The Tree
T h e U W D i s c ove r y Fa r m s ® N e w s l e t t e r
Spring/Summer 2015
The Value of Measuring and Monitoring Nitrogen Use Efficiency
NUE Project Locations
Megan Chawner and Matt Ruark
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he Nitrogen Use Efficiency (NUE) Project, funded by a Conservation Innovation Grant through USDANRCS, is in full swing. Currently, 20+ farmers are participating in the project in four different regions of Wisconsin: Jersey Valley Watershed, Dry Run Creek Watershed, Yahara Watershed, and part of the Rock River Watershed in Southeastern Wisconsin. Working with so many different farmers and in different areas of the state provides valuable insight into NUE in different management regimes and soil conditions. These farmers are providing corn fields for soil and plant sample collections; some are even utilizing zero N strips. The value of having a zero N strip is two-fold. First, having a zero N strip is the only way to quantify how much N is supplied by the soil. This will vary from year to year, as N supply is temperature and moisture dependent, but it is still a good assessment for those farmers who are wondering if their changes in management practices (e.g. reduction in tillage, cover cropping, manure or compost applications) are changing anything about their soil. It is important to not have the zero N strip in the exact same location for multiple years.
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INSIDE
The Value of Measuring and Monitoring NUE............... 1, 2 Introducing the Core Farm Cluster......................................... 1, 3 Key Takeaways from the Jersey Valley Watershed....... 4, 5 New Faces at Discovery Farms!........................................... 6 Co-Director’s Column........................................................... 7
Introducing the Core Farm Cluster Eric Cooley
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n the first nine years of the UW Discovery Farms® Program1, research was conducted on core farms around the state, characterizing an individual farming system paired with a landscape. These initial studies usually consisted of more than one monitoring station on one farm. This research design allows for a comprehensive assessment of runoff from individual farms including field management variations in cropping, tillage, fertilizer rate, timing and method. Since 2010, research efforts have mainly focused on two watersheds in western Wisconsin. These projects use a combination of edge-of-field and in-stream monitoring to evaluate differences between farming systems within the watersheds and to understand correlations between edge-of-field losses and stream delivery. continued on page 3
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Second, it is a way to know the true economic value of the N applied in each year. Technically, N fertilizer should only get credit for the yield gain over no N applied. If yields are good, but NUE is low it is possible that N applications could be reduced and yields would be maintained. Additional testing would need to be done to know this for sure.
the majority of the farmers in their region, they may still want to evaluate their management practices, but there will probably not be large gains to be made. However, it is important to note that the information is not flowing in one direction. This project has community education as its backbone; the idea that we are all learning from each other. We at Discovery Farms are learning from the farmers just as much (if not more!) as the farmers are learning from us. And in an even broader scope, both Discovery Farms and the farmers are teaching their neighbors, colleagues, crop consultants, and peers about NUE and the myriad of ways to improve it.
This data gathered from the farmers’ fields will then be used to calculate the different components of NUE. The components are valuable at two levels. First, it is useful for each farmer as part of an individual self-assessment; by knowing their NUE on a field-by-field and season-byseason basis farmers can detect gains or losses in efficiency over time. Second, farmers can use their NUE results to understand how their efficiency compares with other farmers in their region; whether or not a higher level of efficiency is possible.
One way we are facilitating community education is by connecting all of the participating farmers into an online farmer network. In this network, the farmers will be able to explore aggregated data, which will give them an idea of how farms across Wisconsin and different management systems are responding to the project. The online network will also provide a forum for discussion among farmers; encouraging cooperation and collaboration across the state. With a problem as wide-spread and deep-seated as N management, starting the conversation might just be as important as taking action.
For example, one component of NUE that is commonly used is Partial Nutrient Balance (PNB), which is calculated by dividing the amount of N removed with grain by the amount of N applied as fertilizer.
N removed with grain Partial Nutrient Balance (PNB) = N applied as fertilizer
Overall, we view NUE as an assessment tool for farmers. It is an educational tool that allows them to know how much of their N ends up in the plant. It can also be viewed as a gateway tool for those farmers who want to pursue more sophisticated N management tools, which account for spatial variation in N supply, utilize real time weather data and conditions, or both. §
If the majority of farmers in a region have a higher PNB value than an individual farmer in the same region that would indicate that the invidual farmer’s PNB value could be improved. Improvement could come in a variety of ways (e.g. lowering N rates, changing N timing or source), but would be different for each farm operation. If a farmer has a PNB value much higher than
Pre-plant nitrate tests (PPNT) are taken on participating farms to determine the amount of N in the soil at planting. 2 The Tree-Spring/Summer 2015
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By working with the majority of farmers within the watersheds, it is possible to develop collaborative solutions to modern agricultural challenges.
