Turning trials into better yields

June 30, 2025 | Bethany Baratta

Farming with facts. Jeff Lindsay understands that knowing more about the soil he grows his crop in helps fine-tune his growing plan.

That's why he continues to participate in on-farm research trials with Iowa Soybean Association's Research Center for Farming Innovation (RCFI).

Lindsay farms with his brother Brian and their mom, Barb. But it was his father, Dennis, who started the long-standing research relationship with ISA.

"My dad was doing nitrogen and fungicide trials with ISA years ago," Lindsay says. "We're still doing some of the same types of trials today."

Dennis laid the groundwork for the family’s farm through research and ISA involvement.

A former ISA director, Dennis was awarded ISA’s 2017 Innovator in Production Research Award in recognition of his enthusiastic participation in on-farm research with ISA. Prior to his passing in 2022, he was a noted participant in nitrogen and fertilizer trials. His interest in research examined nitrogen modeling, seed inoculants and fungicide trials.

Proven answers

Lindsay is a long-time ISA farmer member and a regular participant in the organization’s on-farm research trials.

These farmer-led research projects - set up in his fields - help answer questions regarding topics like nitrogen rates, nitrogen timing, fungicide effectiveness and soybean population.

"ISA helps set up the trial, they handle the data, and they give you results that actually mean something," Lindsay says. "And it’s unbiased. That’s important."

Nitrogen insights

On the Lindsay farm near Masonville, nitrogen management is as important today as it was when Dennis participated in trials nearly 20 years ago.

This year, like in years past, he’s participating in nitrogen prescription trials through ISA’s partnership with the Iowa State University’s Iowa Nitrogen Initiative.

The trial helps participants better understand the soil’s capacity to provide nitrogen to the corn plant and therefore the optimal nitrogen application.

N-Serve trials are also helping Lindsay detect how the nitrogen stabilizer might help him keep the crop-important input on the field longer, where it’s best used to help crops grow.

"We used to do N-Serve trials years ago, and we picked them back up again recently. It’s helpful to see how it performs over time, not just one year," he says.

"These trials give us confidence to make decisions based on real numbers - not just someone trying to sell us something," he says.

Evaluating fungicide

The Iowa Soybean Association (ISA) is actively exploring a range of fungicides to understand their effect on final yields and return on investment. Lindsay’s on-farm research helps add to the body of research - and to the knowledge of his own fields.

"Fungicide is expensive, so we want to know if it’s worth the investment," he says. "ISA’s trials help us evaluate that - whether it’s helping with yield or just costing us money."

Guiding management

Lindsay says the management of his fields doesn’t swing wildly year to year. Instead, they use the trial data to fine-tune their approach to each growing season.

"We’re not looking to cut corners," he says. "But we also don’t want to spend money on something that doesn’t give us a return. These trials show us the value - or lack of it - so we can make smart decisions."

Written by Bethany Baratta.

---

Back