Commercial Nitrogen Optimization Pilot Grant Program

​​Introduction to P​​​​​r​​og​​ram​​​​​​​

NOPP is designed to encourage agricultural producers to develop innovative approaches to optimize the application of commercial nitrogen for a duration of at least two growing seasons. The producers must collaborate with a UWS institution, which will monitor the grant project on-site. The total award to an applicant cannot exceed $40,000.

Under 92.14(1​6), Stats., grant recipients must meet all of the following eligibility requirements to be considered for funding:

  • Project must include two growing seasons.
  • UWS institution should monitor the grant project on-site.
  • Priority will be given to innovative projects not currently funded through state or federal programs.
  • Priority will be given for longer-term projects.
To learn about the basics of the program, watch Lindsey Rushford, UW NOPP Coordinator, talk about the program on Life on the Farm:
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 NOPP Spotlights ​ ​

Jim Stute
Jim Stute is a 2024 Nitrogen Optimization Pilot Program (NOPP) grant recipient! This study investigates best practices for the corn crop following a cereal rye cover crop, particularly in yield effects and weed suppression. While not new to NOPP (he’s involved with a multi-site project funded in 2023), Jim’s interest in applying for his own project matches both his farm and professional interests. After experiencing some of the wettest years on his farm around 2019 and not being able to plant due to soil moisture issues, Jim has progressed to having every acre of his farm under a rye cover crop.

As an independent agronomist, Jim hopes to optimize the system financially: “If we can make the practice pencil out, people who are skeptical might be interested because it’s ultimately a business decision."

While confirming the optimal nitrogen rate is a main goal of the project, Jim emphasizes that evaluating weed suppression and soil moisture management are all part of the puzzle. He’s also evaluating the utility of the Haney Test as a decision-aid tool in this system. Speaking to anyone considering on-farm research, Jim says, “It’s time-consuming because you’re out in the field weekly, beyond routine scouting but, it’s interesting to see crop development responses to weather conditions."

Peter Bonin

Peter worked in ag retail (where the N-to-bushels-of-corn ratio used was around 1:1) before transitioning to the farm full time where priorities changed. As a farmer, on top of the financial component, there is also a stewardship component to finding the right rate of nitrogen: to avoid polluting waterways by following the four R’s as closely as possible.

In addition to evaluating a suite of nitrogen rates in his on-farm trial, Peter is also treating half of the corn plots with Envita. This biological product claims to “enable cells throughout the plant to fix their own nitrogen." Peter has been using Envita on his farm for five years and has experienced success, so he decided to run some trials. When NOPP came onto his radar, the funding opportunity allowed Peter to add additional nitrogen rates to his trial!

For the first trial in 2024, drone images were taken and the 0N rates (required for NOPP trials) were clearly visible as pale-yellow strips. Despite their appearance, those 0N strips still yielded 100 bu/ac corn - not very profitable, but notable!

Nick and Amanda Kleiber​

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.   

GoldenE.jpg 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. ​ 


To read more NOPP project updates, visit the NOPP Project Spotlight Archives. ​

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