Trial and error are all part of farming, but actual research to base our decisions on is essential. Ted Hoffman is the second generation of Crop Consultants we have worked with at InDepth Agronamy. Working with Ted and Soaring Eagle Dairy, we recently received a grant that’s going to help us do some research that should not only help our farms but also other farms in our area.
The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP), started a program several years ago called the Nitrogen Optimization Pilot Program. The goal of the program is to award grants to help fund research around the state that will better our soil and waterways by growing the understanding of how nitrogen can be better managed. This last year they started allowing farmers to apply for these grants to do research on their own farms.
Partnering with InDepth Agronamy and Soaring Eagle Dairy, we applied for a grant to fund on farm research looking at how our corn utilizes nitrogen. While the University of Wisconsin has research looking at ideal nitrogen application, we feel that it doesn’t really apply to our area’s heavy clay soil. We want to better understand nitrogen use efficiency for the soil of our area.
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- Soil sampling during the growing season
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- The maps we use to plan out our nitrogen applications.
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- The fields in our sample showing the differences in nitrogen application.
We’ve worked with Ted to develop a study spanning two growing seasons. We are setting up plots of land that will receive different levels of nitrogen applied to the growing corn crop. Over the years we have invested in technology on our farm that allows us to control planting and input application very precisely. Now instead of needing special equipment designed to cover small areas, we can use the equipment and precision technology we have to conduct our research. Because we need to have a baseline to compare to, one plot will receive zero nitrogen applications, we expect to lose considerable yield on these acres, but it’s important to the research to have that information. Part of the grant will help to cover some of our crop losses during this trial.
We started our trials last growing season and we are getting ready to plant the trial plots this year. We look forward to adding more data to our trial and having solid research on the soil in our area to base our future nitrogen applications on.
Photos courtesy of Ted Hoffman.