About

Jeff Strock is a professor in the Department of Soil, Water, and Climate at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities. His research and outreach activities focus on vadose zone hydrology, agricultural drainage, and nutrient management in agricultural systems. The goal of his research program is to develop practical solutions to improve agricultural drainage water management. He directs a field-based research program aimed at integrated soil, water, and nutrient management solutions for crop and livestock producers that reduce off-site nutrient mobility and enhance water and nutrient use efficiency, as well as crop yield. His work includes analyzing and improving drainage water management practices such as controlled drainage, bioreactors, managed ditches, constructed wetlands, and cover crops to reduce nitrogen and phosphorus mobility. He also focuses on improving nitrogen management by understanding its storage, transformation, and losses, and developing innovative agronomic practices to enhance crop yield and resource efficiency. His approaches are collaborative and incorporate information and communication technology, probability forecasting, and biotechnology to address current and future challenges in agricultural water management.

Research topics

• Environmental science
• Biology
• Ecology
• Agronomy
• Geology
• Soil science
• Geotechnical engineering
• Agroforestry
• Geography
• Natural resource economics
• Business
• Engineering
• Environmental health
• Meteorology
• Environmental resource management
• Economics

Selected publications

• Water use of interseeded cover crops in rainfed maize–soybean rotations in the Northern U.S.

  Frontiers in Agronomy · 2026-03-23

  articleOpen access

  Introduction Cover crop adoption in U.S. crop rotations is steadily increasing. In the upper Midwest, where the conventional maize ( Zea mays L.)–soybean [ Glycine max (L.) Merr.] rotation is mostly rainfed, there is legitimate concern that cover crops may affect available soil water and the establishment of the subsequent main crop. Methods A study was conducted to evaluate 1) the effect of interseeded cover crops on soil moisture at seeding and termination, and subsequent maize and soybean yields, and 2) seasonal evapotranspiration ( ET ) or water use of the main crops and cover crops. Field trials were conducted from 2016 to 2019 at three locations in the upper Midwest using four treatments: monoculture cereal rye ( Secale cereale L.), two-species rye + crimson clover ( Trifolium incarnatum L.), three-species rye + clover + forage radish ( Raphanus sativus L.), and a fallow (no-cover planted) as the control. Results The ET of cover crops varied between 52 and 110 mm, 70% of which was attributed to its evaporation component. Meanwhile the ET for maize and soybean ranged from 364–516 mm and 378–503 mm, respectively, 20% of which was attributed to evaporation. Regardless of the interseeding strategy, the biomass of cover crops was low in two out of the three experimental years due to weather conditions, resulting in little to no effect on soil water content or crop yield. Discussion Our findings suggest that late interseeded cover crops for conditions in the northern U.S. may have limited impact on soil available water or the productivity of the subsequent crop when cover crop growth is low.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• A synthesis of soybean yield response to controlled drainage under varying precipitation patterns in the US Midwest

  Agricultural Water Management · 2025-08-09 · 1 citations

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  Controlled drainage (CD) is a valuable management practice for improving water quality and reducing drainage water discharge volume from agricultural fields, but its specific impact on soybean [ Glycine max (L.) Merr.] productivity is not well understood. The objectives of this study were to examine the regional effect of CD on soybean grain yield compared to free drainage (FD), investigate factors affecting soybean yield response to CD, and provide guidance for management of CD to optimize soybean yield. This synthesis included 31 site-years of data collected from 11 field sites in six U.S. Midwestern states during 2007–2018 where soybean was planted under FD and CD. On average, there was no statistically significant difference in soybean grain yield between FD (3915 kg ha −1 ) and CD (3900 kg ha −1 ). However, 35 % of the dataset indicated that CD either increased or decreased soybean yield by 4 % or more compared to FD. Additional analysis was conducted on a subset of 11 site-years of data to assess underlying factors (i.e., drainage system design and management, and weather conditions during the growing season) affecting soybean yield response to CD. This analysis revealed that CD successfully alleviated plant stress caused by mild to moderate drought resulting in increased soybean grain yield by 4–8 % in six site-years. In contrast, CD reduced soybean grain yield by 4–9 % in five site-years during wetter growing seasons. Variability in growing season precipitation coupled with management of CD were the key determinants of soybean grain yield response to CD. The timing and length of wet and dry periods influenced the severity of crop stress and yield loss as soybean sensitivity to wet and dry conditions varies for different growth phases. The management of the CD system could either exacerbate or alleviate stresses caused by wet and dry conditions. Based on results of this synthesis, guidelines were developed for managing manually operated CD systems in the U.S. Midwest to optimize soybean yield response to CD by maximizing positive effects during dry periods while limiting negative effects of the practice during wet periods of the growing season. • Nutrient reduction is the main benefit of controlled drainage. • Yield benefits of controlled drainage, on average, are minimal. • Controlled drainage, if managed properly, can maximize positive effects during dry periods. • Controlled drainage, if managed properly, can limit negative effects during wet periods.

