Using field and farm nitrogen budgets to assess the effectiveness of actions mitigating N loss to water

Evaluating the Impacts of Nitrate Vulnerable Zones on the Environment and Farmers’ Practices: A Scottish Case Study

“…types of crops -whether they are vegetable, grain and/or livestock (e.g. Domburg et al 2000;Drinkwater 2005;Cherry et al 2012). Data from the 2003 Eden study generally support the findings from other similar studiesthat arable farms generate the least N and P surpluses while dairy farms produce the most (Table 3).…”

Economic impacts of nitrogen and phosphorus use efficiency on nineteen intensive grass-based dairy farms in the South of Ireland

“…However, the N (Aarts, 2003;Goodlass et al, 2003;Humphreys et al, 2008;Jarvis, 1993) and P inputs (Van Keulen et al, 2000) from chemical fertilisers and feeds (concentrates, forages) typically exceed outputs in milk and livestock exported off the farms. These imbalances result in surplus N (Cherry et al, 2012;Gourley et al, 2010) or P (Arriaga et al, 2009;Gourley et al, 2010) that are either accumulated on, or lost from, dairy farms.…”

“…Relatively high milk prices between 2001 and 2011 (€0.30/l; CSO (Central Statistics Office), 2013) within the European Union (EU-27) have encouraged increased use of inputs, in the form of N and P chemical fertilisers (Aarts, 2003;Cherry et al, 2012;Nevens et al, 2006;Roberts et al, 2007;Ryan et al, 2011), and concentrate feeds in dairy production systems McCarthy et al, 2007;Patton et al, 2012;Shalloo et al, 2004a). The lower the relative price of fertiliser, the greater the incentive to apply it to offset potential risk and yield uncertainty (Buckley and Carney, 2013).…”

Farm-scale nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and sulfur balances and use efficiencies on Australian dairy farms

“…While similar ranges of surpluses and efficiencies also exist internationally, strict regulations in parts of Europe and USA have forced dairy farmers to improve nutrient efficiencies and reduce whole-farm surpluses. Key management strategies have included a reduction in, or more strategic use of, inorganic fertilisers, optimising the use of home-produced manure, reduced grazing time and lowering nutrient concentrations in the ration (Oenema et al 2011), which have resulted in substantial reductions in N and P surpluses and increases in use efficiencies in the Netherlands (Groot et al 2006), Flanders (Nevens et al 2006), south-west England (Cherry et al 2012), Northern Portugal (Fangueiro et al 2008) as well as contrasting dairy systems in the USA (Kohn et al 1997;Jonker et al 2002).…”