Progress 01/01/24 to 12/31/24
Outputs
Target Audience:The target audience for this project are research scientist, regulators, extension educators, custom manure haulers and livestock producers. The primary audience is targeting extension educators and custom manure haulers and producers, as this work is evaluating the performance and uses of manure sensing systems currently on the market. While this research is focused on the research it also includes significant outreach and extension efforts to educate relevant stakeholders at conferences and through publications. Changes/Problems:To the overall project, the primary challenge on the project was the manure tanker being able to be moved. The original plan was to install the sensor and move the tanker between two farms. However, due to the small application window of manure in the spring, this was not feasible for the primary farm and the study occurred at only one farm. This change resulted in additional grant funding remaining at the project. As a result a no-cost extension has been requested to continue the study at the primary farm an additional year. In the past year the primary challenge has been with the manure agitator breakdown in spring of 2024. This resulted in the manure total solids content being out of the acceptable range of the calibration and reduced the performance of the sensor. As a result, we plan to repeat the trial a third year to overcome this problem, and hope that a no-cost extension is granted to use the remaining supply budget. The research team will look carefully at the total solids content of the manure during application to ensure this issue does not arise again. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The project has involved multiple undergraduate students from UW-Platteville and a post-doctoral researcher and research technician at UW-Madison. Undergraduate students (x8) have gotten training in soil and plant tissue sampling, and yield sampling in relation to this project. A post-doctoral researcher and now researchtechnicianat UW-Madison havereceived training in setting up experimental designs for replicated field trials and managing undergraduate students and research staff. In addition, the field day and Wisconsin Water and Soil Health conference provided producers and haulers with training opportunities in understanding how the system works, and the benefits and drawbacks to using the system. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The research team has been active in engaging with stakeholders in regards to the technology. This has included presentations on the research study at the Midwest Manure Summit, North American Manure Expo, Wisconsin Dairy Summit, Minnesota 4R Field Day, and Wisconsin Water and Soil Health Conference. Researchers have also presented at an informational poster session at the Wisconsin State capital to highlight ongoing research to legislators and stakeholder groups. The research team has also been working on a factsheet for publication in regards to the technology concept, benefits of uses, and considerations to adopting the technology. As of date, the research team has not published a peer-reviewed article as the team is waiting for the enough data from the trial, and a third year of the trial is planned. After completion PI's will work to publish the data in a peer reviewed article. PI Sanford submitted an abstract and presented at the 2024 ASA, CSSA, SSSA International Annual Meeting to a wide network of research scientist and production agronomist in the field on the results of the completed study years. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?As previously mentioned, a six month additional no-cost-extension has been requested from the USDA to use the remaining supply funding towards a third field trial year. As of now there has not been a decision on the extension. If the extension is granted, the team will work to implement a third year of the field trial using the updated manure calibrations and ensure that total solids content of the manure is within acceptable range to avoid issues that occurred in 2024. Additionally, PI's hope to conduct a one year study using the sensor to track manure nutrient data for as-applied maps to assess the impact on both production and economics for supplemental application in a corn silage system. Upon the completion of data for the field trials, data will be analyzed and disseminated into a peer reviewed manuscript. For outreach, the research team will continue engaging with stakeholders at stakeholder focused meetings and the team has begun development on factsheets on the technology for publication to a broader audience.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