The Roger Rebout & Sons Farms is owned and operated by Mary Jane Rebout and sons Dan, David, and Doug Rebout. The late Roger Rebout, a national leader and advocate of the dairy industry and the first person inducted into the Rock County Ag Hall of Fame, utilized cutting edge technology to continually improve the farms operation and efficiency. These traditions are carried through Roger’s wife, sons and grandsons today.
The newest Discovery Farms research effort is a meld between the traditional core farm structure and watershed projects. This new initiative, called the “core farm cluster,” will involve a set of 2-3 core farms in Rock County. This area was selected for the diversity of farming systems and proximity to Madison, allowing increased accessibility to Discovery Farms tours and events for agency, University, legislative personnel, and out-of-state guests. Desired evaluations include: comparison of losses from different tillage systems in cash grain operations, understanding tile drainage losses under grain and/or grain and forage systems, and differences between runoff characteristics from livestock and non-livestock farms in a similar landscape.
Two edge-of-field monitoring sites in basins of similar size were installed on the Rebout farm in the fall of 2014. The monitored cropped fields are in the same rotation of two years of corn and one year of soybeans with only commercial fertilizer applied for crop production. The paired basin design of the two sites will allow us to understand the timing and magnitude of sediment and nutrient loss from a strip-till/no-till system in this region and will provide a comparison of cover crop versus no cover crop in the second threeyear rotation of the study.
A call for farms to participate in the core farm cluster project was sent out in late 2013. We received applications from a great group of farmers! Farms that applied to be part of the project were toured in spring 2014 and assessed based on desired evaluation criteria and suitability of locations for monitoring. Information from toured farms was presented to the Discovery Farms Steering Committee to establish a ranking for implementation.
The monitoring stations are funded through a partnership with the NRCS. Discovery Farms would like to thank both the Rebout family and NRCS for making this project possible. §
Welcome Roger Rebout & Sons Farms The first farm selected as part of the core farm cluster is the Roger Rebout & Sons Farms. This farm enterprise is primarily a cash grain operation, but also produces dairy and beef. The crop rotation on the Rebout farm is mainly corn and soybeans, with some acreage of hay and other crops. For the past 10+ years, corn has been striptilled and soybeans have been notilled. The Rebouts utilize autoguidance precision agriculture technology with variable rate fertilizer application and yield mapping.
One of two new monitoring sites located on the Rebout farm in Rock County.
1 In an effort to make sure ‘Discovery Farms’ represents what its founders intended, the program, with the support of the University of Wisconsin legal team, went through the formal legal process of trademarking the name. If you see Discovery Farms® you can be confident that it stands for credible research and farmer leadership. 3 The Tree-Spring/Summer 2015
Key Takeaways from the Jersey Valley Watershed Amber Radatz
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he UW Discovery FarmsÂŽ Program has four full years of data from five edge-of-field monitoring sites in the Jersey Valley Watershed of Monroe and Vernon counties. Discovery Farms also operates a similar project in the Dry Run Watershed in St. Croix County. In March, farmer and community meetings were held in both watersheds to discuss results from the first four years of data collection. Over 50 farmers and community members attended the meetings, which sparked thoughtful discussion. Amber Radatz, codirector of Discovery Farms, presented three main takeaways from data in both watersheds. The examples used here are from edge-of-field sites in the Jersey Valley Watershed, but data collected in Dry Run showed similar results. The following discussion is a brief summary of key points. For more detailed information visit us on the web, attend a watershed field day later this summer, and check out future newsletters!
Soil type and soil moisture largely determine runoff. Farm management practices can help infiltrate more water at certain times of the year, but runoff will still occur during frozen or saturated conditions. Runoff from snowmelt or rain when the ground is frozen is largely determined by weather conditions. The amount of snow, how it melts, and soil temperatures are factors beyond your control that really drive runoff in the winter months. In recent years, rainfall was often above average in April, May and June, a time where there is little crop canopy present and soils are already near saturation. JF1 and JF4 are both no-till fields, while JF5 utilizes tillage two to three times in the six year rotation. As the graph shows, runoff during March and June are very similar among the farms, highlighting that during times of saturation and frozen ground field management doesn’t have much impact on the overall amount of runoff.
