Rooted in Research

Author: Sarah Bay Nawa

Celebrating 10 years of community science at Pasa

Inspired by questions from farmers in our community, Pasa Sustainable Agriculture launched its first community science research project—the Soil Health Benchmark Study—10 years ago, with data from 12 farms in Pennsylvania. Since then, more than 300 farmers have collaborated in research on soil health, financial health, and nutrient density, generating long-term insights from working farms for farmers and the broader agricultural community.

Pasa now conducts some of the nation’s largest, longest-running, and most diverse farm-based community science projects, focusing on soil health, nutrient density, and farm financial sustainability. Dig into 10 years of farmer-led community science below and help shape the next decade of research at Pasa.

Collaborative, farm-based research

Our farmer-driven studies engage farmers across the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast as community scientists. Through the studies, we’ve identified insights and offered practical solutions to improve and protect ecosystems, natural resources, and public health, while also exploring ways to improve farmers’ bottom lines and market their sustainable practices to customers and stakeholders.

Here is what a few farmers have said about collaborating on our studies:

The power in long-term data

Our projects are pushing new narratives about how farm-based and collaborative research can be done, and done successfully. The in-depth and varied datasets we’ve collected from our Soil Health Benchmark Study and Financial Benchmark Study allow us to deliver new insights on systems-level thinking that aren’t possible with smaller projects.

The power of long-term data is allowing us to rise above year-to-year variability and actually recognize how the data is trending. With efficient systems, we’re able to deliver yearly reports back to farmer research collaborators, so they can keep using insights to inform decision-making.

Take a look at the milestones and developments that have happened during our 10 years of research:

Our reach is significant

Pasa research by the numbers:

• 270+ farmers have contributed soil health data!
• We’ve dug 28,000+ holes on 867 unique fields.
• Our team has collected 228,630 lines of field activity records.
• We’ve measured water infiltration rates on 50 fields.
• We’ve tested nutrients in 150+ crop samples from 13 vegetable farms.
• We’ve collected 220 financial surveys from 74 farms.

Check out the geographic spread of our farmer collaborators:

What will the next 10 years look like?

In the coming years, we’ll be exploring ways to expand the diversity of farm systems our projects represent, learning alongside farmer research collaborators as we encounter new variables year over year, and diving deep into our extensive data sets to generate new insights for the agricultural community. We also want to hear from you!

What do you want the next 10 years of research at Pasa to look like?

Interested in collaborating on our research projects?

Get soil health data about your farm!
Fill out this survey to express your interest in free soil health testing and participating in Pasa’s long-running Soil Health Benchmark Study.

Get financial insights about your vegetable farm!
Are you a for-profit vegetable farmer? Fill out this survey to express your interest in participating in Pasa’s Financial Benchmark Study.

Questions?
Reach out to our Research Team at researchteam@pasafarming.org.