To assess the impact of the NIRS sensor to manure application systems, a field plot trial was setup at the University of Wisconsin Arlington Research Station in the Spring of 2023 and repeated in 2024. The study was designed to compare using traditional manure sampling methods to NIRS manure prediction system (John Deere HarvestLab 3000) when applying manure to meet a specific nitrogen rate. A field was divided into 21 strip plots and manure was manure was applied at three different rates (92, 110, and 138 lbs N per acre). To achieve the desired rates two methods were used. First rates were determined using the previous year's composite manure sample data, using the laboratory nitrogen content a manure application rate in gallons per acre was determined to meet desired rates. Second, the NIRS real time sensor was activated, and manure nutrients were determined in real time. Based on the sensor manure nutrients the tractors automation increased or decreased the tractors speeds to meet desired rates. The study included a total of 7 treatments including the control and each treatment was replicated three times. Treatment plots were roughly 0.2 acres large. During application tanker manure samples are taken. In addition, soil samples were collected from a depth of 0-30 and 30-60 cm before application, once corn was 30 cm tall, and post-harvest. The first year of the trial (Spring 2023). During application, manure samples were collected, and actual applied nutrients was determined via laboratory analysis. Based on actual applied data, both application systems (traditional sampling and sensor) resulted in the over application of nitrogen from target rates. Based on laboratory data on average the fixed rate treatment overapplied N by 64 lbs N per acre, while the NIRS treatments by 21 lbs N per acre. The NIRS system application improvement highlights the potential for the system to improve nitrogen application. However, the predicted phosphorus rate was 56% (roughly 15.6 lbs P2O5 per acre) off compared to actual application data. At harvest, there was no significant difference between treatments for yield difference. However, based on applied nitrogen rate and soil and forage nitrogen content the NIRS system improved the nitrogen use efficiency using the uptake efficiency (UE) model. In the second year (2024), the sensors underestimated the manures nitrogen content by roughly 35%. The reason for the low nitrogen predication was likely due to lower total solids content of the manure due to the farm's agitator boat being out of commission in the spring of 2024. The calibrations for the sensor are only accurate in specific total solids ranges, and the manure in the spring of 2024 was just below the lower limit. However, based on yield data there was no significant impact between the laboratory and sensor application treatments. Soil and plant tissue nitrogen analysis is still ongoing and once completed the nitrogen use efficiency will be determined. In addition, samples for both 2023 and 2024 have been sent to an external lab to evaluate for feed quality (ADF, NDF, CP, starch) to provide additional insight into the sensor performance. Due to the mechanical issues in 2024, a third year of the field trial will hopefully be completed in 2025 (no-cost extension pending) to provide a third year of data at the sight. A six month no cost extension for this grant has been requested to fund the manure application in the spring and a small amount of additional funds from the WI Dairy Innovation Hub has been secured to complete harvest and post-harvest analysis in the fall. In addition to the field study, the manure constituent sensing calibration of the sensor had been updated by the manufacturer (John Deere) this year. This fall the team decided to assess the performance of the updated calibration and assess the impact tanker flow rate might have on the accuracy. For the assessment the tanker flow rate was adjusted to five different rates, ranging from 500 to 1,500 gallons per minute with applications replicated five times. The results indicated that the manure flow rate did not have a significant impact on the sensor performance, highlighting the versatility of the system at different flow rates. In addition, the sensor prediction compared to the collected and analyzed samples were on average within 10%, 25%, 40%, and 15% for the total nitrogen, P2O5, K2O, and ammoniacal nitrogen, respectively. This highlights a significant improvement, particularly in total N, P2O5, and ammoniacal nitrogen, of the system from the latest calibration update. The purposed 2025 field trial will utilize this updated calibration at an additional site. For outreach objectives, PI's have been active in conducting outreach presentations to relevant stakeholder groups. In the past year PI Sanford traveled to the Minnesota 4R Field Day to talk with stakeholders regarding how the system works, benefits of using the system, and study results. Additionally, the group presented and served on a panel at the Wisconsin Water and Soil Health conference highlighting the benefits of the system and incorporating precision technologies onto manure systems. The team is also working on development of a factsheet, planned publication in early 2025, on the technology highlighting how to incorporate the system onto manure tankers, importance of software setup, and potential benefits and drawbacks of using the system. The team will also be at the Midwest Manure Summit in February to host a roundtable to discus similar objectives as the factsheet with haulers and producers.
Publications
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2024
Citation:
Sanford, J.. 2024. Manure Nutrient Sensing Technology: Potential to Improve Nutrient Management with Precision. 2024 ASA, CSA, SSSA Annual Conference. November 12, San Antonio, TX.
