As a hydrology major at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, one of Shelby Hawkins’ career goals is to connect farmers with regenerative farming principles and potential incentives for implementing them. So, spending a day at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville’s Pioneer Farm research dairy couldn’t have provided a better learning environment. The visit this spring by… Read more »
Bert Bock, Consultant to Dairy Management Inc., on nutrient management, agronomy and greenhouse gas footprint The impact of novel manure products is an important part of the Dairy Soil & Water Regeneration (DSWR) project’s evaluation of soil health management systems for dairy forage production. While the project is not yet complete, the basic characteristics of… Read more »
in In the News
Each year, undergraduates at Cornell from a wide variety of academic and professional backgrounds come together to share their research and summer internship experiences with colleagues, peers, farmers and more. Itzel Calles, Zamorano University ‘25 is a research technician for DSWR. She noted “My summer research experience with the Nutrient Management Spear Program has been… Read more »
in In the News
An article on Brownfield Ag News highlights how new research could help dairy farmers improve forage quality and overall sustainability on their operations. Dr. Maria Cloutier with the Soil Health Institute, a partner in the Dairy Soil & Water Regeneration Project, says Wisconsin farmers using reduced tillage and grazing are seeing more consistent forage production…. Read more »
The significance and uniqueness of the Dairy Soil & Water Regeneration (DSWR) project is presented in a newly published article in the Journal of Environmental Quality. In the overview paper, titled “Integrating soil health and manure practices to advance sustainability for U.S. dairy farms,” 22 researchers from partnering organizations and institutions and other experts around… Read more »
in In the News
Dairy Stream, a podcast for farmers, processors and others in the dairy foods supply chain, featured the Dairy Soil & Water Regeneration project in an episode released in June. Dr. Mara Cloutier of the Soil Health Institute and Dr. Dennis Busch of the University of Wisconsin-Platteville discuss innovative water quality research, findings from a baseline… Read more »
The DSWR project team has released its Progress Update for 2025. The report presents the status of the main tasks in the framework of the eight-year multistate project — baseline data collection, field trials, and outreach and modeling — and looks at metrics, findings to date for each research team and key takeaways. This past… Read more »
The Dairy Soil & Water Regeneration (DSWR) project is capturing data in various dairy regions of the country, representing unique climates, soils and agricultural management practices. The University of Wisconsin-Madison is conducting experiments at the Arlington Agricultural Research Station in south-central Wisconsin. Gregg Sanford, an assistant professor and acting principal investigator for the DSWR project… Read more »
Researchers at the University of Vermont are spreading the word about studies connected to the Dairy Soil & Water Regeneration (DSWR) project. Research specialist Molly Ratliff and postdoctoral researcher Adrian Wiegman shared insights at the American Ecological Engineering Society’s Annual Meeting in June. The conference was hosted by the University of Vermont, which is one… Read more »
Dairy Soil & Water Regeneration (DSWR) is tapping into the talents of the best and brightest researchers in the U.S. They’re doing work through eight research institutions in major dairy-producing regions across the country. One of these all-important project partners is Myeongseong Lee, a postdoctoral research associate at Texas A&M AgriLife Research. Tell us about… Read more »
Eight research institutions across the country are participating in the Dairy Soil & Water Regeneration (DSWR) project. Cornell University’s Quirine Ketterings, who leads the institution’s Nutrient Management Spear Program and is a principal investigator for DSWR, provided an update on what’s happening at the on-farm research sites in central and western New York. What is… Read more »
A conservation agency in west-central California featured research in the Dairy Soil & Water Regeneration (DSWR) project as part of a workshop for almond growers in early May. The event, hosted in Ceres by the East Stanislaus Resource Conservation District (ESRCD), focused on stacking regenerative practices. Adolfo Coyotl, a Ph.D. student at the University of… Read more »
in In the News
From Wisconsin Ag Connection Western Wisconsin’s Driftless Region, known for its steep hills and fertile farmland untouched by the last glacier, is at the center of a major soil health study aimed at improving dairy sustainability. The region, home to nearly 2,000 dairy herds, is one of five U.S. dairy regions included in the Dairy… Read more »
in In the News
Morning Ag Clips: The Driftless Region in western Wisconsin is marked by hills, valleys and rugged features, an area spared from the last glacier. It also holds thousands of acres of fertile cropland used to grow forage for an estimated 2,000 dairy herds. The area is one of five dairy regions in the U.S. where scientists… Read more »
in In the News
From the heart of the Driftless Region to the global supply chains of brands like Starbucks and Nestlé, the health of soil and water is top of mind. Mid-West Farm report looks at the first results of the Dairy Soil & Water Regeneration project. They include an interview with a researcher and a farmer from… Read more »
