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FSR/E team in north Florida typically had to meet several criteria imposed by the biophysical and infrastructural environments of the region and America's agroindustrial structure. For instance, in cases proposed technologies had to meet conditions of drought-tolerance, low management and available markets. Moreover, the diversity of enterprises common to clientele farms meant that enterprise interrelationships needed to be considered if a systemic solution was to be achieved.
It was also indicated that the major agronomic needs of the clientele included finding. alternatives to traditional corn, and providing data on managerial practices specific to the region for newly-introduced grain and forage crops. Additionally, techniques for or crops which avoided drought conditions were desired. Finally, an overall need was to find ways of aiding these households to "survive" on the farm, through reducing inputs or improving management ime and-resource use efficiency.
The FSR/E team proposed initial examination of 9 major research foci. Figure 5 diagrams how these research efforts
-were systemically linked to one another. As the figure exemplifies, RECORD KEEPING connects to every research activity. Records provide the team with managerial and economic data. Farm data can be compared to researcher-managed trial results, and over time, the records can serve as measures of farm household aceptability of new technologies. Records are important sources for discovering farmer strategies for avoiding risk.
The two major thrusts of the North Florida Program have been towards grain and livestock studies. Because of the prevalence of mixed systems in the region, the team has sought enterprises which provide multiple uses, or fit into integrated crop-animal enterprise operations.
For example, WHEAT and related WINTER GRAINS have been
examined in terms of both grain production and forage-grain use. They have been considered in both monocrop and doublecrop systems, and in conventional and mulch (INTERCROPPING/PERENNIAL PEANUT-)- systems. NEW GRAINS AND FORAGES and TROPICAL CORN have been subjected to similar treatments.
The diversity within the clientele suggested multiple uses would be made of these various crops and the FSR/E team had to consider a range of management practices. Principal interests involved fertilization (timing, rates and types), especially on new crops (SOYBEANS, WINTER GRAINS), SUBSOILING (with summer grains), and time and methods of planting. CATTLE MANAGEMENT studies are just underway.
The primary objective of these trials is to generate a series of suggestions or recommendations reflecting the different types of uses made of a particular technology (i.e.,
*recommendation domains"). Thus, for instance, suggested wheat management practices for cropping operations, where wheat is grown for grain and perhaps doublecropped as well, will differ from suggestions made for mixed systems, where wheat will be grazed.