Key nitrogen and phosphorus performance indicators derived from farm-gate mass balances on dairies

Ros, Mart; Godber, Olivia Florence; Olivo, Agustin J.; Reed, K.F.; Ketterings, Quirine M.

doi:10.3168/jds.2022-22297

Cited by 6 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…Current pastoral dairy systems in Uruguay have lower stocking rates and productivity than pasture-based dairy systems from New Zealand, Australia, Northern Europe, or the US (c.f. Table 1 vs. McDowell and others (29) ; Luo & Ledgard (30) ; Ros and others (31) ). Likewise, the N surplus of current Uruguayan dairy systems, at 71 kg N ha -1 , is at the lower end of the values reported for pastoral dairy systems worldwide (9) , less than half the national average dairy N surplus of New Zealand (30) (186-281 kg N ha -1 ), Australia (32) (156 kg N ha -1 ), Ireland (33) (155 kg N ha -1 ), or the Netherlands (34) (174-208kg N ha -1 ).…”

Section: Current and Future Dairy Farming Systems: The Impact Of Inte...mentioning

confidence: 93%

“…Farm-gate N balance shows that the "CRS" and "10MIL" intensified systems imported on average 187 and 356 kg N ha -1 and exported 59 and 85 kg N ha -1 . This resulted in an average N surplus of 128 and 271 kg N ha -1 , respectively (Table 2, Figure 4), to those of intensified pasture-based dairy systems in leading exporting countries (29)(30) (31) .…”

Section: Current and Future Dairy Farming Systems: The Impact Of Inte...mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Balancing nitrogen at the farm gate

Stirling,

Lussich,

Ortega

et al. 2024

Agrocienc Urug

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Uruguay's dairy can potentially enhance milk productivity competitively, but intensification risks elevating nitrogen (N) surplus, heightening environmental concerns. This study quantified farm-gate N inputs and outputs, calculating N surplus (input-output) and N use efficiency (NUE=output/input) for 17 commercial modal dairy systems identified in the 2014 and 2019 national surveys and 6 prospective intensified systems based on experimental pastoral farmlets achieving near-maximal rainfed productivity. Current dairy systems maintained N surplus at 71 kg N ha-1 between 2014 and 2019 (range: 44-97 kg N ha-1) while improving NUE from 28.3 to 30.5% (range: 20-35%). Intensification increased N surplus without necessarily reducing NUE. Our analyses highlight three aspects: (i) comparatively low N surplus of current Uruguayan dairy, (ii) nonlinear links between N surplus and stocking rate, feed intake, milk productivity and operating profit, and (iii) inequality between dairy systems in their contribution to national dairy N surplus reflects mainly disparity in farm size. These insights underscore the crucial need for understanding the actual fate of N surpluses: nitrate leaching, ammonia volatilisation, N2 denitrification, or N accumulation in soil organic matter. This is an unavoidable requisite for designing management practices and policies able to effectively optimise the economic and environmental sustainability of Uruguayan dairy.

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Section: Current and Future Dairy Farming Systems: The Impact Of Inte...mentioning

confidence: 93%

Section: Current and Future Dairy Farming Systems: The Impact Of Inte...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Balancing nitrogen at the farm gate

Stirling,

Lussich,

Ortega

et al. 2024

Agrocienc Urug

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…This is especially relevant for dairy farms, where large quantities of nutrients are managed in feed, fertilizer, and manure (Holly et al, 2018;Rotz et al, 2021). Whole-farm nutrient mass balances (NMBs), calculated as the difference between nutrients imported onto a farm (fertilizer, feed, animals, and bedding) and exported off the farm (milk, animals, crops, and other exports), can be an effective metric to track whole-farm nutrient use efficiency and identify opportunities for improvement (Cela et al, 2015;Ros et al, 2023). The Cornell NMB calculator (Soberon et al, 2013) is a DST that estimates NMBs and a group of associated efficiency and sustainability indicators for individual farms.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Engaging secondary school students in sustainability assessments through farm nutrient mass balances

Olivo,

Godber,

Perry

et al. 2024

Natural Sciences Education

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Decision‐support tools (DSTs) are increasingly used to collect, manage, and/or analyze growing amounts of data generated on farms. The whole‐farm nutrient mass balance (NMB) is an assessment with an associated DST (the Cornell NMB calculator) that measures farm nutrient management efficiency. Our main objectives were to (1) develop and implement a secondary school curriculum on NMB assessments; (2) evaluate its impact on student knowledge and perceptions of agricultural sustainability, nutrient management, careers in agriculture, awareness about data collection and use of DSTs, and analytical and quantitative skills; and (3) assess teacher experiences delivering the materials. The curriculum was implemented across 21 New York classrooms. Students completed one pre‐ and one post‐curriculum implementation questionnaire (n = 134). Teachers completed a post‐curriculum implementation questionnaire (n = 19). Results showed that the curriculum enhanced student knowledge of nutrient management and effectively conveyed the fundamentals of the NMB metrics. It also impacted student perceptions of the utilization of DSTs and need for mathematical skills and data management knowledge in agriculture. The curriculum did not influence student interest in pursuing agricultural careers but exposed them to aspects of farming that they were not previously familiar with. The math‐focused lessons were identified as challenging by many students and teachers. Teachers found the curriculum applicable to the real world, exposing students to new aspects of farming. We conclude that real‐world case‐study examples, carefully planned math‐focused lessons, appropriate support materials including widely installable and user‐friendly software, and training opportunities for teachers can help effective teaching of DST use and agriculture sustainability concepts.

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