You’re Already Doing Research – Now Here’s How To Make It Pay.

Research isn't a four-letter word. It's something we do from the time we are born, trying to figure out things, how they work, and why. (My friend's daughter wanted to find out what happened when she used the pointy tip of an acorn to write on the coffee table. If she'd wanted to keep her experiment a secret, maybe she shouldn't have written her own name.) Doing research in your pasture is a little trickier than wielding an acorn over a coffee table, but still very possible. Here's a handy guide to conducting on-farm pasture research, that takes you through the entire process in less than 17 pages (with pictures!).  You can use it to help you figure out the consequences of an idea you have, or something that yore trying out, and you might even use it to get funding to cover the process. The guide starts with asking the question: what is it you want to know?  Maybe you have a question about a certain amendment, will it improve forage production? Will re-seeding result in a better pasture? This guide helps you refine your question into one you can answer, and then leads you through steps to design and carry out the research. With pictures and clear explanations, it shows you how to lay out your experiment. That's pretty much the first month and a half of a statistics course, right there. There's also a breakdown of  the cost of doing research, both in time and