Nutrient Planning for Sustainability Dairy

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Nutrient Planning for Sustainability - Dairy

• Dann J. Bolinger, M.S.
• Michigan State University
• Extension Dairy Agent

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Basis of Planning

• Maintain economic viability profitability of
  farm business
• Protect the environment
• Surface water
• Ground water
• Air quality
• Nutrients of primary concern
• Nitrogen leaching, volatilization
• Phosphorus run-off, leaching

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NP Corn Uptake vs. Manure

• Corn Uptake Manure
• NP 2.5 1.32 (as excreted)
• 0.66 (field applied)
• Overall result if we apply based on crop uptake
  
• of actual field N, we will overapply P.
• Corn 2.5/0.66 3.8X
• Thats a phosphorus excess of about 150 lb/A!

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Raising Lowering Soil P

• 10 20 lbs of excess P2O5/A
• to raise Bray P1 soil test one lb/A.
• 10 20 lbs of crop removal P2O5/A
• to lower Bray P1 soil test one lb/A.
• (Most MI crop rotations average 50 lb/A crop
  removal,
• so soil test goes down only 5-10 lb/A/year at
  best.)
• Easy fast to raise, hard slow to lower!

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Fundamental nutrient question
Is my farm concentrating nutrients?
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National Level

• Mass Nutrient Balance

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Manure P vs. crop land P use
lt 25 25 - 50 50 - 100 gt100
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Manure P vs. crop land P use
lt 25 25 - 50 50 - 100 gt100
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Manure P vs. crop land P use
lt 25 25 - 50 50 - 100 gt100
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State and County Level

• Mass Nutrient Balance

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Nutrient Concentration

• National level
• Regional level
• Community level
• Farm level
• Field level

CNMP
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Farm Level Nutrient Balance
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Indicators of Nutrient Imbalance

• Animals per acre thumb rules
• Less than one acre per animal unit
• Soil P increasing with time
• High soil P levels
• Majority of feed protein and P comes from
  off-farm sources

• These are neither exact nor reliable!

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Animals
Manure
Feed
Manure Nutrients
Crop Nutrients
Nutrient Uptake
Land Application
Farm P Cycle
Soil
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Estimating Nutrient Balance

• Estimate crop nutrient removal
• Based on crop specific removal rate and yield
• Estimate manure nutrient production
• Records of manure production and analysis
• Book excretion values (MWPS-18, table 6)
• Mass balance (inputs vs. outputs)

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Manure Nutrient Production Records of manure
production analysis

• Pros
• farm specific
• Cons
• Inadequate records before CNMP implementation
• Difficult to get truly representative manure
  analysis
• Weather variables impact volumes and analysis
• Frequently inaccurate!
• (Manure GAAMP says do not use)

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Manure Nutrient Production Book excretion values
(MWPS-18, table 6)

• Pros
• Simple to calculate (no records required)
• Constant values
• Cons
• Not farm specific
• Book values not always representative (/- 30,
• dont know performance level or nutrition of
  animals in data set)
• New data in progress

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• Estimating nutrients produced by an operation.
• - Book values for nutrients produced, multiplied
  by animal numbers.

• Several sources of values exist Midwest Plan
  Service Book - 18 is most commonly
  referenced.
• Referenced data needs to match or be adjusted to
  an account for difference between the operation
  and the description of the values referenced
  (animal size, production, feed types, etc.).

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• Estimating nutrients produced by an operation -
  Dairy
• - Book values for nutrients produced, multiplied
  by animal numbers and days on feed.

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Manure Nutrient Production Mass balance
phosphorus
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Principles of Mass Balance

• Elements are neither created nor destroyed.
• Elements which enter a system either exit the
  system or are stored (soil or dead space of
  storage).
• The composition of animal products meat, milk,
  eggs, etc. are relatively constant regardless
  of diet. (Diet can affect flavor, odor, etc.)

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Animals
Manure
Feed
Manure Nutrients
Crop Nutrients
Nutrient Uptake
Land Application
Farm P Cycle
Soil
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Purchased Animals
Purchased Feeds
Animal Sales
Milk Sales
Manure
Animals
Ration
Leachate Losses
Facility Losses
Grown Feed
Crop Sales
Mortalities
Manure Nutrients
Crop Nutrients
Purchased Fertilizer
Bedding
Nutrient Uptake
Land Application
Farm P Cycle
Soil
Field Runoff
Leaching
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Purchased Animals
Animal Sales
Milk Sales
Animals
Ration
Manure
Facility Losses
X
Mortalities
Animal Mass Balance
Manure Nutrients
Bedding
Ration P Net Product P Manure P
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Manure Nutrient Production Mass Balance

• Pros
• Farm specific
• Nutrient consumption is best predictor of
  excretion
• Cons
• Whole farm mass balance can be difficult
  complicated
• Ration on paper not always what is actually fed
• Rations corresponding animal group sizes, and
  animal performance change over time
• Useful when book values are not representative!