When managed carefully, livestock manure has proven to help build soil organic matter, enhance plant nutrient cycling and improve overall soil health and climate resilience over time. Determining just how valuable the nitrogen in manure can be for farmers who are growing crops has been the aim of a multiyear statewide study in New York… Read more »
in In the News
Since 2020, University of Vermont Extension has been involved in a unique experiment on a privately-owned farm in the St. Albans Bay. The farm has a single, undulating field — with four distinct watersheds — that’s being used to test out conservation practices for soil and water quality. The project is called Discovery Acres. It’s… Read more »
With the conclusion of field work in 2025, the Cornell University Nutrient Management Spear Program is diligently working to analyze comprehensive data collected during extensive field trials as part of the Dairy Soil & Water Regeneration (DSWR) project. Initiated by Dairy Management Inc. and the Soil Health Institute in collaboration with eight research institutions across… Read more »
in In the News
Across the Fence is joined by Joshua Faulkner, Director of the Center for Sustainable Agriculture, and Claire Benning with UVM Extension to discuss ongoing research and updates on phosphorus in the Vermont watershed. Watch on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Vo0_56qxH8
University of Vermont (UVM) Extension has been addressing water quality and nutrient management challenges in the state for the past five years through Discovery Acres, a water quality research model affiliated with the multistate Discovery Farms program. UVM researchers Heather Darby and Claire Benning shared details about their work on March 24 during a webinar… Read more »
The Driftless Region in Wisconsin is marked by hills, valleys and rugged features, an area spared from the last glacier. It also holds thousands of acres of fertile cropland used to grow forage for an estimated 2,000 dairy herds. The area is one of five dairy regions in the U.S. where scientists sampled soils to… Read more »
Dairy Soil & Water Regeneration (DSWR) is tapping into the talents of the best and brightest researchers in the U.S. They’re doing work through eight research institutions in major dairy-producing regions across the country. One of these all-important project partners is Dr. Deanne Meyer, livestock waste management specialist in the Department of Animal Science at… Read more »
A University of Vermont research specialist shared the results from part of her team’s work on the Dairy Soil & Water Regeneration (DSWR) project at the 2026 No-Till & Cover Crop Conference. Molly Ratliff presented a research poster at the event, which brought together farmers, crop consultants, agricultural businesses and researchers to discuss soil health,… Read more »
The Dairy Soil & Water Regeneration (DSWR) project is capturing data in various dairy regions of the country, representing unique climates, soils and agricultural management practices. The Texas A&M AgriLife High Plains Research and Extension Center is conducting research in a semi-arid climate with limited surface water and heavy dependence on the diminishing water in… Read more »
in In the News
UC ANR was well-represented at the World Ag Expo held in Tulare on Feb. 9–11. The three-day show welcomed more than 100,000 attendees who came from 50 states, the District of Columbia and 53 countries, according to World Ag Expo organizers. Read the full article, with highlights on DSWR researchers discussing results from a dairy… Read more »
Sam Zipper, Kansas Geological Survey assistant scientist and assistant professor at the University of Kansas Many people say the first principle of soil health is to “know your context” — meaning that a soil health management strategy should be based on a farm’s unique conditions, including its goals, climate, equipment, personnel and economics. However, most… Read more »
The Dairy Soil & Water Regeneration (DSWR) project work began in 2021 with sampling of soils on commercial farms in key dairy states across the U.S., representing a wide range of climates, management practices and soil types. More than 1,000 samples from nearly 200 fields were analyzed to create a baseline of soil health and… Read more »
Kansas Geological Survey assistant scientist Sam Zipper is the recipient of the 2025 Hydrologic Sciences Early Career Award from the Hydrology Section of the American Geophysical Union (AGU). The award recognizes outstanding contributions to hydrology through research, education or societal impacts. Zipper, who is also an assistant professor at the University of Kansas, is supporting the Dairy… Read more »
Quantifiable data is an essential part of decision-making for dairy farmers who are implementing environmentally sustainable field practices. But that data is limited. To address this challenge, Dairy Management Inc. and the Soil Health Institute initiated the Dairy Soil & Water Regeneration (DSWR) project in collaboration with research partners at eight institutions to advance progress… Read more »
Eight institutions are conducting research in various dairy-producing regions of the country as part of the Dairy Soil & Water Regeneration (DSWR) project. The semi-arid Snake River Valley in southern Idaho, the third-largest milk producing state, is one of the settings. Soil chemist April Leytem, formerly with USDA, led the research at the agency’s Agricultural… Read more »