  PublisherDOI

• Lines in the landscape

  Communications Earth & Environment · 2025-08-22 · 6 citations

  articleOpen access

  Abstract Ditches (linear constructions which store and/or move water where humans prefer it to go), via irrigation, drainage, and power, have helped drive the development of human societies. Now, ditches and other linear channels, typically carrying water, are numerous and found on every continent. Their form varies widely with use, which includes land drainage, irrigation, transportation, and boundary marking. Ditches support and shape biogeochemical cycles, biotic communities, and human societies, at multiple spatiotemporal scales. However, ditches are frequently overlooked by researchers in many disciplines. Here, we review the largely unrecognized role that ditches play in environmental processes and human societies. The effects of ditches can be both positive (e.g., biodiversity refuges, water for food production, nutrient retention) and negative (e.g., greenhouse gas emissions, dispersal of pollutants). We call for future management to consider and enhance the multifunctional role that ditches can deliver at the landscape-scale.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Ditch management using low-grade weirs: an opportunity for mitigating water quality and quantity impacts

  Frontiers in Environmental Science · 2025-01-27 · 3 citations

  articleOpen access1st authorCorresponding

  To improve productivity, extensive agricultural areas in the Midwest United States require drainage systems consisting of subsurface drainage (tile) and open ditches. Transport of sediment, pathogens, pesticides, and nutrients from runoff and drainage from crop fields contributes to eutrophication and degradation of surface waters. Solutions are needed to improve environmental quality and reduce the negative impacts from runoff and agricultural drainage systems. This study assessed the effect of low-grade weirs on discharge and nitrate-nitrogen concentration and loss from a pair of experimental drainage ditches. One control (without weirs) and one treatment (with weirs) ditch were studied from 2017 through 2023 at the University of Minnesota, Southwest Research and Outreach Center near Lamberton, MN, United States. This study was the first evaluation of agricultural ditches, with and without low-grade weirs, and their potential to mitigate discharge and nitrogen loss in a cold climate. Stage-discharge data were collected using a data logger and bubble level sensor. Water samples were collected for water quality analysis daily using automated samplers. Analysis of the data was conducted using paired t-tests and a paired analysis approach. Analysis of covariance and linear regression of the treatment ditch against the control ditch were highly significant for nitrate-nitrogen concentration and load. The ditch with the low-grade weir was found to significantly decrease nitrate-nitrogen concentration and load. More specifically, the treatment ditch reduced discharge, nitrate-nitrogen concentration and load by 51%, 22% and 58%, respectively. The greatest discharge from the ditches occurred in March while most nitrogen losses occurred between May and June. This study provides evidence and highlights the potential of ditches equipped with low-grade weirs to reduce nitrate-nitrogen losses when compared to ditches without low-grade weirs in a cold climate. In addition, the study also emphasizes the importance of climate as a driver of nitrate-nitrogen loss from crop lands and ditches which is amplified by monthly precipitation variability.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Nitrogen and phosphorus removal from agricultural drainage water by a modular bioreactor

  Journal of Environmental Management · 2025-06-09 · 2 citations

  article1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• Phosphorus management strategies for corn and soybean in the Upper US Midwest

