Enhanced Integrated Nutrient Management:

Top points from Al Rotz
Theme: "Integrated nutrient management planning on dairy farms"

1. Nutrient management is complex, involving the effects and interactions of a number of processes on the farm. Proper evaluation and planning requires a comprehensive whole-farm approach.

2. Nitrogen losses occur from manure in the barn, during storage, following land application, from the soil during plant growth and from the crop during harvest and storage. Many factors affect the rate and amount of loss that occurs, and these losses are often large.

3. Phosphorus losses primarily occur due to erosion and runoff following land application of the manure. The loss is generally a relatively small portion of that applied, but this loss can have a major detrimental impact through the eutrophication of surface waters.

4. The DAFOSYM model is a research tool that simulates the major processes of a dairy farm over many weather years predicting the transformation and losses that occur as nutrients cycle from the animal, through the crops and back to the animal.

5. DAFOSYM is used to evaluate and compare the long term performance, economics and nutrient cycling of alternative production systems to determine those that can reduce the environmental impact while maintaining or improving farm profitability.