The Agriculture Water Quality Program delivers educational content for farmers, crop advisors and conservation professionals on the relationships between ag production practices and water quality outcomes.
25 Years of Discovery Farms
For 25 years, the program has been listening, learning, and leading alongside farmers, researchers, and partners. As we celebrate our past, we’re focused on the future: continuing to deliver trusted data, practical solutions, and strong relationships that support resilient farming and clean water.
Latest Articles and Videos
Proof of Progress Twenty Years Later on Kewaunee County Farms
Since 2004, programs like Discovery Farms have been working with farmers in Kewaunee County to better understand how practices like cover crops and no-tillage can help keep nutrients on fields and out of waterways, positively impacting water quality.
Nonagricultural land: A sink or a source?
To evaluate how land use and agricultural management affect water quality, Discovery Farms performed research on varying management systems in two western Wisconsin watersheds. Our main goal was to better understand how agricultural land management decisions affect soil and nutrient runoff.
Four Ways to Efficiently Manage Nitrogen When Costs are High
In April 2026, commercial nitrogen fertilizer prices increased approximately 30% since fall 2025. Fortunately, there are nutrient management choices farmers can make to minimize financial impacts of this sudden price increase.
Soil Moisture and Rainfall Intensity Thresholds for Runoff Generation in Southwestern Wisconsin Agricultural Watersheds
The goal of this study was to improve understanding of the factors that influence runoff generation during non-frozen ground periods in small agricultural watersheds in southwestern Wisconsin where the landscapes are controlled by dolostone bedrock in order to provide agricultural producers with a manure management tool.
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Who are we?
The Agriculture Water Quality Program helps to address the water quality challenges facing agricultural producers in Wisconsin. Our Program adds support and structure for collaborations and initiatives to conduct research and education to improve water quality related to agricultural production for farmers, crop advisors, and conservation professionals.
We build on the research, knowledge, and experience of faculty and staff in Extension that have been working on this issue, including Extension’s very successful Discovery Farms® Program.
Contact our Extension Agriculture Water Quality Program team at agwater@extension.wisc.edu