Nutrient Management Behavior on Wisconsin Dairy Farms

Powell, J. M.; Jackson-Smith, Douglas B.; McCrory, D. F.; Saam, H.; Mariola, Matthew J.

doi:10.2134/agronj2006.0116

Cited by 20 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…Variability in the chemical composition of different animal manures and in manure management practices can influence the proportion of ammonia that is volatilized (Powell et al 2004). Typical manure management practices in Wisconsin, daily hauling to fields and broadcastspreading, facilitate ammonia volatilization (Powell et al 2007). Some of this ammonia can be deposited locally, thereby remaining available for loss to aquatic systems in the same area in which it was produced (Fowler et al 1998).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nitrogen stable isotopes in streams: effects of agricultural sources and transformations

Diebel

Zanden

2009

Ecological Applications

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The nitrogen stable isotope ratio of biological tissue has been proposed as an indicator of anthropogenic N inputs to aquatic ecosystems, but overlap in the isotopic signatures of various N sources and transformations make definitive attribution of processes difficult. We collected primary consumer invertebrates from streams in agricultural settings in Wisconsin, U.S.A., to evaluate the relative influence of animal manure, inorganic fertilizer, and denitrification on biotic delta15N. Variance in biotic delta15N was explained by inorganic fertilizer inputs and the percentage of wetland land cover in the watershed, but not by animal manure inputs. These results suggest that denitrification of inorganic fertilizer is the primary driver of delta15N variability among the study sites. Comparison with previously collected stream water NO3-N concentrations at the same sites supports the role of denitrification; for a given N application rate, streams with high biotic delta15N had low NO3-N concentrations. The lack of a manure signal in biotic delta15N may be due its high ammonia content, which can be dispersed outside the range of its application by volatilization. Based on our findings and on agricultural census data for the entire United States, inorganic fertilizer is more likely than manure to drive variability in biotic delta15N and to cause excessive nitrogen concentrations in streams.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nitrogen stable isotopes in streams: effects of agricultural sources and transformations

Diebel

Zanden

2009

Ecological Applications

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“…Importantly, some studies indicate caution around incentive programs and regulations overall, as farm and farmer heterogeneity means that policies may not work everywhere for everyone (Powell et al 2007, Oenema et al 2011. This may be particularly true for nutrient management plans and other manure application technologies since these may be field dependent (Tao et al 2014) and have different impacts on nutrient cycling and GHG emissions, suggesting an inherent need for flexibility in policy (Glenk et al 2014).…”

Section: Policy and Regulatory Influencesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Factors related to individual farmers-including farmer attitudes and perceptions, knowledge and information, and demographics-are important to consider in their relationship to MMS. Indeed, some even concluded that how farmers apply manure and nutrients on their farm is more linked to individual farmer perspectives and behaviors than to specific operational features of a farm (Powell et al 2007).…”

Section: Individual Characteristicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Regional variations could have major impacts on a variety of MMS, including how bovine diet variation across regions could influence manure nutrient content and applicable BMPs (Sheppard et al 2011). Some studies even suggested that there was heterogeneity within a given state, indicating that multiple scales of data may be necessary to collect for comparative purposes (Powell et al 2007). Others identified that future research could also focus on stakeholders in regions with contrasting agricultural and socio-political contexts to explore other drivers of or influences on MMS (Hou et al 2016).…”

Section: Need For Comparative Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A review of determinants for dairy farmer decision making on manure management strategies in high-income countries

Niles

Horner

Chintala

et al. 2019

Environ. Res. Lett.

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The global dairy sector is a major source of human nutrition and farmer livelihoods, while also generating manure, an important nutrient for crop production, but one that must be managed to minimize environmental risk. Manure management-manure handling, processing, storage and application-is an important part of managing a dairy system. Rising awareness of environmental stewardship is increasing for dairy production that meets multiple sustainability goals. Importantly, a large body of research has identified a suite of potential manure management strategies (MMS) that can contribute to reduced environmental impact, and in some cases, provide additional benefits for farmers and society. Despite this growing body of technical and agronomically-focused research, there has been far less research on farmer decision making and adoption of MMS. To explore this gap, we conduct a systematic literature review of peer-reviewed articles exploring the drivers of farmer adoption and decision making related to MMS. We focus on high-income countries, where MMS strategies are more diverse and often involve advanced technologies. We find 36 articles across Europe, the United States, and Canada and focus on four key areas associated with MMS practices: (1) farm size and structural characteristics associated with MMS adoption including the relationship of certain MMS to each other; (2) existing adoption of MMS practices; (3) socio-economic and regulatory factors associated with MMS adoption; and (4) individual information, attitudes, and demographics associated with MMS adoption. We identify and discuss three gaps in the existing literature: (1) a dearth of studies exploring farmer adoption of MMS, especially from certain highly productive milk regions;(2) a lack of comparative studies across multiple regions and/or across time to identify more direct casual pathways of decision making; and (3) technical and other feasibility needs for future MMS adoption. These suggest a clear pathway for future research to better understand the myriad factors that influence dairy farmer decision making as it relates to MMS.

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“…The first study in Wisconsin, USA Saam et al 2005) used structured questionnaires, and feed and manure sampling to assess the impact of phosphorus (P) feeding practices on manure P content and recycling through cropland. The second Wisconsin study (Powell et al 2006(Powell et al , 2007 was expanded to include more detailed information on dietary nitrogen (N) and P feeding strategies, manure spreading practices, and the overall impact of feed, fertilizer and manure management on farmers' abilities to conform to newly developed governmental nutrient management standards. The latter Wisconsin study employed relatively lengthy, structured questionnaires, face-toface interviews with farmers, detailed record keeping, and feed and manure sampling and analyses.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rapid assessment of feed and manure nutrient management on confinement dairy farms

Powell

et al. 2008

Nutr Cycl Agroecosyst

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A basic function of dairy farming is to transform feed nutrients into milk to generate an economic return. As the price of feed grain escalates, and environmental concerns associated with animal agriculture heighten, many dairy producers seek new ways to track nutrient use on their farms. Relatively little information is available on feed and manure management under producer conditions. The present study provides an overview of an iterative process used to develop and apply techniques for rapid assessment of feed and manure management on confinementbased dairy farms in very different geographic settings.Information was collected on cow diets, milk production and manure management using rapid (2-3 h) survey techniques first on 41 dairy farms in Wisconsin, USA and then on two dairy farms in Shandong Province, China. In both locations, Holstein dairy cows (Bos taurus) transformed on average 22-30% of feed nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) into milk. These calculated feed N use (FNUE) and feed P use (FPUE) efficiencies corresponded well to published values, but were lower than FNUE and FPUE determined under experimental conditions. Average apparent feed N intake (range of 438-635 g cow -1 d -1 ) were slightly higher than the calculated sum of N outputs in milk (98-145 g cow -1 d -1 ) and manure (328-457 g cow -1 d -1 ). Calculated manure N excretions corresponded well to literature estimates. Average manure collection efficiencies ranged from 56% to 100% in Wisconsin and 55 to 90% in Shandong. Relatively short, face-to-face interviews can provide accurate 'snap-shots' of overall feed and manure management practices on an array of confinement-based dairy farms in diverse geographic locations.

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Nutrient Management Behavior on Wisconsin Dairy Farms

Cited by 20 publications

References 8 publications

Nitrogen stable isotopes in streams: effects of agricultural sources and transformations

Nitrogen stable isotopes in streams: effects of agricultural sources and transformations

A review of determinants for dairy farmer decision making on manure management strategies in high-income countries

Rapid assessment of feed and manure nutrient management on confinement dairy farms

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