Using manure as fertilizer for maize could improve sustainability of milk production
Abstract
This study evaluated the effect of organic or chemical fertilization of maize on cow performance, economic outcomes, and greenhouse gas emission. Each type of maize silage according its different fertilization was used in two rations offered to two different groups of nine Friesian-Holstein cows throughout 4 months. The production cost of the maize silage was 8.8% lower for organic than for chemical fertilization. Both silages had similar nutritive value, except a higher concentration of starch in maize with organic fertilization, which allowed a reduction in the proportion of concentrate in the ration, saving 25.3 eurocents per cow in the daily ration, generating a positive balance of 21.8 eurocents per cow and day. The milk yield and composition were unaffected depending on the type of fertilization, whereas the estimation of CH4 and N2O emissions with chemical fertilization was higher than emissions with organic fertilization. As a result, it is possible to increase the sustainability and profitability of dairy production with reuse and recycling of manure.
Downloads
References
Aguerre MJ, Wattiaux MA, Powell JM, Broderick GA, Arndt C, 2011. Effect of forage-to-concentrate ratio in dairy cow diets on emission of methane, carbon dioxide, and ammonia, lactation performance, and manure excretion. J Dairy Sci 94: 3081-3093. https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.2010-4011
ARC, 1980. The nutrient requirements of ruminant livestock: technical review. Commonwealth Agricultural Bureaux, Farnham Royal, UK.
Arriaga FJ, Lowery B, 2003. Soil physical properties and crop productivity of an eroded soil amended with cattle manure. Soil Sci 168: 888-899. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.ss.0000106403.84926.7e
Bannink A, Smits MCJ, Kebreab E, Mills JAN, Ellis JL, Klop A, France J, Dijkstra J, 2010. Simulating the effects of grassland management and grass ensiling on methane emission from lactating cows. J Agr Sci 148: 55-72. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0021859609990499
Brask M, Lund P, Hellwing ALF, Poulsen M, Weisbjerg MR, 2013. Enteric methane production, digestibility and rumen fermentation in dairy cows fed different forages with and without rapeseed fat supplementation. Anim Feed Sci Technol 184: 67-79. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anifeedsci.2013.06.006
Bristow LA, Callbeck CM, Larsen M, Altabet MA, Dekaezemacker J, Forth M, Gauns M, Glud RN, Kuypers MMM, Lavik G, et al., 2017. N2 production rates limited by nitrite availability in the Bay of Bengal oxygen minimum zone. Nature Geosci 10: 24-29. https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo2847
Butler TJ, Muir JP, 2006. Dairy manure compost improves soil and increases tall wheatgrass yield. Agron J 98: 1090-1096. https://doi.org/10.2134/agronj2005.0348
Butler TJ, Han KJ, Muir JP, Weindorf DC, Lastly L, 2008. Dairy manure compost effects on corn silage production and soil properties. Agron J 100: 1541-1545. https://doi.org/10.2134/agronj2008.0033
Caravaca F, Masciandaro G, Ceccanti B, 2002. Land use in relation to soil chemical and biochemical properties in a semiarid Mediterranean environment. Soil Till Res 68: 23-30. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0167-1987(02)00080-6
Eghball B, Power JF, 1999. Composted and noncomposted manure application to conventional and no-tillage systems, corn yield and nitrogen uptake. Agron J 91: 819-825. https://doi.org/10.2134/agronj1999.915819x
Espinoza-Ortega A, Espinosa-Ayala E, Bastida-López J, Castañeda-Martínez T, Arriaga-Jordán CM, 2007. Small-scale dairy farming in the highlands of central Mexico, technical, economic and social aspects and their impact on poverty. Exp Agr 43: 241-256. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0014479706004613
Forster P, Ramaswamy V, Artaxo P, Berntsen T, Betts R, Fahey DW, Haywood J, Lean J, Lowe DC, Myhre G, Nganga J, Prinn R, Raga G, Schulz M, Van Dorland R, 2007. Changes in atmospheric constituents and in radiative forcing. In: Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Solomon S et al. (eds.). pp: 129-234. Cambridge Univ Press, Cambridge, UK.
Gallo A, Bertuzzi T, Giuberti G, Moschini M, Bruschi S, Cerioli C, Masoero F, 2016. New assessment based on the use of principal factor analysis to investigate corn silage quality from nutritional traits, fermentation in products and mycotoxins. J Sci Food Agr 96: 437-448. https://doi.org/10.1002/jsfa.7109
Good AG, Beatty PH, 2011. Fertilizing nature: A tragedy of excess in the commons. PLoS Biol 9: e1001124. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1001124
Heinze S, Oltmanns M, Joergensen RG, Raupp J, 2011. Changes in microbial biomass indices after 10 years of farmyard manure and vegetal fertilizer application to a sandy soil under organic management. Plant Soil 343: 221-234. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-010-0712-8
Hristov AN, 2013. Diet formulation as an effective tool for mitigating nitrogen excretion in dairy system. Adv Anim Biosci 4: 15-18. https://doi.org/10.1017/S2040470013000265
Infomet, 2015. Somió-Gijon. http://infomet.am.ub.es/clima/gijon. [7 October 2015].
