Nutrient Management Planning Gordon Fairchild, Ph.D., P.Ag. Soils specialist Eastern Canada Soil and Water Conservation Centre Improving Management Practices in the Livestock Sector March 4-5, 2003. Moncton,NB Nutrient Management Planning Not a new concept, dating back to the 18 th and 19 th centuries ex: Liebig s Law of the Minimum most limiting nutrient limits yield application other nutrients will not increase yield until limiting nutrient is sufficient 1
Nutrient Management Planning (NMP) concept of nutrient management is not new however, what is the difference between Nutrient Management Planning (NMP) and fertility management? fertility management meets crop needs NMP - meets crop needs & attempts to minimizes environmental impacts Agriculture in the hydrological cycle and the watershed Why are environmental concerns addressed in NMP? Source: OMFRA. 1994. 2
Agriculture in the hydrological cycle and the watershed Atlantic rainfall greater than evapotranspiration therefore runoff potential is high Agriculture in the hydrological cycle and the watershed the runoff in a watershed eventually reaches a watercourse may have potential impacts on surface water quality 3
Agriculture in the hydrological cycle and the watershed potential for leaching to groundwater nitrate, bacteria AAFC. 2000. The Health of our Water. Agriculture and nutrient impacts on the environment N and P entering surface waters eutrophication N & P ammonia Source: OMFRA. 1994. 4
Agriculture and nutrient impacts on the environment Nitrate leaching into groundwater methhaemoglobinemia (Blue Baby syndrome) other health concerns Agriculture and nutrient impacts on the environment Other nutrient concerns: ammonia volatilization & odours greenhouse gases (CO 2, N 2 O, methane) bacteria / pathogen concerns with manure Walkerton, ON North Battleford, SK 5
Sources of nutrients in agriculture manure compost fertilizer plant residues legumes biosolids soil organic matter lime NMP considers - Fate of nutrients applied plant uptake plant residues runoff leaching preferential transport tile drains volatilization & denitrification fixation 6
Saturation of the soil with phosphorus A relatively new challenge: much of the P added to soil is fixed or adsorbed however, eventually the P sorption capacity of the soil is saturated, and once saturated.. P is lost runoff & leaching Saturation of the soil with phosphorus Reason: plants use more N than P historically, manure applied to meet crop N demands or simple disposal An excess of P has tended to be applied with manure high rates of P fertilizer in row crops are another cause Ontario is introducing a P Index and Quebec uses a Al/P ratio (soil test) 7
Nutrient management planning may include: NMP may address these concerns with a variety of measures: soil testing, P & K manure analysis, N, P, K realistic crop yield goals runoff control Nutrient management planning may include: proper credit manure nutrients (N, P & K) and legume-n soil & crop factors limiting uptake calibrate manure and fertilizer spreaders spring application of manure cultivation prior to liquid manure spreading 8
Nutrient management planning may include: manure incorporation after application plow legumes in spring fall catch crops separation distances riparian buffer zones matching AU s & land base available Nutrient management planning may include: managing N & P contents of feeds precisely formulated rations reduce N & P in manure recent research has shown reduce dairy N excretion up to 20% reduce dairy P excretion up to 60% reduce poultry & swine N & P excretion 10-30% in principle, it may be possible to do this in beef too 9
Legislation & NMP We ve discussed what NMP is,. now I ll briefly look at what current legislation may influence nutrient use in agriculture The federal Act with the most potential influence on nutrients is actually the Fisheries Act, which covers: watercourse contamination that could affect fish discharge of deleterious substances in water the could degrade water quality Legislation & NMP However, the provincial governments have most of the control over livestock operations licensing or permits siting minimum separation distances 10
Legislation & NMP many provinces do now require an NMP for specific purposes or permits, including AB, MB, ON, QC, NB, etc. Legislation & NMP Ontario s new Nutrient Management Planning Act includes: mandatory NMPs NMP certification & training programs increased requirements for NMP record keeping reinforcement of minimum separation distances list of other measures 11
Legislation & NMP Quebec s new Reglement sur les exploitations Agricole (2002) includes: agro-environmental fertilization plan (a form of NMP) required each year, each field detailed record keeping must be signed by a P.Ag. balance P sorption & P applied manure in excess of land capacity Legislation & NMP In New Brunswick, a NMP is required under the Livestock Operations Act, for: new operations > 20 livestock existing facilities for > 10-fold expansion 12
Legislation & NMP NMP USA & Europe much more restrictive USA -federal: US EPA considers CAFO s as point-source pollution require an EPA NPDES permit EPA demands an NMP for NPDES permit NPDES = national pollutant discharge elimination system Legislation & NMP NMP USA & Europe more restrictive USA -states: some states require NMPs separate to the NMP demanded by the EPA for federal permits PA, MD legislated fairly strict NMP requirements to control P loading into the Chesapeake 13
Legislation & NMP NMP USA & Europe more restrictive Europe: Netherlands, Germany, France, Switzerland, Sweden etc. various legislation, vary s between countries, Depending on country, may include: max rate N fertilizer max manure application rate time of application restrictions limits AU s per hectare Netherlands: no further ILO expansion limit P rate from manure NMP & economics of crop production There is a sliver lining or good news part to NMP nutrients in the organic sources on the farm have economic value! ex: manure contains substantial amounts of N, P, K and micros if we minimize nutrient losses from all sources on-farm, we may be minimizing environmental impacts, but we are also maximizing the economic value of the nutrients in the on-farm sources 14
NMP & economics of crop production So there are economic benefits to Nutrient Management Planning max crop nutrient-use efficiency max economic use all of nutrient sources on the farm may reduce input costs lower fertilizer requirements increases overall economic profitability of the farm, without impacting the environment Nutrient Management Planning (NMP) When I started I asked the question: what is the difference between NMP and fertility management? fertility management meets crop needs NMP - meets crop needs and minimizes environmental impact NMP also maximizes economic efficiency of nutrient use on the farm 15
Nutrient Management Planning NMP is becoming necessity in many jurisdictions reducing water contamination by nutrients is also becoming a federal policy goal. federal APF includes goals: to reduce water contamination by nutrients, pathogens and pesticides So the more NMP we can do proactively the better In the end, NMP should help the beef industry to be: more profitable and be seen as environmentally friendly 16