This project is developing an indicator system for estimating quantities of farmyard manure and nutrient content from dairy farming. The model is intended to show how measures affect excretions and hence the available nutrients, in order to make efficient use of the latter.
Background
For efficient management of farmyard-manure and nutrient streams, knowledge of the available amounts of fertiliser and its nutrient content is required. Nutrient content, however, depends on many factors which are not sufficiently taken into account in the current fertiliser recommendations. Thus, farm-specific characteristics cannot be depicted with the available tools and by using standard values – despite knowledge of these characteristics being a requirement for optimised nutrient use, e.g. in plot-by-plot fertilisation.
Aims
The aim of this project is to develop a model that depicts both the quantities and nutrient content of farmyard manure for a dairy farm using individual-farm production parameters. For this modelling, known feeding and excretion data are supplemented with values from the literature as well as with data from additional surveys, where necessary. Here, parameters that are available or easy to collect in practice play a key role as meaningful indicators for characterising farmyard manures (slurry, dung). Using the model, the improved data resources and the indicators, both the fertiliser balance (Suisse-Bilanz) and already-existing models like Hoduflu (a German acronym for ‘Management of Farmyard and Recycling Fertilisers’) or Agrammon (calculation of ammonia emissions) can be further developed.
Original Title
Indikatorbasierte Beurteilung von landwirtschaftlichen Betriebs- und Produktionssystemen bezüglich Nachhaltigkeitszielen der Agrarpolitik (SIMHofdünger) [= Indicator-Based Assessment of Farm and Production Systems in Terms of Agricultural Policy Sustainability Targets (SIMfarmyard manures)]
