SAES-422 Multistate Research Activity Accomplishments Report

Sections

Status: Approved

Basic Information

Participants

Abban-Baidoo, Emmanuel – Auburn University Ashworth, Amanda – USDA ARS Becker, Talon – University of Illinois Brorsen, Wade – Oklahoma State University Bullock, David – University of Illinois Castellano, Michael – Iowa State Diss, Meagan – University of Illinois Du, Qianqian – University of Illinois Duncan, Hence – Oklahoma State Eickholt, Scott – Invited Guest Houin, Craig – Sunrise Cooperative Jha, Gaurav – Kansas State University Jones, Carli – University of Illinois Lefever, Andrew – Penn State University Leise, Adam – University of Nebraska Lincoln Li, Xiaofei – Mississippi State University Longchamps, Louis – Cornell M. Bastos, Leonardo – University of Georgia Miao, Yuxin – University of Minnesota Mousavi, Mona – University of Nebraska Lincoln Ortiz, Brenda – Auburn Otterman, Helga – Invited Guest Owens, Phillip – USDA ARS Pires, Carlos – North Dakota State University Price, Richard – Michigan State University Extension Quinn, Dan – Purdue University Retzlaff, Kim – Invited Guest Rolsten, Spencer – Invited Guest Setiyono, Tri – Louisiana State University Shajahan, Sunoj – University of Illinois Sheppard, John – Montana State Simons, Herman – Olds College of Agriculture & Technology Stechschulte, Logan – University of Illinois Stevens, Julie – UNL Sundquist, Aaron – Mitchell Technical College Talbert, Blake – Invited Guest Turco, Ron – Purdue University Wahl, Scott – University of Illinois Contractor

The NC‑1210 annual meeting took place on January 5–6, 2026, in Tucson, Arizona, and included demonstration sessions, research reports, technical workshops, and strategic planning. Day 1 featured demonstrations of the difm.farm cyberinfrastructure, presentations on the backend, database systems, and analytic engine roadmap. Research reports covered multiple OFPE trial results, as well as provided valuable feedback from Crop Consultants and Producers. A working lunch provided IT updates on the platform. Afternoon activities included a hands‑on troubleshooting session for difm.farm, data workflows, and an extended discussion on project funding and future strategic needs. Day 2 presentations included updates from the Iowa Nitrogen Initiative, Alabama OPTIMA Fields Project, Purdue on-farm trial designs and results, satellite-based cotton Variable Rate Nitrogen Managment, and OFPE results from Olds College in Canada. The meeting ended with a discussion on the group’s future involving contracts, data sharing, partnerships, authorship, and where future activities will be headed.

DIFM-NC1210-Annual-Meeting-Agenda-2026-05Jan.xlsx

Accomplishments

Platform Development & Infrastructure

  • The difm.farm cyber-infrastructure was fully operational for all 2025 trials and used in designing and managing over 150 OFPE trials during the growing season.  The DIFM cyber-infrastructure is developed, operable, and publicly available at https://difm.farm.
  • User base expanded to 405 active users across the U.S., Canada, and South Africa, reflecting wide adoption relevant to NC‑1210 objectives. 
  • System documentation was expanded, and technical handoff checklists were created to ensure long‑term sustainability. Improvements were made to database performance, administrative capability, and system reliability. 

Extension, Outreach & Engagement

  • Training sessions and troubleshooting workshops increased user competency and improved quality of data uploads and analysis workflows.
  • Extension and crop‑advisor networks expanded, including continued involvement from community colleges and a new OFPE course supported by a $700,000 grant. 

Plans for the Coming Year

  • Develop user-facing tools for editing trial designs and uploading historical data.
  • Continue analysis of 2025 trial data and generate farmer reports and full reports of trial results.
  • Seek new federal and industry funding to sustain long-term project development.
  • Expand Extension and Crop Consultant coordination to strengthen future use of the DIFM infrastructure and expand the network of users.

Short-Term Outcomes

  • Successful completion of 150+ OFPE trials and large-scale post‑harvest data intake.
  • Decreased processing failures reduced the need for manual troubleshooting by collaborators.
  • Improved user proficiency following live demonstrations and troubleshooting workshops.
  • Strengthened NC‑1210 network engagement, supported by a diverse group of 36 registered participants for this year's meeting.

