Reducing lifecycle environmental impacts and improving profitability of Wisconsin dairy systems through improved cropping management
PI: Paul Stoy
Stoy is an associate professor of biological systems engineering at UW–Madison. His research interests include surface-atmosphere exchange, ecosystem ecology, and natural resource management.
Postdoc: Susanne Wiesner (pictured above) recently completed a postdoctoral fellowship working at the U.S. Dairy Forage Research Center in Madison, Wisconsin. Her research combines remote sensing data, field sampling and computer models to understand the relationships between carbon, water and energy with the goal of improving environmental sustainability.
Agricultural soils are continuously degrading and about 70% of the carbon of agricultural soils has been lost worldwide due to soil erosion and unsustainable management practices. This project will assess innovation opportunities that increase profit and enhance environmental stewardship on Wisconsin’s dairy farms by altering cropping sequences and nutrient management, while sustaining biomass yields for dairy feed and milk production, lowering external inputs, and improving profits through credits for ecosystem services. The goal is to assess environmental and economic outcomes associated with transitions of traditional dairy cropping systems to greater cropping diversities using cover crops, intercropping and perennials. This research will be conducted with guidance from Paul Stoy, associate professor of biological systems engineering.