We’re kicking off the fifth year of the Wisconsin Cover Crop Citizen Science project! If you use cover crops, we are looking for high-quality on-farm data to help improve our understanding of the who, what, why, where, and when of cover crops. Visit our map and data dashboards for an interactive display of farmer-generated data. Read more about the project here.
How the Wisconsin Cover Crop Citizen Science Project works
- We welcome all levels of cover crop experience and types of operations currently actively using cover crops and require only that you are willing to sample in the fall and the spring.
- Fill out a survey this fall on one field or set of fields where you cover crop (online or paper options available).
- A kit will be mailed to you in the fall for you to collect and mail samples of your cover crop in the fall and again in the spring. We will test biomass and forage quality and do a nutrient analysis on your samples. Collecting the samples should take less than 15 minutes.
We are limited to a certain number of sampling kits for the entire state, so please sign up as soon as possible to ensure your spot!
For a video explaining how farmers participate in and generate robust on-farm data through the Wisconsin Cover Crop Citizen Science Network, ▶ Watch: Building knowledge about Wisconsin’s cover crops through citizen science.
Farmers
As a thank you for your partnership:
- Farmers receive a $25 stipend for filling out the survey or a $100 stipend for also contributing cover crop samples.
- We send you your FREE results on cover crop biomass, nutrient analysis and forage quality.
- We share interactive web and paper reports, so you can learn of project findings and also compare your own cover crop practices and results with other farmers all around the state.
Your information will be kept private, your participation is voluntary, and you can leave the project at any time. If you have questions, please email Dan Marzu: dan.marzu@wisc.edu.
Who is collecting this data, and why?
This citizen science project is part of the Soil Health Alliance for Research and Education, a group of researchers and educators working with USDA Dairy Forage Research Center, Michael Fields Agricultural Institute, the University of Wisconsin, and other partners to improve cover crop recommendations for the state of Wisconsin. We need to better understand how cover crops are being used, the challenges, and what benefits producers are seeing. Our goals are to help farmers like you make sound management decisions, improve decision support tools like SnapPlus and help build the Wisconsin Integrated Cropping Systems Trial database.
The project is partially sponsored by The Nature Conservancy, and we sincerely thank them for their continued support. This project would not be nearly as successful without the dedicated support from TNC agronomist Ricardo Costa. Thank you!
Questions or Comments? Contact Dan Marzu, University of Wisconsin–Madison Extension North Central Nutrient and Pest Outreach Specialist. Phone or text: 608-381-6702. Email: dan.marzu@wisc.edu
