Awardee Name
Colonial SWCD
Grant Type
State
Project Title
Farming on the Edge: Evaluation of the edge effect in grain cropping systems
Awardee State/Territory
Virginia
Involved States/territories
Virginia
Award Year
2013
End Date
Award Amount
$12,350.00
Production/Use
Farmland Agricultural
Resource Concern (Broad)
Soil
Resource Concern (Specific)
Soil organism habitat loss or degradation
Conservation Practice(s)
Conservation Cover
Project Background
This award is for CSWCD to utilize harvest data collected by crop producers to: evaluate and quantify the loss of yield along field edges in summer and winter grain crops, evaluate and quantify how far the edge of field effect reaches into the field, and characterize the type of edge which leads to the most significant yield loss. Three harvest zones will be established in each field (25 corn fields and 25 wheat fields) extending inward from the field's edge. CSWCD will analyze harvest data within each harvest zone to determine a yield average for the entire zone. In addition, characteristics of the edge including aspect, type and density of vegetation will be documented and analyzed resulting in a per acre yield for each characteristic. Reductions in future nutrient applications along the field's edge is one potential outcome.
Project targeted to Historically Underserved producers?
No