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Whole Farm Balance
Manure Nutrients
Crop Nutrients
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GOAL Crop nutrient removal equals or exceeds
manure nutrient production

• Long-term (farm level)
• Crop rotation cycle (field level)

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Whole Farm Balance Strategies for Sustainability

• Credit manure nutrients
• Minimize purchased fertilizers
• Apply manure where needed
• Increase available land for spreading
• Easement, rental, purchase of more acres
• Move nutrients off farm sell, give-away
• Optimize Feed P N Inputs
• Do not exceed animal requirements
• Improve nutrient availability to animals

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Optimizing Feed P Inputs

• High excretion P (two primary reasons)
• P fed in excess of nutrient requirement of
  animal
• Limited availability of P to animal
• Common P form in grains has low availability
• Over feed P to compensate

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Phosphorus

• Essential for skeletal system development
• Generally low availability
• Phytate is not available to animals
• Feedstuffs 60-75 of P is phytate
• Corn grain 12 available
• Soybean meal 23-30 available
• Wheat 50 available
• Dicalcium phosphate 100 available
• Unavailable and unabsorbed P is excreted

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Phytase

• Enzyme that makes phytate P available
• Also may improve availability of other minerals
  and improve utilization of protein and energy
• Animals do not produce their own phytase
• Ruminants (cattle, sheep) get phytase produced by
  symbiotic bacteria in rumen
• Monogastrics (swine, poultry) have no natural
  source of phytase

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Dairy Phosphorus Nutrition

• Natural rumen phytase may still be inadequate for
  high producing (high feed intake) cows
• Tend to overfeed phosphorus
• Some excess for to offset limited availability
• More excess for unsupported performance claims

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Dairy P Reqs. vs. Recs.

• Dietary requirements in grams/cow/day
• P requirement same regardless of feed intake
• Thumb rule 1 gram of ration P for each 1 lb of
  milk in each management group (24 minimum)
• Diets mixed on dry matter ratio basis
• Recommendations based on ration P
• ( P of total ration dry matter)

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P Feeding Recommendations (NRC, 2001)
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Dairy Overfeeding of P

• Surveys gt50 of herds in WI, PA, and FL were fed
  rations with more P than needed to meet
  requirements
• Similar results with informal survey in MI
• P is second most expensive nutrient to supplement
  in dairy rations.
• Most nutritionists also sell feed.

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• Three types of information that maybe
  available on the farm and used for phosphorus
  balance for the livestock operation.
• Daily ration fed multiplied by the number of
  animals fed and the number of days fed.
• Total pounds of each ration fed over a noted time
  period.
• Disappearance or annual totals of inputs used.
•  
• Each livestock operations record need to be
  reviewed to decide the best input side record to
  use for the calculation.

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• Estimating nutrients produced by an operation.
• -Phosphorus balance for the livestock operation
  or whole farm.

Not all phosphorus is the same.

Elemental phosphorus (P) / 0.44
P2O5 Elemental phosphorus (P) 0.44 P2O5
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Dairy cattle Why is P overfed?

• Safety margin Not needed
• Increased milk yield Doesnt work
• Hypophosphatemia Doesnt help
• Improves reproduction Data ???
• P in feed unknown No excuse
• NRC, 2001 Beede Davidson, 1999

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Animal Mass Balance

• Dairy Example

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Animal mass balance dairy

• Feed intake phosphorus
• Dry matter intake (DMI) actual or expected
• Ration P concentration from ration sheets
• Average cow heifer group sizes are generally
  known
• Milk Sold
• Track milk shipped vs. cows milked for 30 days
  (not DHIA)
• Average number of cows lactating (DHIA)
• Animals Left
• Records of animals sold and mortalities left farm
  (DHIA)
• Herd turnover rate and average herd size (DHIA)

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Lotta P Dairy FarmInformation Collected

• P Intake
• Ration sheets for all groups fed a TMR
• Animal group number report, edited for average
  annual numbers
• P Export - milk
• 30-day average milk shipped 88.7 lbs/cow/day
• annual average of 345 lactating cows
• P Export - animals
• Cows left 131 (32) _at_ 1,300 lbs BW
• Bulls calves sold 210 _at_ 100 lbs BW
• Heifers sold 3 _at_ 1,100 lbs BW

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Nutrients retained by animals
Source MWPS-18 LPES Guide
Nutrient Requirements
of Dairy Cattle, NRC 2001
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Total Manure P205 55,621 lbs
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• Calculating Average Crop Removal

MSU Bulletin 550-a, table 1
66,130 Lbs. P205 1,000 acres

66 lbs/acre Average P205 Removal
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• Estimating land-base need based on nutrients
  produced.

Acres need to spread manure (without changing P
levels).
Total lbs. of phosphorus generated or purchased
by farm.

Average crop removal for the rotation.
66 lbs/acre Average Crop P205 Removal
Total Manure P205 55,621 lbs

843 acres
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Impact Influence of Rations

• Lotta P Dairy
• 72,338 lbs P2O5
• 1,315 Acres (3.2 /cow)
• (55 lbs/A crop removal)
• Book Values
• 63,423 lbs P2O5
• 1,153 Acres (2.8/cow)
• NRC levels of P
• 55,621 lbs P2O5
• 1,011 Acres (2.5/cow)

• Animal Mass Balance
• Works both ways.
• Ration corrections can be almost immediate.

3/4 Acre/cow
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Nutrient Planning for SustainabilitySummary

• Determine total nutrients produced
• -P is most often the limiting factor
• Determine your average crop removal
• Determine the crop base needed to utilize
  nutrient produced
• -Divide total nutrients produced by
  average crop removal
• Compare your actual spreadable acre to crop base
  needed.
• -If youre short on land base start making
  adjustments.

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Nutrient Planning for SustainabilitySummary
(continued)

• Compare your actual spreadable acre to crop base
  needed.
• -If youre short on land base start making
  adjustments.
• Increase yields
• Increase spreadable acre. Rent, trade acre,
  spreading agreements
• Lower phosphorus inputs feed less P
• Move phases of production heifer or dry cow to
  another farm