- Type:
Other
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2024
Citation:
Sanford, J. 2024. Cutting Edge Solutions Today for the Future of Agriculture Panel. December 18, 2024, Wisconsin Dells, WI
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Progress 01/01/23 to 12/31/23
Outputs
Target Audience:?The target audience for this project are research scientist, regulators, extension educators, custom manure haulers and livestock producers. The primary audience is targeting extension educators and custom manure haulers and producers, as this work is evaluating the performance and uses of manure sensing systems currently on the market. While this research is focused on the research it also includes significant outreach and extension efforts to educate relevant stakeholders at conferences and through publications. Changes/Problems:The primary challenge we have had with this project relate to personnel and equipment. The original post-doctoral researcher hired at UW-Madison was hired for a full time position at North Dakota State. We have replaced that position with a Research Technician who is currently working on the project at UW-Madison. No other changes or problems are to report with the project at this time. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The project has involved multiple undergraduate students from UW-Platteville and a post-doctoral researcher and research technician at UW-Madison. Undergraduate students (x8) have gotten training in soil samples, plant tissue sampling, and yield sampling in relation to this project. A post-doctoral researcher and now research?technicianat UW-Madison havereceived training in setting up experimental designs for replicated field trials and managing undergraduate students and research staff. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The research team has been active in engaging with stakeholders in regards to the technology. This has included presentations on the research study at the Midwest Manure Summit, North American Manure Expo, and Wisconsin Dairy Symposium. Researchers also presented at a informational poster session at the Wisconsin State capital to highlight ongoing research to legislators and stakeholder groups. The research team will also be working on a factsheet this fall for publication in regards to the technology concept, benefits of uses, and considerations to adopting the technology. As of date, the research team has not published a peer-reviewed article as the team is waiting for the conclusion of the 2024 season. After completion PI's will work to publish the data in a peer reviewed article. PI Sanford also plans to attend the 2024 ASA, CSSA, SSSA International Annual Meeting to present study findings to a wide network of research scientist and production agronomist in the field. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?The final year of the field trials has begun. Research team will continue collecting samples throughout the year in order to complete objective one. Upon the completion of data for the 2024 field season data will be analyzed and disseminated into a peer reviewed manuscripts. For outreach (objective 2 and 3), the research team will continue engaging with stakeholders at stakeholder focused meetings and additional at the 2024 ASA, CSSA, SSSA International Annual Meeting. The team will also begin development on factsheets on the technology for publication to a broader audience.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
To assess the impact of the NIRS sensor to manure application systems a field plot trial was setup at the University of Wisconsin Arlington Research Station in the Spring of 2023. The study was designed to compare using traditional manure sampling methods to NIRS manure prediction system (John Deere HarvestLab 3000) when apply manure to meet a specific nitrogen rates. A field was divided into strip plots manure was manure was applied at three different rates (92, 110, and 138 lbs N/ac) using either the pervious years composite manure sample data or the NIRS real time sensor. The study included a total of 7 treatments including the control and each treatment was replicated three times. Treatment plots were roughly 0.2 acres large. During application tanker manure samples are taken. In addition soil samples were collected from a depth of 0-30 and 30-60 cm before application, once corn was 30 cm tall, and post harvest. The first year of the trial (Spring 2023). During application, manure samples were collected and actual applied nutrients was determined via laboratory analysis. Based on actual applied data, both application systems (traditional sampling and sensor) resulted in the over application of nitrogen from target rates. However, the NIRS system was significantly closer to the desired nitrogen application rate highlighting the potential for the system to improve nitrogen application. At harvest, there was no significant difference between treatments for yield difference. However, based on applied nitrogen rate and soil and forage nitrogen content NIRS system improved the nitrogen use efficiency using the uptake efficiency (UE) model. The second year of the plot study is ongoing for 2024. Manure has been applied to the plots and measurements will be replicated as was done in 2023. In addition to soil sample outline above, deep cores will be collected at the end of the growing season to evaluate for impacts in residual nitrogen leaching from the different treatments. For outreach objectives, PI's have been active in conducting outreach presentations to relevant stakeholder groups. In the past year PI Sanford presented on the research study at the Midwest Manure Summit, North American Manure Expo, and Wisconsin Dairy Symposium. Researchers also presented at a informational poster session at the Wisconsin State capital to highlight ongoing research to legislators and stakeholder groups. After the completion of this season research team will begin developing a factsheet for both industry and policy maker stakeholders.
