Key Project Details
- 360Rain delivers nutrients and water from manure and leachate to the crop throughout the growing season, offering potential benefits for nutrient use efficiency, water quality, and overall farm profitability and efficiencies.
- Evaluate crop nutrient use efficiency, yield, and economics of 360Rain-applied manure or leachate compared to a “no-360Rain” test strip.
- Project includes routine soil test, manure analysis and corn nutrient analysis (estimated minimum budget: $450 per trial)
- Interested in taking a deeper dive into 360Rain? This project includes optional research packages so farmers can further explore topics that support management decisions on their farms. Optional research packages investigate soil nitrogen dynamics, supplemental synthetic nitrogen response, management comparisons, or simplified assessment.
Project Background
As more farmers are investing in 360Rain systems to apply manure or leachate to a growing crop, questions remain on how the technology can support efficient use of on-farm nutrient sources, reduce environmental risk, and enhance overall farm profitability and efficiencies.
This research trial aims to address the question, “What is the nutrient use efficiency of 360Rain-applied manure or leachate?”, while collecting insights from participating farmers on their experiences with 360Rain, benefits and challenges, and the economics of the investment.
As a collaborative producer-led research trial, results will provide relevant insights for your operation and contribute to a wider effort to support the advancement of conservation throughout the state.
Why Participate?
Learn through data from your farm! Do you already have a 360Rain system and want to see how well your crops are using applied nutrients and how yield, quality, and overall profitability are impacted? Gain farm-specific insights to help understand and efficiently manage on-farm nutrients. Interested in taking a deeper dive into 360Rain? The project includes optional research packages to tailor the project to your goals.
Connect with other participating farmers to hear how they are using 360Rain and where they are finding success.
Contribute to a larger effort to support farmer-led conservation solutions and resources that can benefit other Wisconsin farmers. Results from this project will be aggregated, analyzed, and shared to support other farmers who might be deciding whether to invest in 360Rain or how to successfully use the system.
360Rain Applied Manure or Leachate: Farmer-Led Research Project Summary
What will I learn?
The project evaluates the efficiency of 360Rain-applied manure as it relates to optimization of on-farm nutrients, water quality risk, and economic return. In addition, participating farmers’ takeaways will provide insights into successful approaches to using 360Rain and other impacts to farm efficiencies.
Baseline Requirements
A no-360Rain test strip to determine nutrient uptake of the crop without 360Rain-applied manure or leachate. If unable to include a no-360Rain test strip, view the simple assessment option.
Data collection: routine soil test, manure or leachate nutrient analysis for every 360Rain application, crop yield, crop nutrient uptake.
Tailor to your goals: Take a deeper dive into 360Rain-applied manure or leachate with optional research packages to better support management decisions on your farm. Investigate soil nitrogen dynamics, supplemental synthetic nitrogen response, management comparisons, or simplified assessment.
Field and Management Considerations
Farmers are encouraged to manage the field as usual to better evaluate the practice for their operations. Manure, leachate, or any supplemental fertilizers can be applied (ex: rate, timing, source, etc) to align with their operations and goals, and in accordance with their nutrient management plans. This protocol can be implemented for any crop.
Extension’s on-farm research team is here to assist along the way. For those participating in the project, you will receive technical support with setting up the trial, implementing it, and collecting relevant data. General guidance on trial layout and data collection is included below as you consider this project, but more details and technical support will be provided directly to those participating.
Trial Layout
Our goal is to keep producer-led research trials simple and practical for participating farmers.
Only one no-360Rain test strip is required for this project to minimize any potential yield loss and simplify the process for operators. For those interested, including multiple no-360Rain test strips will increase confidence in the results, especially in highly variable fields.
Test strips should be one width of the 360Rain applicator and a minimum of 350 feet for yield monitor accuracy, but we can work together to set up a trial that works for you, your fields, and equipment.
Timeline
| Time of Year | Project Activities |
|---|---|
| Winter | Planning: Select field and trial layout |
| Spring | Routine soil test |
| In-Season | 360Rain manure or leachate applications. For each application: – Collect manure sample for comprehensive manure analysis – Ensure manure or leachate isn’t applied to the no-360Rain test strip – Record data for each application and field conditions – Take photos Occasional field visits, observations & photos |
| Harvest | If implementing this trial for crops with multiple harvests (ex: alfalfa), follow these steps for each harvest: – Prepare for harvest data collection (ex: calibrate yield monitor, organize a weigh wagon or scales) – Collect plant samples for nutrient content analysis and forage analysis if applicable (prior to harvest or at harvest time) – Harvest and submit yield data for analysis |
| Post-Harvest | Complete field history, management, and trial observation survey. Share field and lab results for analysis. Discuss individual & project-wide results |
Data Collection for this Project
Field measurements, farmer-reported management information, and any observations are used to meet the objectives of this trial, interpret individual trial results and support wider recommendations developed from research results.
- Routine soil test
- Manure or leachate sample for every 360Rain application (comprehensive manure analysis recommended to measure organic N and inorganic N separately).