  Agronomy Journal · 2025-03-01 · 2 citations

  articleOpen access

  Abstract It has been questioned whether the sufficient phosphorus (P)management approach could maximize potential grain yield in today's agricultural systems. The objective of this research was to establish six long‐term experiments across Minnesota to test phosphorus (P) management strategies on soils with a defined long‐term P history. Four soil test phosphorus (STP) interpretation classes were established as whole plots (low, medium, high, and very high). Split‐plots within each STP class consisted of one split‐plot that did not receive P (−P), and the second split‐plot received a broadcast application of P fertilizer (+P) at the rate of 73 (low), 44 (medium), 15 (high), and 15 (very high) kg P ha −1 . Grain yield, grain P concentration, and grain P removal were determined during corn ( Zea mays L.) (2015 and 2016) and soybean [ Glycine max (L) Merr.] (2017) growing seasons. Grain yield was increased by P fertilizer at 7 of 18 site‐years. Grain yields were similar between fertilized STP plots at the very low and low for corn and very low for soybean compared to nonfertilized or fertilized high and very high STP plots. No yield increase was noted for fertilized high or very high plots. Grain P removal was increased by applied P at 14 of 18 site‐years at the low and medium STP classes with no increase for the high and very high P testing soils. Results from this research indicate no greater yield potential for soils built to high or very high STP classes versus adequately fertilizing low‐ or medium‐testing soils.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Soil health management system impacts on dynamic soil hydraulic functions before and after rainfall

  Agriculture Ecosystems & Environment · 2025-07-23 · 3 citations

  articleOpen access

  Soil health management systems use agricultural practices incorporating living roots, persistent surface cover, diverse crop rotations, and minimal soil disturbance such as tillage. These systems are widely thought to improve soil hydraulic functions. However, intense rainfall can cause physical slaking of aggregates, loss of surface pores, and reduced hydraulic functions. Soil health management systems correlate with stable aggregates and large soil pores, but it is not clear how these properties change with rainfall in fine-textured soil profiles. Therefore, quantifying hydraulic function in soil health systems is important as climate change intensifies growing season rainfall. We investigated the effects of soil health systems on volumetric soil water content (VWC), soil aggregates, soil pore size distributions, and a suite of soil health indicators in response to rainfall. During 2021 and 2022, we collected data from five tillage and cover crop treatments in replicated plots at the Southern Research and Outreach Center (SROC) in Waseca, MN (tillage treatments included rip/chisel plow, strip till, no till, and cover crop treatments included no cover crops and cereal rye), and three paired systems (conventional and soil health management, which differ in tillage and cover crop use) at long-term (≥ 5 years), on-farm sites with fine-textured soils. We monitored volumetric soil water content and soil aggregates within 24 h before and after select rainfall events. Across all locations, few differences in water capture, evidenced by an increase in VWC after rain, were evident. Aggregate responses to rainfall were observed between the paired on-farm treatments. Generally, conventional sites had 5–20 % more < 0.053 mm and 0.053–0.25 mm aggregates following rainfall than soil health sites, but this effect was inconsistent across locations. Soil health systems on-farm generally retained 10–30 % more > 2 mm water-stable aggregates than conventional systems in response to rainfall. Based on soil water retention curves, on-farm soil health sites had 2.5–12.5 % more macroporosity (pore diameter > 75 µm) than conventional systems, despite having similar water capture. At the on-farm sites, greater microporosity and pore connectivity are attributed to an observed 0.25–2 cm/hr greater unsaturated hydraulic conductivity relative to soil health sites, validating the greater macroporosity observed in the soil health sites. Despite long-term treatment history at SROC plots, there were no differences in unsaturated hydraulic conductivity. At one on-farm site, the soil health system had higher soil health indicators than the conventional system, where the soil health system included 30 years of no-till and 12 years of cover crops compared to moldboard plowing in the conventional system. This research indicates the importance of holistically incorporating soil health practices into field systems for achieving enhanced soil functions. Figure (above): Sampling timeline. Data was collected from plots 24 h before, 24–48 h after, and 3–5 days after a rain event. • On-farm soil health systems had more aggregates after rain than conventional systems. • Soil health systems had positive effects on pore networks and hydraulic properties. • Combining soil health practices increased C pools relative to only select practices. • Small plots with single practices did not reflect field scale with multiple practices.

