A common approach used in environmental protection efforts is the promotion of best management practices (BMPs) to control excess crop nutrients and soil erosion. While BMPs include a wide range of actual practices, their defining characteristics should include agronomic and environmental effectiveness as well as economic and social feasibility (Bailey and Waddell, 1979). In the 1990s the central BMP of choice seems to be the nutrient management plan. The nutrient management plan identifies management and conservation actions that will be followed to meet clearly defined soil and water conservation goals (NRCS, 2000). In Wisconsin, nutrient management plans are widely promoted by state and federal agencies. Currently, however, there is limited knowledge about the extent to which those plans are being followed by farmers and if those plans actually result in on-farm management changes.