Perspectives: DSWR will provide farmers with practical solutions
February 14, 2025
By Dr. Mara Cloutier, Soil Health Institute
The Soil Health Institute (SHI) collaborated with Dairy Management Inc. on the design and development of the Dairy Soil & Water Regeneration (DSWR) project and is playing a central role in the data-driven project. Dr. Mara Cloutier of SHI shares her perspective on what sets DSWR apart from the global non-profit organization’s other research efforts aimed at safeguarding and enhancing the vitality and productivity of soils.
What is SHI’s role in DSWR
SHI plays a crucial part in DSWR by leading the benchmarking campaign across commercial dairy operations to assess the current state of soil health and carbon stocks in soils that receive dairy manure and support forage production. Beyond benchmarking, SHI provides technical expertise in field instrumentation, ensures data credibility through rigorous quality assurance and quality control processes and supports local partners in managing large datasets.
Additionally, SHI models greenhouse gas emissions and soil carbon sequestration, oversees the Modeling Advisory Committee and maintains a comprehensive database that integrates data across the entire project, which includes working dairies and research farms in major dairy production regions of the U.S.
Why does SHI feel DSWR is important?
SHI sees DSWR as essential because it fills critical knowledge gaps in forage production, helping dairy farmers innovate in ways that balance economic viability with environmental sustainability. By identifying regionally tailored, evidence-based strategies, DSWR will provide the dairy industry with practical solutions to improve soil health, water quality and resilience to erratic weather. This work directly supports SHI in advancing soil health as a foundation for sustainable agriculture, ensuring the long-term viability of dairy farming in the U.S.
What sets this project apart from other sustainability research efforts SHI has been involved in?
What makes DSWR unique among SHI’s research efforts is its focus on long-term monitoring of environmental and agronomic outcomes after practice adoption. Unlike our other studies, which often assess many fields at a single point in time to infer practice impacts, DSWR collects annual samples to track real changes over time.
Beyond the data, this project stands out because of the deep collaboration with research partners and innovative farmers. By integrating diverse perspectives into our experimental design, we’re helping to ensure that recommended practices are not only scientifically sound but also practical and regionally relevant for real-world implementation.
What are some new things SHI is learning while participating in this project?
Scientifically, SHI is gaining a new understanding of how different manure types influence soil nitrogen and phosphorus cycling compared to commonly used manuring practices. These insights are helping us refine recommendations for nutrient management and soil health improvements tailored to different dairy production systems.
One of the biggest insights from this project is seeing just how diverse dairy farming is across the U.S. Differences in soils, landscapes and climates shape the way farmers adapt their operations to local opportunities and challenges. This variability reinforces the need for regionally tailored sustainability strategies rather than universal solutions.