The Wisconsin Cover Crop Data Network: Reflections on 5 years of building a participatory data engagement and visualization platform

This December edition of the Soil Health Nexus Digital Café, spotlights the Wisconsin Cover Crop Data Network (WCCDN)! The WCCDN began in 2020 with just 15 farmers and the goal of addressing a gap in real-world local data about cover crop performance across Wisconsin. In 2025, they have 50-60 farmers participating each year, representing farms of different systems and sizes, from 3 to 10,000 acres. Together, they’ve built a unique farmer-led dataset and sharing platform on cover crop management and results in the region. They have learned about farmers’ experimentation and innovation with cover cropping and the types of data useful to farmers as they adapt cover cropping to their farm systems, locations, times, and other resources.

This session features expert speakers, Mrill Ingram, Participatory Action Research Scientist at UW-Madison, and Dan Marzu, North Central Region Outreach Specialist and Nutrient & Pest Management Program, UW–Madison Division of Extension. This webinar was originally broadcast on December 10th, 2025.