Practical Farmers of Iowa has honored two farmers — Mark Quee of West Branch and Bruce Carney of Maxwell — with its Master Researcher Award for their contributions to on-farm research.

The awards were presented Dec. 12 in Ames during PFI’s annual cooperators’ meeting, where farmers and collaborators involved with PFI on-farm research gather to share results of projects and discuss ideas for the coming year. 

The award was established in 2013 to honor those who have conducted at least 20 on-farm research trials through PFI’s Cooperators Program and hosted at least five field days with PFI to share the knowledge they’ve gained. Quee and Carney are the first farmers to earn master researcher status since the inaugural batch in 2013. They join 12 other farms or individuals recognized with the award since its inception. The complete list of recipients is at practicalfarmers.org/award-recipients. 

On-farm research, knowledge sharing 

Quee is farm manager at Scattergood Friends School, a small Quaker boarding school near West Branch, 15 miles east of Iowa City. The school’s farm includes 8 acres of organic gardens and orchards; about 30 acres of pasture used to grass-finish beef and lamb; a small flock of turkeys; a few heritage-breed Guinea hogs; and broiler and laying chicken flocks. 

WINNER No. 2: Bruce Carney, the second winner of PFI’s 2019 Master Researcher Award, discusses a forestry project at a field day held on his family farm.  

Since 2009, when he joined PFI’s Cooperators Program, Quee has conducted 25 on-farm trials and hosted six field days. Over the years, he’s researched cover crops extensively, done several vegetable variety trials, and conducted projects exploring insect and weed control, transitioning pastures to vegetables, grazing vegetable plots with sheep and mycorrhizal fungi inoculations. 

“My first PFI Cooperators Program research trial was in 2009, when we looked at the weed suppression capacity of tillage radish in an organic vegetable system,” Quee says. “Weed suppression results were inconclusive. But as often happens, there were unexpected findings. The soil tilth and structure impressed me so much, I thought I had found the next great innovation in food production: letting tillage radish literally do the tillage for us.” 

Sustainable farming practices 

Carney farms with his family at Carney Family Farms on 300 acres south of Maxell in central Iowa. The family primarily raises grass-fed and finished cattle, sheep, pigs and poultry. They’ve begun adding fruit, nut and shade trees and practicing silvopasture with their diversity of livestock. 

Since 2009, when Carney joined the Cooperators Program, he has conducted 20 on-farm trials and hosted seven field days. His research over the years has spanned cover crop grazing, pasture management, monitoring of carcass quality in grass-based systems and wildlife monitoring on the farm. 

Carney wanted to do on-farm research with PFI to learn more about cattle and pasture. “I want to leave a legacy rooted in perennial agriculture for my children and grandchildren,” he says. “I found Practical Farmers of Iowa and learned they were a diverse group of people, farmer-led. It didn’t matter what you wanted to research. PFI would help set it up and connect you with other interested farmers.” 

Award established in 2013 

Since 1987 when the Cooperators Program began, over 241 farmers have conducted 1,443 research trials on a wide variety of topics in field crops, horticulture, livestock, grazing, wildlife habitat and more. 

“Results from these investigations have helped countless farmers make more informed decisions about their farm operations,” says Stefan Gailans, PFI’s research and field crops director. “Sharing knowledge at field days is equally vital to PFI’s values and our mission of equipping farmers to build resilient farms and communities.” 

To learn more about on-farm research at PFI, visit practicalfarmers.org. Contact Stefan Gailans at 515-232-5661 or [email protected] with questions. 

Source: PFI, which is solely responsible for the information provided and is wholly owned by the source. Informa Business Media and all its subsidiaries are not responsible for any of the content contained in this information asset.