Publications
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Progress 01/01/22 to 12/31/22
Outputs
Target Audience:The target audience for this project are research scientist, regulators, extension educators, custom manure haulers and livestock producers. The primary audience is targeting extension educators and custom manure haulers and producers, as this work is evaluating the performance and uses of manure sensing systems currently on the market. While this research is focused on the research it also includes significant outreach and extension efforts to educate relevant stakeholders at conferences and through publications. Changes/Problems:The primary challenge we have had with this project relate to personnel and equipment. The original post-doctoral researcher hired at UW-Madison was quickly hired for a full time position at North Dakota State and was only there through the spring application events. We have struggled to fill this position with another postdoctoral researchers. However, we have identified a new person to fill this position who will be starting in early April to work on the project. Additionally, we have had challenges with some of the equipment. In the early spring last year we identified an issue with the tractor using the NIRS sensor, and as a result had to switch to another unit. During the switch the program was not completely transferred, which resulted in loss of some of the NIRS sensing data we had expected to be able to evaluate. This issue has been identified and addressed by the manufacturer and should not be a problem moving forward with data collection. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The project has involved multiple undergraduate students from UW-Platteville and a post-doctoral researcher and research technician at UW-Madison. Undergraduate students have gotten training in soil samples, plant tissue sampling, and yield sampling. Post-doctoral researcher received training in setting up experimental designs for replicated field trials and managing undergraduate students and research staff. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Results from the study have not been published in peer-reviewed articles or at conferences, but have been disseminated to important stakeholders. PI Sanford presented preliminary data for the study at the Midwest Forage Symposium in the Wisconsin Dells, WI in February of 2022 where multiple custom manure haulers and producers were in attendance. The form was not only to present on the technology but also to hold discussion with the stakeholders on the upcoming research trials to allow them to help guide the research study in the spring. Additionally, following the rate trials an article was published in a trade journal (Progressive Dairy) on the ability of the system to apply based on nitrogen rates. Finally, the first year's field trial data was presented this February 2023 at the Midwest Manure Summit and Green Bay, WI, where producers, manure haulers, equipment sales/manufacturers, and extension educators were in attendance. PI's will continue to attend stakeholder focused conferences and publish relevant material on the systems performance throughout the project period. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?In the next reporting period, we will be completing another field trial. We plan to repeat the first trial comparing the accuracy of application rate based on traditional sampling method and NIRS sensing systems. In addition to increasing the number of nitrogen rate application for data analysis purposes, we plan to incorporate phosphorus application rates as well into the study. In addition, we will be completing another field study looking at the system's ability to improve field soil nutrient and crop yield variability. This coming spring, we plant to make application decision based on the fields phosphorus need. In the previous year's trial, nitrogen variability was low across the field, which may have been the reason for little differences in soil nutrient and yield variability at the end of the season. However, we identified that phosphorus was highly variable. We will be in another field with high phosphorus variability and expect applying based on phosphorus will have a greater impact. We will also continue to disseminate results at stakeholder focused meetings and publications.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
In the first yearwe conducted several trials evaluating the NIRS sensor for manure application. The first objective that was accomplished was outfitting the manure tanker with the sensor and proper parts/equipment for application. This was accomplished in the early stages of the project by research techniques in the Madison research group. In the early spring of 2022 we had our first application trials. In trial one we compare traditional manure sampling methods to the NIRS sensor to applying manure to meet set nitrogen application rates. In this trial we looked at two set two nitrogen application rates (75 lbs/ac and 150 lbs/ac) and used traditional manure sampling methods to determine volume application rates (gal/ac) or used the NIRS sensor system to apply based on real time nutrient sensing data. The data from this showed that NIRS sensor did help improve accuracy of application and will be repeated again this spring with more nitrogen application rates and applying based on phosphorus rates. The second trial that was completed this past year was a replicated strip plot trial using different manure application rate approaches, including fixed rate, variable rate, and variable rate using the NIRS sensor. The field was broken into multiple strips, and each strip was divided into four site specific management zones, which were soil sampled to provide site specific soil nutrient needs for corn silage crop. For application to fixed rate strips, nitrogen need was based on entire field soil data and manure nitrogen was based on previous years manure sampling data. For variable rate treatments, each zones nitrogen need for corn silage was determined. For the tradiatoinl variable rate application volume rates were determined using last years manure sampling data, and for the NIRS sensor the system was set to apply nitrogen need based on real-time NIRS sensor data. Each zone was soil sampled before application, after application, and at the conclusion of the season to evaluate treatment effects in soil nutrient variability. Additionally, corn silage harvest yields (tons/ac) from each strip and zone were collected to evaluate treatment effects on yield.
Publications
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