Agroecosystem management research at Grace Drake Agricultural Laboratory
With the sale of the Mellinger Farm in 2023, the Agroecosystem Management Program (AMP) no longer had a dedicated space for on farm research. Recognizing our need for a farm-scale research area, university leadership encouraged AMP to explore the possible use of Grace L. Drake Agricultural Laboratory (or GDAL), located to the east of the Wooster campus near the town of Apple Creek. Historically, GDAL has offered hands-on experiences for Ohio State Wooster campus undergraduate students. AMP director Douglas Jackson-Smith is leading efforts to expand the farm's functionality to include much more.
"Interest in sustainable farming is on the rise, but there are many unanswered questions about how different farming approaches impact the environment, and what practices really move the needle on soil health or protecting water quality," says Jackson-Smith. "This land lab can be a unique resource for student learning on those topics but also for farm-scale, long-term, and whole systems research, and even for community demonstration and education project, thus fulfilling our institution's three primary objectives."
In May 2023 AMP received grant funding through Ohio State Energy Partners (OSEP) to complete the first steps in this process:
- compile existing data in a user-friendly interface
- engage OSU faculty and student to fill in missing data through baseline sampling
- collaborate on potential uses including research, classroom activities, community science, and outreach education.
AMP GIS specialist Kevin Armstrong has gathered farm records from Farm Operations and Animal Science in a user-friendly ArcGIS map. The map includes soil data, management history, hydrology, physical features and aerial imagery. Ohio State employees can use their university credentials to access the resulting dashboard to explore the layers of data and derived statistics.
Group planning discussions began in the fall of 2023 with 20 faculty and staff who already work at Grace Drake Agricultural Laboratory or are doing relevant work in other locations. Jackson-Smith shared his plan to create "typical" and "regenerative" management zones clearly defined with specific practices, and to then compare the ways those different zones interacted with the surrounding environment.
Meeting attendees shared their thoughts and ideas for using the proposed GDAL facility. Because the farm includes traditional row crops, pasture, and woodlands, many recognized exciting opportunities to study management impacts on agricultural and environmental indicators. Attendees were especially excited about opportunities to:
- connect research, teaching, and extension work
- help define what "regenerative" agriculture should include
- provide a setting for students to think holistically
- host research on a scale large enough to provide relevance to farmers
- study relationships between agriculture and overarching systems and communities (carbon, nutrient, and water cycles, food webs, pollinators, microbial communities, etc.)
Since the initial fall meeting, a core group has worked to find and add historical data to the map and discuss how hydrology, land history, and current resources might inform the location of our different zones. This has led to the hiring of several OSU student interns that will assist in research and data collection this summer. In addition, a College of Wooster student project has also been researching the management of similar Long-Term Agroecosystem Research sites with the goal of identifying lessons learned and best practices that can be applied at GDAL.
On May 1, the full group will meet again to discuss locations for various sampling points, define comparative management zones, and discuss a possible citizen science or other event this fall.