Outputs

  • The fully deployed difm.farm platform, including enhanced administrative and technical documentation.
  • Research presentations and meeting outputs from January 5–6, 2026. 

Activities

  • Delivered a two-day NC-1210 multistate project meeting with demonstrations, research reports, troubleshooting sessions, and strategic planning for the future year. 
  • Conducted extensive OFPE trials across multiple U.S. regions and internationally, successfully integrated into difm.farm for 2025. 

Milestones

  • Submit additional funding proposals amongst NC-1210 project members for long-term project sustainability.

Impacts

  1. NC1210’s work resulted in farmers and their advisors running approximately one hundred and fifty OFPEs in 2025. Those field trials were run in approximately twenty U.S. states, four Canadian provinces, South Africa and Brazil. The data generated by the field trials were gathered, processed, organized, managed and analyzed using the difm.farm cyber-infrastructure, and each grower received detailed reports on the management implications of their trials. Many farms will make management changes based on their data, and some will generate significant increase in profits as a result. NC1210’s work created the difm.farm cyber-infrastructure, and trained dozens of U.S. Extension personnel and Certified Crop Advisors in its use. As of March 2026, this training has resulted in Extension personnel beginning to work with dozens of U.S. farmers and crop consultants to conduct on-farm research in 2026. NC1210’s work in 2025 and earlier has resulted in a “snowballing” effect in on-farm precision experimentation. Interest is rapidly increasing all over the world. Indicators include the dozens of new farms, crop advising companies and extension personnel who have expressed commitments to run OFPEs in 2026.

Grants, Contracts & Other Resources Obtained

Recent Funding -

Simons, H., F. Karp, D. Stefner, B. Bateman, J. Boychyn, L. de Moissac, G. Issa, M. Kostal, K. Slind, D.S. Bullock, B. Edge, and B.L. Beres.  “Introducing On Farm Precision Experimentation (OFPE) Using Data Intensive Farm Management Tool to the Canadian Prairies.”  Agricultural Funding Consortium.  2026 – 2029.  $CAN611,280.

Jones, J., D.S. Bullock, A. Margenot, and J. Uphaus.  “Using On-farm Precision Experimentation in a Data-intensive Approach to Systems Management of Cover Crops and Nitrogen Fertilizer.”  Illinois Nutrient Research and Education Council.  Fall 2024 – Fall 2028.  $423,000.

Bullock, D.S.  “Data-Intensive Farm Management Pilot Project in South Africa 2022-2025.”  Bureau of Food and Agriculture Policy.  Sept. 2022 – August 2028.  $30,473.

Russell, D., B. Kinsinger, B. Zuck, A. Leggett, C. Mitsdorfer, J. Uphaus, M. Boerngen, R.E. Dunker, and D.S. Bullock.  “Training in On-Farm Precision Experimentation for the Workplace.”  USDA-NIFA-AFRI Education and Workforce Development Grant. PTE Federal Award Number 2023-67039-40104.  May 2023 – January 2027.  $646,000.

Bullock, D.S., Ashworth, A., Boerngen, M.A., Brorsen, W., Cammarano, D., Chowdhary, G., Daccache, A., Dunker, R.E., Griffin, T.W., Hawkins, E., Jung, J., Kharel, T., Li, X., Maxwell, B.D., Miao, Y., Mieno, T., Miguez, F., Pennington, D., Puntel, L., Sheppard, J., Shiratsuchi, L.Sun, X., Tao, H., and VanderPlas, S.  2020.  “Improving the Economic and Ecological Sustainability of US Crop Production through On-Farm Experimentation.”  USDA-NRCS Conservation Innovation Grant, On-farm Trials program, Award Number NR213A7500013G021  Jan. 1, 2021 – Mar. 15, 2026.  $4,000,000. 

Bullock, D.S., M.A. Boerngen, L. Longchamps, and H. Tao.  “International Conference for On-Farm Precision Experimentation.”  USDA-NIFA Conference Grant.  GRANT13671487/2022-07107.  January 2024.  $50,000.

