TAPS Network

08/01/2026

07/15/2026

TAPS connected with an international audience this week at the 17th International Conference on Precision Agriculture in Porto Alegre, Brazil.

During a session examining digital and precision agriculture around the world, Dr. Simarjeet Virk of Auburn University presented on behalf of Dr. Brenda Ortiz and highlighted TAPS as an example of an education and Extension program that brings producers, researchers and industry together to test technologies and conservation practices in real-world conditions.

It was exciting to see the TAPS model included in a global conversation about advancing precision agriculture and supporting producer adoption.

06/17/2026

Every growing season brings new challenges, but TAPS gives farmers a low-risk place to test how they might respond.

A new Farm Progress Field Check visits the UNL TAPS plots, where dry conditions, irrigation decisions and rising nitrogen costs are already shaping the season. With 139 teams participating, the program offers a unique opportunity to observe what organizers call “139 growing seasons in one year.”

Participants can put hybrids, plant populations, nitrogen and irrigation strategies, crop protection products, precision technologies and marketing decisions to the test under realistic field conditions.

Read the full article:

Field Check: Researchers at the TAPS plots in North Platte, Neb., are concerned with moisture early in the season, just like much of Nebraska.

05/08/2026

Another season is underway for UNL-TAPS. 🌱

This week, the UNL TAPS team completed planting for the Sprinkler Corn Competition in North Platte and the Sprinkler Corn and Soybean Competitions in Mead, Nebraska.

Now the work begins: producer-driven decisions, in-season management, field data collection, and applied research focused on irrigation, nitrogen management, profitability, and sustainability.

A big thank you to Victor, the UNL-TAPS team, and the research visiting scholars helping make these competitions possible each season. TAPS continues to be powered by collaboration between producers, researchers, students, and industry partners working together to improve agricultural decision-making.

📸 Photos shared by Victor, UNL Ph.D. student and TAPS research manager.

season is underway for UNL-TAPS. 🌱

05/01/2026

Big thanks to Axis Seed | Red Barn Enterprises | Matt Long, for stepping up in a big way for the 2026 TAPS National Competition.

From providing seed to delivering a fully loaded Field Ready Bucket (snacks, wipes, gloves, paper towels—everything you didn’t know you needed at planting), they’re helping set the standard for what partnership looks like in TAPS.

Proud to have them with us—and even more excited to showcase that partnership on the national stage. 🌽💪

03/17/2026

Today is Kansas Water Day, a statewide observance recognizing the importance of water resources that support agriculture, communities, and ecosystems.

Across the High Plains and beyond, water management is one of the most important decisions producers make each season.

Through the Testing Ag Performance Solutions (TAPS) program, farmers work with researchers and industry partners to test irrigation strategies, compare management decisions, and evaluate real production outcomes.

By combining farmer experience with field data, TAPS helps producers better understand how to manage water resources efficiently while maintaining productivity.

03/12/2026

Today’s WaterSmart Management event in Garden City will bring together perspectives on irrigation, cropping systems and water management. Details below. 👇

Interested in learning more about water resources in southwestern Kansas? Join us next week for two WaterSmart Management Events! Learn from professionals about a variety of subjects including alternative cropping systems, enhanced irrigation technologies, storm damage management, and more!

Register for one of the two upcoming WaterSmart events:

March 11: St. John, Kansas

March 12: Garden City, Kansas

RSVP by March 8: https://kstate.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0lle08ItIolDjE2

02/16/2026

Across irrigated agriculture, producers are being asked to manage tighter water limits while still running profitable operations. That tension—between sustainability and economic reality—is exactly where Testing Ag Performance Solutions (TAPS) operates.

TAPS competitions are designed around real constraints and regional realities. Each location uses water benchmarks and research frameworks that reflect local conditions, so producers can test decisions that actually matter where they farm.

In Kansas, TAPS uses Q-Stable as a reference point for water allocation. Q-Stable is a science-based groundwater management concept developed by the Kansas Geological Survey, intended to help stabilize groundwater levels over time in aquifers like the Ogallala Aquifer. It’s not a prescription—it’s a benchmark used to create realistic learning conditions.

Under a fixed water supply, every decision is connected. Crop mix, acres planted, irrigation timing, and risk management all compete for the same limited resource. Putting more water in one place means giving it up somewhere else.

TAPS doesn’t tell producers what decisions to make. It creates a place to try ideas, see outcomes, compare strategies, and learn from peers—without risking the home operation.

Less water doesn’t remove the need to be profitable. It makes it more urgent.

Learn more about how TAPS uses real constraints to drive real learning:
👉 https://www.k-state.edu/taps/

02/13/2026

Congratulations to the University of Nebraska–Lincoln team and the 2025 participants recognized at the Ninth Annual TAPS Awards.

This Nebraska Extension article highlights something that makes the TAPS network unique — producers competing side-by-side in the same field, making real management decisions throughout the season and seeing how those choices affect yield, efficiency, and profitability.

From hybrid selection and nitrogen timing to irrigation and marketing, teams manage a full farm system, not just a single practice.

Programs like this are the foundation of the broader TAPS network across multiple states. Each location may look different, but the goal is the same: create a low-risk environment where producers, researchers, and industry partners can learn together and test management strategies before trying them on their own operations.

We especially appreciate the long-standing support of partners like USDA NRCS and the educators, researchers, and farmers who make the program work.

Great work by the UNL TAPS team — and we’re looking forward to another season in 2026.

Read more:
https://cropwatch.unl.edu/news/top-farm-management-strategies-recognized-ninth-annual-taps-awards/

After months of side-by-side competition, Nebraska producers saw how their management decisions stacked up as TAPS honored top-performing teams from the 2025 season.