- 360Rain maps and application data
- Plant samples at harvest time taken from with and without 360Rain strips
- Nutrient content (%N, %P)
- Forage quality
- Yield: using a calibrated yield monitor, weigh wagon, or scales
- Field management data (including field history, management details, and any other observations or perceptions)
- Optional data: explore optional research packages or discuss with our team if there are other measurements you are interested in.
Participants will receive data collection sheets and guidance on submitting data, which will be analyzed and summarized into a research report by UW-Madison Extension. At the end of the season, participants and partners will review and discuss individual results and connect with other participants about project-wide results.
Budget Considerations
Groups are encouraged to budget for this project to best meet their goals and priorities. All projects should budget for routine soil tests, manure or leachate sampling, plant samples for nutrient content and forage quality, and, if needed, shipping of samples and sampling equipment. If evaluating a crop with one harvest, the estimated cost for the minimum required data collection is $450 per trial. Given that analysis fees are subject to increases, groups are encouraged to reach out to their lab of choice for up-to-date costs.
In addition, groups are encouraged to budget for any additional expenses they wish to cover. This may include farmer participant stipends or incentive payments, compensation for any yield loss in the no-360Rain test strip, labor for trial set-up or sampling, mileage, field day activities, or other additional measurements. Any questions on eligible costs can be directed to the specific grant or funder, if applicable.
Optional Research Packages
Interested in taking a deeper dive into 360Rain? Tailor this research trial to answer your 360Rain questions by adding one or more of the below options to the baseline project:
Simplified 360Rain Assessment
If including a no-360Rain test strip is a barrier, conducting a simple nutrient balance for the field is a first step to understanding nutrient use efficiency.
- Low effort
- Follow the same steps in the baseline protocol, without including a no-360Rain test strip. Any required data will just be collected for the whole field.
- Minimum estimated budget: $350
360Rain and Nitrogen Dynamics
Track soil nitrate and ammonium through the season to evaluate nitrogen dynamics for your field and conditions. Measuring soil nitrogen throughout the season can provide insights into nitrogen availability for crop needs, potential risk to water quality due to excess soil nitrate, and future nitrogen management considerations.
- Low effort: requires additional soil sampling, 4 times throughout the season
- Soil samples are taken in 360Rain and no-360Rain test strips. Recommended sampling time includes in the fall after previous crop harvest (0-1’, 1-2’), spring pre-plant (0-1’, 1-2’), pre-sidedress (0-1’) if sidedressing nitrogen, and post-harvest (0-1’, 1-2’) and will be analyzed for nitrate and ammonium.
- Estimated budget for additional sampling: $750 per trial
360Rain and Tile Drainage Sampling
Measure nitrate concentrations in tile flow using grab samples to assess nitrate-nitrogen leaving the field under these growing conditions. Given limitations of water quality monitoring, this sampling will not provide total nitrate losses (pounds per acre) from the field or evaluate the effect of manure or leachate applications on nitrate concentrations.
- Medium effort: requires tile drainage grab sampling every 2 weeks
- Tile grab samples will be collected according to the Discovery Farms protocol and analyzed for nitrate-nitrogen.
- Estimated budget for additional sampling: $550 per trial
360Rain and Supplemental Nitrogen Response
Curious if applied manure is meeting crop nutrient needs or if applying supplemental nitrogen would be profitable? Evaluate crop response to additional supplemental nitrogen or two different synthetic nitrogen rates.
- Medium effort: requires additional synthetic nitrogen treatment and sampling.
- Minimum estimated budget for required sampling: $700 per trial, which includes baseline data collection requirements for both nitrogen treatments.
- For a more thorough evaluation of synthetic nitrogen and optimizing nutrient use, consider applying for a Nitrogen Optimization Pilot Program grant.
360Rain Management Comparison
Compare how management decisions impact nutrient use efficiency, yield, and other considerations to better inform future management decisions for your operation. Explore management comparisons that you are most interested in!
- Medium-High effort: requires two management scenarios.
- Management comparisons can relate to the 360Rain application itself (ex: comparing different rates or nutrient application timings) or a different management practice altogether (ex: cover crop vs. no cover crop).
- Minimum estimated budget for required sampling: $700 per trial, which includes baseline data collection requirements for both management scenarios.
- Recommended trial layout: balancing an additional management practice can be challenging in an on-farm research trial. Splitting the field in half will be easiest for participants to implement and manage the two management scenarios.
Unsure if this project is right for you? Reach out to our team for more information on what you will learn, how to implement the project, or how to budget for it in an upcoming grant.
About Collaborative Producer-Led Research and Demonstration Projects
This project is a collaborative effort of Wisconsin farmers, DATCP’s Producer-Led Watershed Protection Grant Program, UW-Madison Division of Extension, and many local partners and collaborators to support producer-led research, demonstration, and education. Protocols are designed with producers to support farmer-driven conservation solutions, farmer-to-farmer learning, and coordinated data on conservation practice performance across Wisconsin.
Thank you to the Farmer Working Group for their support in developing this protocol.
