2025 was a successful year for the Discovery Farms Program. A new project was launched, two monitoring sites were completed after seven years of study, and data analysis brought new insights about the impact of agriculture on water quality.
Discovery Farms is currently studying agricultural water quality at 11 sites, on 10 private farms, across seven counties. These sites are used to understand the timing and magnitude of losses from different farming systems and landscapes, as well as the effectiveness of various conservation practices. Current monitoring methods include surface runoff, tile drainage, and nitrate leaching monitoring with lysimeters.
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New Project
The new project was installed in Marathon/Wood Counties in fall 2025 to monitor surface runoff at two sites. After collecting a few years of surface runoff data from these two sites, tile drainage will be installed. The study goal is to evaluate the impact of adding tile drainage on water quality and crop productivity.
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Outreach Activities
Discovery Farms hosted several in-person and virtual outreach events to share data, reaching a wide range of audiences. Meetings with participating farmers were also conducted to share and discuss monitoring results.
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Water Samples
Water quality samples were collected from surface runoff at edge-of-field monitoring sites and from drainage at nitrogen leaching and tile monitoring sites.
Phosphorus Losses Checked by Layered Practices and Careful Timing: A Discovery Farms Project
▶ Watch: 4th Annual Discovery Farms Multi-State Webinar
Discovery Farms- Rock County Monitoring Report
Cover crops for improved surface water quality: Benefits and limitations
