoveryfarms.org) or by contacting our staff. A number of more targeted issues (winter manure spreading, soil moisture, monitoring methods and a summary of the edge-of-field studies) have been researched in partnership with facilities at UW – Madison and the United States Geological Survey, and published in peer reviewed journals. The important point is that our data has been or is being published and is available to people in a number of ways.
Why is this important? Let me give you a few examples . . . I was sitting in a meeting in November when a person at the table made a comment about the lack of training available in an area of the state. One of my bosses turned to me and asked if this was true. I said no, and explained what was really happening in that area. He responded that I needed to say that, as we can’t let misinformation be spread. Not responding could be seen as confirming the point and this is a disservice to our clientele – he was right!
A second and more common example is when people use portions of our data to make a point and either take it out of context or get it wrong. Whether the data be about losses coming from tile drainage, natural settings, or manure on frozen ground conditions; we have to be sure that the information being conveyed is accurate and truthful. That’s why we work so hard to publish the data, so that everyone has access to it and can use the correct numbers. If you hear something that doesn’t seem right, you can either go to our website and get the information or contact our office (1-715-983-5668) and we will get you the correct information. Some of the reports are still under development, but if we presented it we will make sure you get the information that we provided.
The key point is to “get the facts” and don’t simply assume that information from a second hand source is accurate. We may not like the data, but it is what it is and it is accurate.
Written by Dennis Frame, drframe@wisc.edu
Posted: January 18th, 2012 under Discovery Farms Reports.