  PublisherDOI

• Crop rotational diversity can mitigate climate‐induced grain yield losses

  Global Change Biology · 2024-05-01 · 41 citations

  articleOpen access

  Diversified crop rotations have been suggested to reduce grain yield losses from the adverse climatic conditions increasingly common under climate change. Nevertheless, the potential for climate change adaptation of different crop rotational diversity (CRD) remains undetermined. We quantified how climatic conditions affect small grain and maize yields under different CRDs in 32 long-term (10-63 years) field experiments across Europe and North America. Species-diverse and functionally rich rotations more than compensated yield losses from anomalous warm conditions, long and warm dry spells, as well as from anomalous wet (for small grains) or dry (for maize) conditions. Adding a single functional group or crop species to monocultures counteracted yield losses from substantial changes in climatic conditions. The benefits of a further increase in CRD are comparable with those of improved climatic conditions. For instance, the maize yield benefits of adding three crop species to monocultures under detrimental climatic conditions exceeded the average yield of monocultures by up to 553 kg/ha under non-detrimental climatic conditions. Increased crop functional richness improved yields under high temperature, irrespective of precipitation. Conversely, yield benefits peaked at between two and four crop species in the rotation, depending on climatic conditions and crop, and declined at higher species diversity. Thus, crop species diversity could be adjusted to maximize yield benefits. Diversifying rotations with functionally distinct crops is an adaptation of cropping systems to global warming and changes in precipitation.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Nitrogen and Phosphorus Removal from Agricultural Drainage Water by a Modular Bioreactor

  SSRN Electronic Journal · 2024-01-01

  preprintOpen access1st authorCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• Supplemental Irrigation with Recycled Drainage Water: Outcomes for Corn and Soybean in a Fine-Textured Soil

  Agronomy · 2024-08-29 · 1 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior authorCorresponding

  Drought and heavier spring storms from climate change will increase crop water stress and affect productivity. A study was conducted to determine whether supplemental irrigation on fine-textured soils with recycled drainage and surface runoff water, combined with nitrogen (N) management, could mitigate these effects. This study was set as a randomized complete block design in a split-plot arrangement with three replicates. The main plots, which were individually drained, corresponded to three water management strategies (full irrigation, limited irrigation, and rainfed), and the subplots corresponded to six N rates (0, 90, 134, 179, 224, and 269 kg/ha) in the corn phase of the rotation. In the soybean phase, the same water management strategies were uniformly applied across the subplots. Irrigation and drainage water, volumetric soil water content (SWC), and grain yield data were collected. The full irrigation significantly increased the SWC in the top 60 cm of the soil across crops during the driest year, where it increased by an average of 30% compared with the rainfed conditions. The limited irrigation increased the SWC in the top 20 cm only for the soybean during the driest year, where it increased by as much as 25%. As a result, the supplemental irrigation prevented yield reduction in one year. While the irrigation alone did not significantly affect the grain yield of either crop, the irrigation × N interaction for the corn was consistently significant, which suggests that the N effectively enhanced the corn productivity. The results suggest that reusing drainage water could be a valuable practice for reducing the effects of limited soil water on crops in fine-textured soils.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Frequent coauthors

• Axel García y García

  University of Minnesota

  30 shared

• Gregg A. Johnson

  University of Minnesota

  29 shared

• Xiying Hao

  Chinese Academy of Forestry

  25 shared

• Bijesh Maharjan

  University of Nebraska–Lincoln

  24 shared

• Gary R. Sands

  University of Minnesota

  23 shared

• Laura L. Van Eerd

  University of Guelph

  23 shared

• Benjamin H. Ellert

  Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

  22 shared

• Mitchel P. McClaran

  University of Arizona

  22 shared

Labs

• Jeff Strock LabPI

Education

• Ph.D., Soil Science

  North Carolina State University

Awards & honors

• Fellow, Soil and Water Conservation Society – 2017
• Friend of Agriculture Award, Minnesota Corn Growers Associat…