Nitrogen and phosphorus losses from a feedlot for suckler cows

The raising of cattle outdoors in winter is becoming more common in temperate areas, although there is little information available on the effects of this practice on forested environments. In this study, the concentrations of ammonium acetate extractable phosphorus (P AAAc )and mineral nitrogen (NH 4-N and NO 3-N) in soil and the quality of percolation water from an open feedlot were studied in eastern Finland in 1997–2000. In each of four pens (975–1300 m2) eight suckler cows were fed in winter from 1995 in the case of the first two pens and from 1996 in the remaining two. The suckler cows usually stayed in the front part of the feedlot. Therefore the nutrient loading was also the highest in this part of the lot. When the pens had been used for 1–2 winters, the mean contents of PAAAc, NH 4-N and NO 3-N in the surface soil (0–5 cm)were 14,73 and 3.0 mg l–1 respectively, compared to only 3.0, 4.2 and 0.06 mg l–1 in the control forested area. In the front part of a 1-m-deep soil layer, the mean amounts of NH 4-N, and NO 3-N were 410 and 28 kg ha–1 respectively after 1–2 years of use of the feedlot. In percolation water, too, the mean concentrations of total phosphorus and total nitrogen were high in the front part: 1.7 –28 and 210–1400 mg l–1 respectively. The minimum requirement is cleaning of the dung, and even then loading may be substantial

Faecal bacteria and coliphages in run-off from dairy farms

Although the indicator numbers were mainly quite low, there was a severe risk of transfer of pathogens to the environment, especially when household wastewater or surface run-off water from outdoor yards was poorly purified and allowed to flow into ditches and watercourses. The existence of buffer zones between fields and watercourses may reduce the numbers of faecal microbes in surface run-off water

Nutrient retention of vegetated buffer strips on a cropped field and a pasture

The effects of 10-meter wide grass buffer strips (GBS) and vegetated buffer strips under natural vegetation (VBS) on losses of sediment, phosohorus and nitrogen from cropped soil plots has been studied for 15 years on Lintupaju field at Jokioinen. The results have been compared with those from 70-m-long and 18-m-wide plots without buffers

Effect of outdoor production, slurry management and buffer zones on phosphorus and nitrogen runoff losses from Finnish cattle farms

This thesis sums up studies on phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N) losses to water from forested feedlots and slurry-amended grass fields. Moreover, different ways of mitigating the losses in a boreal climate are discussed. Studies were conducted in 1996-2008 at Jokioinen, Tohmajärvi, Ruukki and Taivalkoski. Water samples representing surface runoff were collected from open ditches and analysed e.g. for total solids (sediment) as well as total P (TP), dissolved reactive P (DRP) and total N (TN) to estimate nutrient losses from forested feedlots with different stocking rates (animal units per hectare, AU/ha) and from slurry-amended grass. Surface runoff samples were similarly analysed to evaluate the efficacy of 10 m wide buffer zones to decrease and retain nutrient losses from pasture and tilled soil. The soil was sampled for plant-available P and mineral nitrogen (SMN) analyses. Fairly high TP (0,9-1,4 kg/ha/yr) and TN (4-16 kg/ha/yr) losses occurred in ditch water from forested feedlots where cattle has been reared for 1-3 years. These amounts correspond to the annual losses from cropped felds. The plant-available P (up to 20 mg/L) in surface soil and the amount of SMN (up to 100-400 kg/ha) in the 60 cm deep soil layer were highest in places where the cattle gathered, such as bedded and feeding areas (called high-input areas). High losses of TP and DRP (4,4 and 3,6 kg/ha/yr, respectively) also occured in surface runoff from the grass fields where surface application of slurry (40 t/ha) in autumn was followed by rainfall. Injection of the slurry into the soil decreased TP and DRP losses by 79 and 86 %, respectively. The buffer zones along watercourses were less important in the grazed field than in autumn-tilled soil due to the smaller erosion and nutrient losses from grass than from tilled soil. The surface runoff losses of sediment, TP and TN decreased by more than 50, 30 and 50 %, respectively, by buffer zones on tilled soil

The effects of vegetated buffer zones on erosion and nutrients in surface runoff

The buffer zones seem to be one tool in mitigating erosion and total nutrient losses from surface runoff on clay soils. However, to decrease the dissolved reactive phosphorus losses, the vegetation of buffer zones should be cut and the residue removed

Evaluating vegetated buffer zones for phosphorus retention in cereal and grass production

The buffer zones seem to be effective to stop erosion and trap particle bound P in surface runoff from the autumn ploughed clay soil. On pastures, the buffers are not so important, if P fertiliser is not surface applied and the grazing intensity is not too high. However, the high DRP loss to surface runoff may be a real problem on grass fields in spring. The buffers are not able to uptake nutrients in early spring when the runoff is highest

Local food supply chain: a case of rural food processing firms and catering business in Finland

The subject of this paper is the integration of food production and processing, distribution, and consumption on local markets in rural areas. We approach this integration from the point of view of an alternative food supply chain, a local food system as an example. The data were gathered through semistructured interviews with 12 entrepreneurs and 9 representatives of institutional food service units and restaurants in Eastern Finland

Searching for degenerate Higgs bosons - A profile likelihood ratio method to test for mass-degenerate states in the presence of incomplete data and uncertainties

Using the likelihood ratio test statistic, we present a method which can be employed to test the hypothesis of a single Higgs boson using the matrix of measured signal strengths. This method can be applied in the presence of incomplete data and takes into account uncertainties on the measurements. The p-value against the hypothesis of a single Higgs boson is defined from the expected distribution of the test statistic, generated using pseudo-experiments. The applicability of the likelihood-based test is demonstrated using numerical examples with uncertainties and missing matrix elements

Possibilities to improve yield of green manured spring barley crop by delayed sowing in organic production

During 2000-2002 field trials were carried out at two locations (Juva and Ruukki) to investigate the effect of delayed sowing on green manured barley crop