Water discharge and nutrient leaching from organic mixed crop rotation

Water discharge and nutrient leaching studies were conducted in an experimental field under organic farming practice for 20 years. The water discharge measurements cover five years out of a six-year crop rotation. The water discharge for the whole year was 1520 m³/ha (=152 mm). More than 2/3 of the total discharge occurred in April-May. The total precipitation for the whole year was 680 mm. The total amount of N in the drainage runoff was 11.5 kg/ha and the flow-weighted average content 7.5 mg/l. The total amount of P in the drainage runoff was 48 g/ha and the flow-weighted average content 0.031 mg/l. 85 % of the total P was dissolved reactive phosphorus (DPR). Some preliminary correlation between N leaching and N management was observed, i.e. higher N concentrations in drainage water were found on green fallow after autumn ploughing compared to first-year grass or spring cereal. Variation in the P concentration of the drainage water between the plots seems to be correlated to soil P status rather than P management

Food basket scenario, Juva Finland

The aim of this food basket scenario study based on average Finnish food consumption was to investigate if it is possible to reduce nitrogen surplus of agriculture by changing agricultural production methods and by how much. Existing average Finnish agricultural practises abd ecological farming practises investigated in the BERAS project are compared

Bioenergy for farms - turnip rape oil, biodiesel and biogas

One research and one development project concerning production and processing technique of organic turnip rape is going on in Finland in 2006-2008. The development project concerns also biogas production from biomass

Jaloittelutarhoista on avattu nettisivusto

Kotieläinten jaloitteluasiat ovat nyt ajankohtaisia. Kytkettyinä pidettävien lypsylehmien ja hiehojen on tulevan heinäkuun alusta lukien päästävä kesäaikaan laitumelle tai muuten ulos jaloittelemaan. Jaloitteluun liittyviä asioita on nyt koottu omalle nettisivustolleen, www.mtt.fi/tarhat.vo

Nitrogen and phosphorus leakage in ecological recycling agriculture

In this report we quantify nitrogen and phosphorus leakage on three farms in the BERAS project. The study is based on direct measurements of nitrogen and phosphorus concentration in drainage water and water flow measurements

Waste composts as nitrogen fertilizers for forage leys

Two field experiments, conventional grass ley and organic grass-clover ley, were established with barley as a nurse crop in spring 2000 and given either low or high fertilization with mineral fertilizer (Mineral) or composts. The compost types were municipal biowaste (Biowaste), biowaste + sewage sludge (BioSludge) and cattle manure (Manure). Plant yields and nitrogen (N) uptakes were measured for three years and efficiency of N utilization was estimated. In single application of compost, the total N was mainly in organic form and less than 10% was in inorganic form. Along with increasing amount of inorganic N applied in compost, the yield, N uptake and N recovery increased during the application year. The highest compost N recovery in the application year was 12%, found with Biowaste. In the following years the highest N recovery was found where the lowest total N had been applied. Clover performance was improved in the organic grass-clover ley established with BioSludge fertilization, producing total ley yield comparable with Manure compost. High total N application in composts caused high N surplus and low N use efficiency over three years. Generally, moderate compost fertilization is suitable for ley crops when supplemented with mineral N fertilizer or clover N fixation

Faecal microorganisms in run-off from cattle farming

Numbers of faecal microbes (faecal coliforms, enterococci, sulphite-reducing clostridia and coliphages) were determined in run-off waters from cattle farms in 1998-2005. Water samples were collected from drain wells and open ditches adjacent to exercise yards and forested feedlots for cattle, a grass field with slurry applications and a pasture with buffer strips. The indicator numbers were the highest in run-off waters from asphalt exercise yards while the figures were even 100-fold smaller in waters from a bark covered yard. In the forested feedlots, where cattle were fed for the winter months or all the year round, the indicator numbers were as high as the ones in a grass field with slurry applications or a pasture. There was a severe risk of transporting pathogens to the environment, especially if run-off water from exercise yards and feedlots are only poor purifed and allowed to flow into ditches and watercourses. The existence of buffer strips between fields and watercourses may reduce the numbers of faecal microbes in surface run-off

Taking planetary nutrient boundaries seriously: Can we feed the people?

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Local and social facets of planetary boundaries: right to nutrients

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