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Due to widespread adoption of no-till, there is considerable interest in methods of incorporating manure into soil with minimal disturbance. Watershed and nutrient trading programs rely upon empirical water quality findings to promote manure application methods and to extrapolate the water quality benefits of those methods. Rainfall simulation studies have been a key source of input into the water quality benefits of manure management alternatives. Rainfall simulation studies offer a means of controlling key storm variables and selecting the timing of events, often with an eye to representing worst case scenarios. However, the control offered by these studies results in limited representation of management, climatic, and hydrologic variables. To better understand the effect of assessment method on management recommendations, we compared edge-of-field findings from controlled rainfall events with those obtained under natural conditions.