No-till and reduced till systems eliminate soil loss. The first step to controlling nutrient loss is to control sediment loss. A sustainable level of annual soil loss is below 1,000 pounds per year. Almost all Jersey Valley sites in all years (16 site years) were below the sustainable level of loss. Of 140 site years of Discovery Farms data, less than 10% exceed 1,000 pounds per year. Soil disturbance that is too intense for the landscape is usually indicated by a higher soil loss value. JF5 in WY2014 (shown in grey on the graph) highlights how 4 The Tree-Spring/Summer 2015
too little soil cover and too much soil disturbance for the landscape can lead to elevated soil losses. In flat landscapes, increased tillage does not always lead to large soil loss, while highly erodible landscapes will tolerate less soil disturbance overall. In all landscapes, controlling soil loss is a combination of understanding the limits to soil disturbance and protecting concentrated flow areas with waterways and similar practices.
No-till systems must combat phosphorus stratification. Even when soil losses are controlled through no-till, annual P loss is not always reduced to a sustainable level. Dissolved P losses can increase as a result of continuous surface applications of phosphorus and manure applications shortly before runoff events. As shown in the graph, JF5, the only site to incorporate manure, is the site with the lowest amount of total P loss during the winter months, when dissolved P is the most common form of phosphorus loss. The graph shows how no-till does a great job of reducing phosphorus loss during the growing season, by keeping sediment losses low and reducing particulate phosphorus loss. Edge-of-field data, in combination with information collected from field records and whole farm walkovers, highlight the high level of farm management taking place in the Jersey Valley Watershed. Edge-of-field losses have been near or below the Wisconsin average, suggesting that management is working well, especially considering the Driftless Region’s sensitive landscape. In addition to edge-of-field monitoring, stream and lake water quality are monitored in the Jersey Valley. Results from the stream and lake were compared to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources’ (WDNR) Bureau of Water Quality Program Guidance (WisCALM). Overall the stream above the lake is in good health.
The lake meets some fish and aquatic life standards, but falls short of meeting recreational standards. Originally designed to act as a flood prevention mechanism to protect areas downstream, the lake is now also part of a county park and is used for recreation. The Jersey Valley Lake is similar to other lakes in southwest Wisconsin: it tends to have high phosphorus and chlorophyll levels. It is possible that impoundment lakes in southwest Wisconsin will have difficulty meeting water quality standards for recreational use even if controllable factors, such as runoff and erosion, are reduced. The lake’s impact on the West Fork of the Kickapoo River is quite localized, as phosphorus and dissolved oxygen levels a few hundred yards downstream are similar to levels measured above the lake. §
The lake is enjoyed by many for recreation.
Sam Hess taking samples at Jersey Valley Lake 5 The Tree-Spring/Summer 2015
New Faces at Discovery Farms!
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e are pleased to announce the arrival of Megan Chawner, our newest team member! Megan will coordinate our new Nitrogen Use Efficiency Project. As project coordinator she will assist farmers in evaluating the environmental and economic efficiency of their corn production management practices. She will spend her time discussing nitrogen use efficiency concepts with farmers and collecting on-farm agronomic and water quality information. Megan comes to Discovery Farms with extensive experience working for agricultural research labs around the country. While working towards her MS in Soil Science and Agreocology at UW-Madison, she conducted research to assess the benefits of tillage radish as a cover crop in Wisconsin. Prior to graduate school Megan worked as a Biological Science Technician for the USDA on a lettuce breeding program in Salinas, CA. Her attention to detail, understanding of soil science, and experience with data collection make her ideal for her new role.
Megan Chawner
Her passion for Discovery Farms’ work illustrates just how much of an asset Megan is to the program. When asked why she was interested in working for Discovery Farms, Megan explains, “It is important to me to work with an organization that has the farmer’s needs at heart, which is why I’m excited to be a part of Discovery Farms and its close association with the farming community.” She is thrilled to work for an organization that has farmer’s needs at its core and we couldn’t be more thrilled to have her as part of our team!§
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his summer we also welcome three student interns. We are excited about all we can accomplish this summer with this wonderful group of inquisitive and highly motivated students! Welcome to the team Mikayla, Sam, and Erica...
Mikayla Simonson
Erica Olson
Sam Hess
Hometown: Taylor, WI Major: Life Sciences Communication School: Junior, UW-Madison
Hometown: Whitehall, WI Major: Environmental Science School: Junior, UW-River Falls
Hometown: Black River Falls, WI Major: Agronomy School: Senior, UW-Madison
Mikayla is this year’s communications intern. We can’t wait for her to begin planning events and writing wonderful articles!
We are delighted to have Sam join us for a third summer! He will continue to collect stream and lake samples, while conducting a soil phosphorus assessment.
We are thrilled to have Erica monitor stream water quality and work on our new Nitrogen Use Efficiency project!
6 The Tree-Spring/Summer 2015
Are you a winner or a loser?
This seems simple, but the divisive conversation of winners and losers is everywhere, even in the business of water quality and conservation. In a recent article about phosphorus management, Dr. Kleinman, research leader at the USDA-ARS, described this game of winners and losers as one of “sacred cows’ and ‘sacrificial lambs.’