Publications

During this reporting period only -

 

Manuscripts published or forthcoming:

Khanal, B., T. Mieno, K. Schoengold, and D. S. Bullock. “Optimizing Precision Conservation with On‑Farm Precision Experiment Data: The Role of Crop Insurance and Spatially Variable Profit.” Science of the Total Environment, 979 (April 2025). DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2025.179315.

Zhang, C., X. Li, T. Mieno, C. Diao, and D. S. Bullock. “Quadratic‑plateau geographically weighted regression model for estimating site‑specific economically optimal input rates.” Computers and Electronics in Agriculture, 237 (2025): 110655.

Du, Q., T. Mieno, and D. S. Bullock. “Measuring the estimation bias of yield response to N using combined on‑farm experiment data.” Journal of the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, 4(3) (2025): 321–332.

Loewen, Sasha, and Bruce D. Maxwell. “Site‑specific weed management on organic grain farms using variable rate seeding and data‑driven simulation.” Weed Research 65, no.1 (2025): e12669.

Smith, Harrison W., Christopher J. Heffernan, Amanda J. Ashworth, L. Lanier Nalley, David S. Bullock, Jason Tullis, and Phillip R. Owens. “Harvesting Insights: Interpretable Machine Learning to Understand Environmental Drivers of U.S. Maize and Soybean Yield.” Scientific Reports. Published online February 2026.

Tibbs, R., N. Heller, D. S. Bullock, and M. A. Boerngen. “Midwestern Farmers’ Willingness to Engage with Precision Agriculture Technologies and On‑Farm Precision Experimentation.” Agronomy Journal. Accepted February 2026.

Bullock, D. S., B. Edge, and T. Mieno. “Management Zones Should Be for Zone Management.” Agronomy Journal. Accepted February 2026.

 

Presentations:

“A Proposal to the FY2025 NRCS CIGOFT Program” – DIFM/NC-1210 Annual Meeting, Clearwater, FL (Presenter: D.S. Bullock), 1/10/25

“Using On-farm Precision Experimentation to Incentivize Cost-effective Climate-Friendly Crop Research, Policy, and Production” – Opportunities for Extension in OFPE Conference, Clearwater, FL (Presenter: D.S. Bullock), 1/11/25

“A Higher Education Challenge (HEC) Grant Proposal” – Opportunities for Extension in OFPE Conference, Clearwater, FL (Presenter: D.S. Bullock), 1/11/25

“Opportunities in On-Farm Precision Experimentation with the DIFM Project” – Re:FARM Conference, Lviv, Ukraine (Presenter: D.S. Bullock), 2/12/25

“Opportunities in On-Farm Precision Experimentation with DIFM” – L’Agriculture de Précision Conference, Victoriaville, Quebec (Presenter: D.S. Bullock), 2/27/25

“Revolutionizing Agronomic Research through On-Farm Precision Experimentation” – NTU-CIA UIUC-CDA Joint Seminar (Presenter: D.S. Bullock), Virtual (Taipei), 4/30/25

“Opportunities in On-Farm Precision Experimentation with DIFM” – NRCS State Resource Conservationists Quarterly Teleconference (Presenter: D.S. Bullock), Virtual, 8/4/25

“Opportunities in On-Farm Precision Experimentation with DIFM” – McCain Inc. Sustainability Group (Presenter: D.S. Bullock), Virtual, 9/11/25

“Opportunities in On-Farm Precision Experimentation with DIFM” – Visiting Grand Farm Delegation (Presenter: D.S. Bullock), Urbana, IL, 9/18/25

“difm.farm: A Revolutionary System Helping Farmers Increase Profits” – Meeting with Nadia Cortez (Presenter: D.S. Bullock), Virtual, 9/23/25

“Reducing Nutrient Loss with difm.farm” – Illinois Sustainable Agriculture Partnership Policy Committee (Presenter: D.S. Bullock), Virtual, 10/24/25

“N Minus: A Nitrogen-Induced Profit-Loss Recovery Program” – DIFM/NC1210 Annual Meeting (Presenters: Mieno, Bullock, Du, Edge; delivered by Bullock), Tucson, AZ, 1/5/26

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