Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection

Nick and Amanda Kleiber are 2024 Nitrogen Optimization Pilot Program (NOPP) grant recipients! Their study is investigating economical nitrogen rates on no-till corn in Sheboygan County. While the Kleibers have done their fair share of on-farm experimentation (including hybrid and variety trials), this was their first time conducting a fully replicated trial. Nick says, in contrast to a side-by-side demo plot, “You don’t realize how important the replication is until you do it."

For example, Nick and Amanda have been advised that it would be economically beneficial to apply sulfur (S) to their corn crop, but Nick couldn’t find a benefit (in yield or visually) when testing this in a non-replicated fashion. When NOPP came around, they figured this could be an opportunity to test the idea more accurately. So, in addition to the four nitrogen rates (0, 60, 120, and 180 lb-N/ac), Nick and Amanda included a treatment where 120 lb-N/ac was accompanied by an application of sulfur.

Following the first of this two-year study, Nick had some advice for anyone doing on-farm research: “Take pictures!” He points out that good record-keeping is extremely important, and the pictures include a timestamp that can be referenced following the season.   

InDepth Agronomy

Golden "E" Dairy Farms is a 2024 Nitrogen Optimization Pilot Program grant recipient collaborating with InDepth Agronomy on their project of evaluating corn nitrogen rates! The soils in some areas of eastern Wisconsin contain a higher clay content than most other areas of Wisconsin, which can make nitrogen difficult to manage. This soil characteristic is what inspired the farm to both fine-tune nitrogen rate recommendations as well as evaluate several in-season nitrogen measurement tools.

With a goal of integrating the research easily into their normal planting and fertilizing practices, Golden E Dairy leveraged precision agriculture technologies already being used on their operation. The randomized complete block design research plots were installed using variable rate fertilizing prescriptions as a back-to-back streamer application of 32% UAN. These large plots allowed for normal planting and combining operations without specific regard to the location of the plots.

The yield data is currently being analyzed, and the project collaborators look forward to sharing the first-year results as well as comparing their results with two other dairies in eastern Wisconsin that are taking the same approach to nitrogen research. In addition to determining optimum nitrogen rates for corn yield, the research design also evaluates several in-season nitrogen management tools such as: NDVI, Chlorophyll, GreenSeeker, PSNT, PPNT, Tissue Testing, and Stalk Nitrate sampling. The farm hopes to narrow in on several tools that have a strong predictive measurement of corn nitrogen needs to scale this research across their farm. ​