Abigail (Abby) Augarten serves as the On‑Farm Research Program Manager for the UW–Madison Division of Extension, where she leads participatory, farmer‑driven research to advance soil health, water quality, and conservation practice adoption across Wisconsin. She brings extensive experience collaborating with producers, advisors, and conservation partners to design and implement on‑farm trials that generate practical, trusted insights for improving farm viability and environmental outcomes. Her work is grounded in agronomy, nutrient management, and conservation agriculture, with a strong commitment to farmer‑to‑farmer learning and applied research.
Before joining Extension, Augarten worked as a research assistant in UW–Madison’s Agroecosystems and Nutrient Cycling Lab, where she designed and carried out on‑farm studies evaluating soil health in pasture‑based systems. She previously served with UW Extension’s Discovery Farms Program, contributing to water‑quality research as part of the Nitrogen Use Efficiency Project. Earlier in her career, she spent two years in Senegal with the Peace Corps as a sustainable agriculture extension agent, supporting more than 150 farmers through education on soil management, organic gardening, and agroforestry techniques. A native of Westchester County, New York, Augarten holds a bachelor’s degree in international agriculture and rural development from Cornell University and a master’s degree in agroecology from UW–Madison.
Wisconsin dairy farmers face growing pressures—from tight profit margins to unpredictable weather and environmental risks—that make it difficult to adopt new conservation practices. This project uses a participatory research model that directly engages farmers to identify emerging challenges, co-develop practical conservation solutions, and test them through on‑farm research trials. By aligning research with producer priorities, the project aims to generate trusted, actionable insights that improve both environmental outcomes and farm resilience.
Working with eight dairy farmers, producer-led watershed groups, local advisors, and UW–Madison Extension, the project focuses on identifying priority conservation issues, co‑designing and conducting one‑year trials, and sharing results through farmer-to-farmer learning, reports, and Extension programming. Outcomes include site-specific research reports, diverse outreach materials, and strengthened producer knowledge of conservation practice performance. This farmer-driven approach supports economically viable conservation adoption and advances Task Force 2.0 recommendations by addressing emerging needs and strengthening collaboration across the UW System and private industry.