The on-farm test design presented here is aimed at measuring and comparing the performance of two or three different crop management strategies, or "treatments". An on-farm test can be used to measure performance in terms of yield, stand establishment, protein, water infiltration, weed counts, or other criteria. The treatments could be as modest as the application of fungicide in one treatment and not in the other, or as different as zero-till seeding compared to plow, cultivate, and seed, or even a comparison of different crop rotations.

Designing a test that will produce accurate, conclusive information requires replicated, side-by-side comparisons. This is the only way to distinguish yield differences that occur naturally between two strips from differences actually caused by the treatments. Extensive research in the Inland Pacific Northwest has shown that long, narrow, side-by-side strips replicated four to six times can produce a very accurate comparison. The longer the strips are, the better the data is likely to be. There have been many successful tests with four replications of 300 ft strips, but 750 ft or longer strips are more likely to produce accurate results. Four replications are recommended, but five or six replications should be used if the comparison might produce small or very important differences. It is difficult to understand the importance of adequate replication until you have had some experience trying to draw conclusions from data with only two or three replications. Try to resist the temptation to minimize the number of replications. With the availability of portable weighing equipment, eight to twelve strips can be harvested in less than three hours.

After deciding what the treatments are going to be, pick locations in the field where you can place the treatments in long, side-by-side strips. All strips in a replication should have an equal chance to perform well, in your best judgement. In other words, do not place one strip on flat ground and the other on a hill slope. Other areas to avoid are fence lines and field corners where extra fertilizer and tillage occur. Flip a coin to decide which treatment goes in which strip. Repeat for each replication. Replications can be next to each other, or in separate parts of the field.

When measurements are made, such as stand counts or yield, record them separately for each strip. The data can be analyzed statistically using a hand calculator and step-by-step formulas, a free, easy-to-use computer program from OSU called AGSTATS, or with help from your county extension agent. Even without statistics, a lot can be learned by looking at each replication to see if one treatment was consistently better than the other.

If you are a beginner at doing experiments, ask for some help from your extension agent or someone with OFT experience. Most likely a little discussion with an experienced experimenter will save a mistake or two and make your OFT more successful.