Research taking place at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville is contributing to a better understanding of the effects of dairy farming practices aimed at building healthier soils, with the team recently sharing an update on the ongoing work.
A team at UW-Platteville's Pioneer Farm led by Dr. Dennis Busch, senior scientist, wrapped up the third year of research at the end of 2025. UW-Platteville is one of eight research institutions across the country participating in an six-year project called Dairy Soil & Water Regeneration, initiated by Dairy Management Inc. in collaboration with the Soil Health Institute to advance progress toward the dairy industry’s collective 2050 environmental stewardship goals.
Overall, the project is studying soil health and manure management and their effects on greenhouse gas emissions, water quality improvement and agronomic factors such as yield and quality of crops grown for dairy cattle feed.
Busch’s team is evaluating two dairy-focused crop production systems — one a conventional approach with commonly used farming practices, the other using Soil Health Management System (SHMS) practices.
The commonly used treatments are defined by conventional tillage, injected liquid dairy manure and commercial nutrients that are applied as required. In contrast, SHMS is a holistic approach that combines reduced soil disturbance by practicing no-till crop production, utilizing a novel manure-based fertilizer product and establishing cover crops, which are planted to cover the soil after the corn is harvested.
“We are evaluating the impact of these production systems on soil health, water quality, carbon storage and crop yield,” Busch said.
The trials at Pioneer Farm are being conducted in eight replicated catchments, or sections of fields where water flows downhill to a single collection point. The catchments are hydrologically isolated and use surface-water runoff gauges and soil core lysimeters, which measure the movement of water and nutrients in the soil.
Busch shared an update on the project:
What’s happening now: It was a busy fall. In September, we measured forage yield, harvested corn silage, collected silage samples, applied liquid dairy manure to the conventional plots and drilled cover crops in the SHMS plots. We also continue to collect water samples from our network of soil lysimeters each month and measure carbon dioxide soil emissions every two weeks.
General findings to date: Preliminary data indicate there is no significant difference in corn silage yield between the two production systems. However, the SHMS plots show significantly less surface water runoff, soil erosion and nutrient loss than the conventional system. For example, in 2025, surface water runoff from conventional plots was 0.94 inch compared with 0.08 inch from SHMS plots. In the same year, total phosphorus measured in runoff from conventional plots was 1.4 pounds per acre compared with 0.05 pounds per acre from SHMS plots. Soil erosion from conventional plots averaged 1,500 pounds per acre, significantly higher than the 27 pounds per acre measured in the SHMS plots.
Key success: Monitoring surface water runoff at the edge of the field requires dedication. The timing of events is unpredictable; they frequently occur in the evening or on weekends. Our success in collecting this data relies on having staff on call 24/7 to monitor events and troubleshoot equipment as needed. We are fortunate to have dedicated staff and students who are highly skilled and dependable in monitoring runoff events.
For more information, visit: Dairy Soil & Water Regeneration