Manitoba Agronomists Conference Managing Crops to Maintain Markets 13 December 2017 Impact Metrics of 4R Nutrient Stewardship Tom Bruulsema, VP, Americas & Research, IPNI Allison Thomson, Field to Market
The International Plant Nutrition Institute is supported by leading fertilizer manufacturers. Formed in 2007 from the Potash & Phosphate Institute, its mission is to develop and promote science for responsible management of crop nutrition.
Outline 1. Trends Population, production, fertilizer use, human nutrition 2. Challenges Sustainability and ecosystem services Indicators for impacts of crop nutrition practices 3. Research 4R Research Fund
Global Trends United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), 2017 International Fertilizer Association (IFA), 2017
The Globe and Mail, April 2016 Expanding population, rising incomes. Demand growth not only for more food, but also for better food and a better environment.
Ecosystem Services are The benefits people obtain from ecosystems
As a sustainability system, 4R Nutrient Stewardship needs METRICS.
Indicators of Sustainable Crop Nutrition Enablers (process) Outcomes (impact on ecological services) Extension & professionals Infrastructure Research & innovation Stakeholder engagement Actions (adoption) Cropland area under 4R [Requires regional definition of 4R] 1. Farmland productivity 2. Soil health 3. Nutrient use efficiency 4. Water quality 5. Air quality 6. Greenhouse gases 7. Food & nutrition security 8. Biodiversity 9. Macroeconomic value
Core Ideas: Sustainability indicators for US agriculture demonstrate improvement since 1980. Emerging multi stakeholder initiatives are seeking to drive further improvement. Collaboration with the scientific community is key to achieving improvements. Metrics include: land use, water use, energy use, greenhouse gas emissions, and soil erosion for nine commodity crops. More in the works: biodiversity, soil carbon, water quality. Agric. Environ. Lett. 2:170015 (2017) doi:10.2134/ael2017.05.0015
4R practice tables combinations of source, rate, time & place. Step 1 N 2 O emissions Step 2 water quality Describing 4R practices complements metrics, aids their calculation, and provides options for farmers. www.ipni.net
P Soil fertility levels reflect an important component of soil health. Data available at: soiltest.ipni.net.
East versus West: a contrast in soil test P IPNI. 2016. http://soiltest.ipni.net.
Nitrogen inputs and removals are both increasing over time. http://phosphorus.ipni.net/article/ppp 3032
Phosphorus inputs and removals are both increasing over time. http://phosphorus.ipni.net/article/ppp 3032
Soil fertility and nutrient balance are relevant metrics for crop nutrition in Lake Winnipeg and Lake Erie watersheds
Lake Erie mean DRP loads 2009 2013 Maccoux MJ et al J Great Lakes Res (2016), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jglr.2016.08.005
Lake Erie total P loads 1967 2013 Total P load does not explain the increase in algal blooms since ~1995 Maccoux MJ et al J Great Lakes Res (2016), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jglr.2016.08.005
Western Lake Erie: dissolved P trends increasing since 2002 40% 40% reduction target target Cumulative DRP load (lb P 2 O 5 /A) 0 4 8 2 16 20 0.34 lb P 2 O 5 /A/y 0.74 lb P 2 O 5 per acre per year 1. David Baker & Laura Johnson, National Center for Water Quality Research, Tiffin, OH 2. Jarvie et al., 2016, J Environ. Qual.
Soil Test Summary: Lake Erie Region IPNI. 2016. http://soiltest.ipni.net.
Soil Test Summary: Lake Erie Region 32% in 2001 50% in 2015 36% in 2001 26% in 2015 IPNI. 2016. http://soiltest.ipni.net.
NuGIS: Lake Erie Region IPNI. 2016. http://nugis.ipni.net.
Lake Erie Region Declines in higher soil test levels and increases in lower soil test levels are consistent with P budgets Opportunities for improvement: Better direct P applications to lower testing soils, particularly on sols testing less than 15 ppm Right time and right place Additional conservation practices provide increased opportunities to reduce potential P loss and maintain or improve yields Bruulsema, T.W. 2016. Soil Phosphorus Trends in the Lake Erie Region. Better Crops 100(2):4 9
Approaches to recognition of crop nutrition impact on ecosystem services 4R certification Counting 4R acres Aggregate data related to 4R practices Models of nutrient loss Water quality trading Carbon trading
It begins with 4R but more is needed.
Optimum N rate is similar for yield & soil organic matter Adapted from Poffenbarger et al., 2017. PLoS ONE 12(3): e0172293
Ecological Intensification 41 site years Ecological Intensification versus Farmer Practice EI = higher yields + NUE USA IA, MN, IN Africa, Argentina, Brazil, China, Russia, India 40% of sites yield 17% yield + NUE To increase yield + NUE, need 4R PLUS cropping system management
1. Initiated 2013 (funds) 2014 (projects. 2. Pledge of $7M over 5 years. 3. Five meta analyses completed. 4. Supported metric development with Field to Market. 5. Ongoing projects in USA: 1. Lake Erie Watershed P load reduction Kevin King (4RN09) 2. Kansas P runoff monitoring Nathan Nelson (4RN26) 3. Late N application for modern corn hybrids Tony Vyn (4RN25) 4. Nitrate Nitrogen Loss in Tile Drainage Matt Helmers (4RN16) 6. 11+ projects in Canada 7. Prospects for a second 5 year round of support http://research.ipni.net/
4R Research Fund Projects
IPNI: More than a collection of regions Mex C Amer Shared solutions N Latin Amer Networks Brazil Shared experience Shared vision S Cone Shared ideas N Amer Aus N Zea Shared industry support Shared data N N Afr Rus E Europe Shared contacts Global Forages Group Shared scientific literature SE Asia S Asia China Mid East SS Afr Shared expertise A unique global collaborative
Summary 1. Crop nutrition is crucial to sustainable development. Ecosystem services include human nutrition. 2. Engaging the food supply chain through sustainability organizations offers huge opportunity to communicate progress. 3. The crop nutrition industry has increased its support for science. To ensure it continues, need to demonstrate ROI for the ecosystem services supported.