IPCC, 2006. IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories. vol. 4, Agricultural, Forestry and Other Land Use. IGER, Hayama, Japan.
IPCC, 2014. Climate Change 2014: Synthesis Report. Contribution of Working Groups I, II and III to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. IPCC, Geneva, Switzerland.
Janssen PH, 2010. Influence of hydrogen on rumen methane formation and fermentation balances through microbial growth kinetics and fermentation thermodynamics. Anim Feed Sci Technol 160: 1-22. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anifeedsci.2010.07.002
Keady TWJ, Marley CM, Scollan ND, 2012. Grass and alternative forage silages for beef cattle and sheep, effects on animal performance. Proc of the XVI Int Silage Conf, Hämeenlinna (Finland), July 2-4. pp: 159-165.
Klausner SD, Kanneganti VR, Bouldin DR, 1994. An approach for estimating a decay series for organic nitrogen in animal manure. Agron J 86: 897-903. https://doi.org/10.2134/agronj1994.00021962008600050026x
Kolver ES, Roche JR, Miller D, Densley R, 2001. Maize silage for dairy cows. Proc of the New Zeal Grassl Assoc 63: 195-201.
Legesse G, Small JA, Scott SL, Crow GH, Block HC, Alemu AW, Robins CD, Kebreab E, 2011. Predictions of enteric methane emissions for various summer pasture and winter feeding strategies for cow calf production. Anim Feed Sci Technol 166-167: 678-687. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anifeedsci.2011.04.082
Loveland P, Webb J, 2003. Is there a critical level of organic matter in the agricultural soils of temperate regions: A review. Soil Till Res 70: 1-18. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0167-1987(02)00139-3
Macdonald K, 1999. Determining how to make inputs increase your economic farm surplus. Proc of the Ruakura Farmers' Conf 51: 78-87.
Macoon B, Sollenberger LE, Moore JE, Staples CR, Fike JH, Portier KM, 2003. Comparison of three techniques for estimating the forage intake of lactating dairy cows on pasture. J Anim Sci 81: 2357-2366. https://doi.org/10.2527/2003.8192357x
Martínez-Martínez A, Pedrol N, Martínez-Fernández A, 2009. Maíz para ensilar cultivado en sistemas de producción convencional o ecológica. In: La multifuncionalidad de los pastos, producción ganadera sostenible y gestión de los ecosistemas; Reiné R, Barrantes O, Broca A, Ferrer C, (eds.). pp: 391-397. SEEP, Huesca, Spain.
Mogodiniyai Kasmaei K, Rustas BO, Spörndly R, Udén P, 2013. Prediction models of silage fermentation products on crop composition under strict anaerobic conditions, a meta-analysis. J Dairy Sci 96: 6644-6649. https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.2013-6858
Nevens F, Reheul D, 2005. Agronomical and environmental evaluation of a long-term experiment with cattle slurry and supplemental inorganic N applications in silage maize. Eur J Agron 22: 349-361. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eja.2004.05.003
NRC, 2001. Nutrient requirements of dairy cattle, 7th rev. Nat Acad Press, Washington.
SAS, 1999. SAS/STATTM. User's Guide. Statistical Analysis System Inst., Cary, NC, USA.
Schröder J, 1999. Effect of split applications of cattle slurry and mineral fertilizer-N on the yield of silage maize in a slurry-based cropping system. Nutr Cycl Agroecosyst 53: 209-218. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1009796021850
Schröder JJ, Neeteson JJ, Oenema O, Struik PC, 2000. Does the crop or the soil indicate how to save nitrogen in maize production? Reviewing the state of the art. Field Crops Res 66: 151-164. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0378-4290(00)00072-1
Singer JW, Logsdon SD, Meek DW, 2007. Tillage and compost effects on corn growth, nutrient accumulation, and grain yield. Agron J 99: 80-87. https://doi.org/10.2134/agronj2006.0118
Vellinga TV, van den Pol-van Dasselaar A, Kuikman PJ, 2004. The impact of grassland ploughing on CO2 and N2O emissions in The Netherlands. Nutr Cycl Agroecosyst 70: 33-45. https://doi.org/10.1023/B:FRES.0000045981.56547.db
Wachendorf M, Bütcher M, Volkers KC, Bobe J, Rave G, Loges R, Taube F, 2006. Performance and environmental effects of forage production on sandy soils. V. Impact of grass understorey, slurry application and mineral N fertilizer on nitrate leaching under maize for silage. Grass Forage Sci 61: 243-252. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2494.2006.00528.x
© CSIC. Manuscripts published in both the print and online versions of this journal are the property of the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, and quoting this source is a requirement for any partial or full reproduction.
All contents of this electronic edition, except where otherwise noted, are distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence. You may read the basic information and the legal text of the licence. The indication of the CC BY 4.0 licence must be expressly stated in this way when necessary.
Self-archiving in repositories, personal webpages or similar, of any version other than the final version of the work produced by the publisher, is not allowed.