Co-Director’s Column, Amber Radatz
Isn’t that a terrible question? Of course you’d never identify yourself as a loser. However, if you don’t feel that you fit into a particular ‘brand’ of winner, you are left feeling inadequate and certainly unmotivated to make the suggested ‘positive change’ to make you a winner.
“Sacred cows,” Dr. Kleinman writes, “can be found in the assumptions that certain environmental processes and management practices are so established that they are left unquestioned or perennially advocated.” He goes on to explain that on the other hand there are sacrificial lambs, often underestimated in their importance, and “readily condemned without due assessment.”2
I’m sick of the winner and loser mentality. Articles that identify winners or losers at parenting, work output and relationships, or even personal goals are counterproductive and downright defeating. We all have our own set of circumstances and priorities that play huge roles in our decisions and day-to-day lives.
What Dr. Kleinman and his colleagues are describing is this assumption that there is a simple solution or management practice that will work for all farmers (and forever, I might add) to curb issues with phosphorus pollution. If you don’t use this chosen solution (the sacred cow), you are a loser. If you do use the solution, you are a winner, your job is done. One example of a ‘sacred cow’ in the water quality world is no-till. That makes the ‘sacrificial lamb’ any kind of tillage. It just isn’t that simple. Identifying a winner solution and a loser solution fails to recognize the complexity of the challenges we face. In doing so we are left far short of reaching our goals. Discovery Farms’ results show that there are no clear winners or losers, offering us a unique opportunity to address this ineffective approach head-on, and with data in hand. Every management system has an area that could be tweaked, with continuous improvement as the ultimate goal. The job is never done. New technology or improved science can help farmers make those incremental improvements.
Amber’s little winners, Nolan and Wilson Maybe I am a loser because my 3 year old occasionally eats chicken nuggets instead of a gourmet meal balanced with plentiful fresh fruits and vegetables. Or maybe I should feel like a winner because the kids had food to eat, had love and attention from their parents, and a home to sleep in. Instead, maybe I should just feel that I’ve done my best on that particular day. Not a winner, not a loser. Isn’t that all we can really ask of ourselves and one another?
For those of us with the responsibility to recommend management practices to farmers, we need to be really careful about how many sacred cows and sacrificial lambs we are keeping. So, as farmers, scientists, and resource managers, let’s do our best to recognize that continuous improvement can take many different forms, and it takes all of us to achieve it. That’s a real win for all of us.§ 2 Kleinman PJA, Sharpley AN, Withers PJA, Bergström L, Johnson LT, Doody DG. Implementing agricultural phosphorus science and management to combat eutrophication. Ambio. 2015;44(Suppl 2):297-310. doi:10.1007/s13280-015-0631-2.
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Co-Directors Eric Cooley 608-235-5259 etcooley@wisc.edu Amber Radatz 608-317-0001 aradatz@wisc.edu Faculty Advisor Matt Ruark 608-263-2889 mdruark@wisc.edu Nitrogen Use Efficiency Project Coordinator Megan Chawner 608-262-0383 chawner@wisc.edu Outreach Specialist Kevan Klingberg 715-983-2240 kevan.klingberg@ces.uwex.edu
Outreach Specialist Callie Herron 715-983-5668 callie.herron@ces.uwex.edu This newsletter can be found on the web at: Program Assistant www.uwdiscoveryfarms.org Judy Goplin 715-983-5668 jgoplin@wisc.edu Research Specialist Regarding the mailing list, call/e-mail 715-983-5668 or Aaron Wunderlin 920-839-5431 aaron.wunderlin@ces.uwex.edu jgoplin@wisc.edu Dry Run Watershed Coordinator UW Discovery Farms is a producer-led research and outreach program based out of the University of Wisconsin-Extension. The Todd Prill 715-225-0862 discovery.farms.prill@gmail.com program is unique in that it conducts research on working farms located throughout Wisconsin, seeking to identify the impacts of production agriculture on water quality. The program is managed by faculty from the University of Wisconsin, along with oversight from a steering committee of producers, citizens and agency personnel representing a wide variety of non-profit and government organizations. Funding has been provided by the State of Wisconsin, UWExtension, as well as a number of annual grants from producer groups and our federal partners.
An EEO/Affirmative Action employer, University of Wisconsin-Extension provides equal opportunities in employment and programming, including Title IX and ADA requirements. Request for reasonable accommodation for disabilities or limitations should be made prior to the date of the program or activity for which it is needed. Publications are available in alternative formats upon request. Please make such requests as early as possible by contacting the Discovery Farms office at 715-983-5668 so proper arrangements can be made.