Articles
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.
Understanding Nutrient and Sediment Loss at Saxon Homestead Farm
This study was conducted from 2004-2007 and may no longer reflect current conditions as weather, management practices, and available data have evolved. This research remains valid, but should be considered alongside more recent findings. Farms near Lake Michigan in Manitowoc County, Wisconsin were facing a tough question: how much are agricultural fields contributing to water […]
Edge-of-field Water Quality in Two Wisconsin Watersheds
Do you know how much soil and phosphorus is leaving your fields during a rain event, or how much difference your tillage choices make from one year to the next? A seven-year study by Discovery Farms set up water quality monitoring stations at the edges of fields across two western Wisconsin watersheds to answer those exact questions with real numbers from real farms.
Lessons Learned from Bragger Family Dairy
This study was conducted from 2002-2008 and may no longer reflect current conditions as weather, management practices, and available data have evolved. This research remains valid, but should be considered alongside more recent findings. Farming on steep, hilly land is tough. Keeping soil and nutrients out of nearby streams is even tougher. But data from […]
Conservation Benefits of a Grade Stabilization Structure
If you farm on steep slopes in Wisconsin, you’ve likely watched good soil wash away after a hard rain. That runoff carries more than dirt — it carries phosphorus and nitrogen that your crops need and that nearby streams don’t. A conservation tool called a grade stabilization structure (GSS) may be one of the most cost-effective ways to slow that loss down.
Methods of Data Collection, Sample Processing, and Data Analysis for Edge-of-field, Stream Gaging, Subsurface, and Meteorological Stations at Discovery Farms and Pioneer Farm
Wisconsin farmers know that what happens in the field does not always stay in the field. Rain and snowmelt carry sediment, nutrients, and other materials off farmland and into streams, tiles, and groundwater. But how do you know exactly how much is leaving, and when?
Precipitation-runoff Relations and Water Quality Characteristics at Edge-of-field Stations Discovery Farms and Pioneer Farm
This study was conducted from 2003-2008 and may no longer reflect current conditions as weather, management practices, and available data have evolved. This research remains valid, but should be considered alongside more recent findings. Wisconsin farmers already use a range of conservation practices to protect water quality. But when do fields actually lose the most […]
Understanding Nutrient and Sediment Loss: Heisner Family Dairy Project
Organic and grass-based dairy farms in southwest Wisconsin’s driftless region face a unique set of water quality challenges. The hilly, unglaciated landscape and shallow fractured bedrock create conditions very different from the rest of the state. To better understand how these farms affect water quality, Discovery Farms partnered with Heisner Family Dairy in Iowa County, Wisconsin to monitor water from 2004 to 2007.
Understanding Nutrient and Sediment Loss at Riechers Beef
From 2003 to 2010, Discovery Farms and the U.S. Geological Survey monitored surface runoff from three field watersheds to measure how this system affects soil, phosphorus, and nitrogen loss.
Understanding Nutrient and Sediment Loss at Pagel’s Ponderosa Dairy
From 2003 to 2008, researchers monitored both surface runoff and tile drainage at multiple field sites to understand how this large-scale farming system affects water quality on the fine-textured red clay soils common to northeastern Wisconsin.
Understanding Nutrient and Sediment Loss at Koepke Farms, Inc
From 2005 to 2009, Discovery Farms and the U.S. Geological Survey monitored surface runoff and tile drainage on two fields at Koepke Farms to measure how this system affects soil, phosphorus, and nitrogen loss.
Characterizing Phosphorus Dynamics in Tile-drained Agricultural Fields of Eastern Wisconsin
If you farm in Eastern Wisconsin on heavy clay soils and apply manure regularly, this research has a direct message for you: your tile lines are moving phosphorus to nearby water, and that loss may be larger than you think.