This project supports repairs and upgrades to a specialized piece of equipment, a Kemper C2200 forage harvester, which is used for research on small crop plots. The harvester helps collect and measure plant material, like corn silage, from different research areas where various treatments are being tested (such as manure application or soil amendments). These upgrades will improve the machine’s performance and accuracy, allowing researchers and students to better understand how different farming practices affect soil health and crop growth.

The Förster-Technik CalfRail System is an automated feeding system that helps farmers care for their calves more efficiently. It works by moving a milk feeder along a rail between pens, delivering warm, freshly mixed milk to each calf in small amounts throughout the day. This helps mimic how calves would naturally nurse, supporting healthier growth and better digestion. One CalfRail can feed up to 60 calves, and two units working together can feed as many as 120 calves. This technology makes it easier to ensure each calf gets the right amount of milk at the right time, without extra labor.

Manure plays an important role in crop production by returning nutrients to the soil—but managing it in a way that protects water, air, and soil health is a growing challenge for livestock farms. At UW-Platteville’s Pioneer Farm, a new project aims to support smarter manure use with the help of new equipment and hands-on research.

With the new tanker, faculty and students will test emerging technologies like nutrient sensors, manure treatments, and additives that could help farmers make the most of their manure—while also protecting the environment. This equipment will also serve as a mobile research and outreach tool, helping connect what happens in the field to what farmers and industry professionals need to know.

Ultimately, this will boost UW-Platteville’s research capacity, provide real-world training for students, and offer Wisconsin farmers practical, science-based information to guide their decisions.

Manure is a valuable resource for crops and soil health, but if not managed carefully, it can contribute to greenhouse gas emissions, water pollution, and public health concerns. At UW-Platteville, a new project will take a closer look at what happens to manure during storage—and how we can manage it better to benefit both farms and the environment.

With support from the Dairy Innovation Hub, UW-Platteville plans to install large, 2,000-gallon test tanks, called mesocosms, that mimic real manure storage conditions on farms. These tanks will let researchers study how different treatments affect emissions and nutrient levels during storage.

The team will explore tools like acidification, biochar, and manure additives that may help reduce harmful gases like methane and ammonia, while keeping more nutrients in the manure for crops. These practices have shown promise, but more research is needed to understand how they work in real-world conditions and what long-term effects they might have on soils.

This new setup will give faculty and students the ability to run controlled, in-depth experiments that reflect the realities of Wisconsin agriculture. The results will help shape future research trials, inform farmer decisions, and support the development of more sustainable manure management practices.

Modern dairy farms use many digital tools and technologies to manage everything from feeding to milking. At UW-Platteville’s Pioneer Farm, these tools generate a lot of valuable data, but that information is spread across different systems that don’t easily connect. Right now, over 60 different data points are stored across ten platforms, making it difficult to get a complete picture of what’s happening on the farm.

This project will build a system to bring all of that information together in one place. By organizing and cleaning the data into a single, easy-to-use database, the Pioneer Farm team will make it easier to use that information for day-to-day decision-making, long-term research, and innovative technology applications. This work lays the foundation for more advanced projects down the road, including using blockchain to securely track and verify farm data. This project takes the first step in unlocking the full potential of the farm’s digital tools, making the data more useful for students, researchers, and the dairy community.

A new project at UW-Platteville’s Pioneer Farm will bring a small-scale feed mill to life inside the maternity cow barn, giving students hands-on experience while supporting research that promotes animal health and welfare. The feed mill will be built in an unused 30-by-30-foot space near the maternity pens. Construction will begin in Fall 2025, with help from UW-Platteville’s Building Construction Management class, who will install a simple wall to separate the feed mill from the cow area. Once the space is ready, four key pieces of feed processing equipment will be installed.

This equipment includes a mixer for making small feed batches, a roller mill to grind grains like corn, a pelleter to form custom-sized pellets, and a precision mixer for very small ingredient batches. Each machine is similar to what’s used in commercial feed mills, but scaled down for safe and flexible student use. Once up and running, the feed mill will support student learning, research, and real-world feed trials, helping future dairy professionals understand how feed quality and formulation impact animal care and performance.

Cold plasma has shown promise in safely reducing bacteria, cleaning surfaces, treating water, and even boosting plant health. To build on this potential, the research team is investing in new tools to better control and scale up cold plasma treatments for real-world use. The project includes the installation of specialized equipment that can generate plasma consistently and treat larger samples with greater precision. A new system will also boost production of plasma-activated water (PAW), increasing output fivefold. This special type of water has the potential to safely disinfect produce, protect crops from disease, and treat contaminated water – all without using harsh chemicals.

Together with monitoring tools that ensure the safety and consistency of the treatments, this new setup will position UW-Platteville students and researchers to test and develop cold plasma solutions that support a safer food system and a healthier environment.

To better understand how different farming practices affect soil and water quality, UW-Platteville’s Pioneer Farm is installing new monitoring equipment in two pasture areas. The equipment will collect detailed data on how water moves across and through the soil, tracking things like erosion, nitrogen and phosphorus runoff, and overall soil quality. This will allow researchers to directly compare different farming systems, such as traditional cropping versus managed grazing, and see which practices help protect the land and water. The new equipment at Pioneer Farm will not only support local research, but also contribute to national and global sustainability efforts through collaborations with the USDA, Tribal Colleges, and the Global Farm Platform.

Groundwater is the primary source of drinking water in Wisconsin, making it essential to understand how contaminants, such as agrichemicals, phosphates, and nitrates, travel through soil and impact water quality. A fraction collector is a specialized tool that will improve research efforts by automatically collecting water samples at precise intervals, reducing human error and ensuring consistent data. This equipment will be used in laboratory experiments to study how pollutants move through soil and how they can be removed using flow-through reactors, which help filter out harmful substances before they reach groundwater. Additionally, the fraction collector will support student learning by enabling hands-on research in water quality modeling and hydrology. By investing in this tool, the university enhances its ability to study and develop solutions that protect Wisconsin’s water resources and align with the Dairy Innovation Hub’s commitment to land and water stewardship.

Mann Valley Farm (MVF) currently relies on conventional tillage to prepare fields for planting, but this method can lead to soil erosion, higher fuel and labor costs, and long-term damage to soil health. While no-till farming offers benefits like improved water retention and reduced erosion, it also comes with challenges such as herbicide dependence and difficulty managing crop residues. To address these issues, the project seeks funding for a vertical tillage tool— an innovative piece of equipment that improves soil conditions without excessive disturbance. Vertical tillage helps reduce soil compaction, enhances water infiltration, speeds up residue decomposition, and creates better seedbed conditions, all of which contribute to higher yields with lower costs. MVF plans to use the tool twice a year—before planting in the spring to maintain soil moisture and after harvesting in the fall to break down crop residues and enrich soil organic matter. By integrating this tool into farm operations, MVF can improve efficiency, promote sustainability, and support conservation-friendly farming practices.