Nitrate contamination of groundwater remains a significant challenge in many agricultural regions of Wisconsin. Because nitrate is highly mobile in soil, it can move below crop root zones and into groundwater following manure or fertilizer application. While researchers have evaluated nitrate movement through periodic soil sampling, these methods provide only snapshots in time and cannot capture how nutrient losses change in response to rainfall, manure applications, crop uptake, and seasonal conditions.

Through Dairy Innovation Hub funding, UW–Platteville expanded its nitrate leaching research capacity by installing suction lysimeters within existing biochar-manure research plots at Pioneer Farm. These monitoring systems allow researchers to directly collect soil water samples throughout the year and better understand how management practices influence nutrient movement below the crop rooting zone. The infrastructure strengthens ongoing collaborations with UW–Madison researchers and supports future studies evaluating biochar, nitrification inhibitors, manure additives, and other practices designed to improve nutrient retention and protect groundwater quality in Wisconsin dairy production systems.