Publication history: Accepted - 29 May 2018; Published online - 1 June 2018Since phosphorus (P) is an essential element for life, its usage and application across
agricultural production systems requires great attention. Monogastric species such as pigs and
poultry can significantly contribute to global food security but these animals remain highly dependent
on the supply of mineral inorganic P in their feeds. Pig and poultry, which represent 70% of
the global meat production, are also major P excretors and thus represent important sources of
environmental P inputs. Balancing the P cycle within farming systems is crucial to achieve P
sustainable and resilient livestock production. Therefore, the interconnection of animal feed, livestock
farming, manure, and soil/aquatic ecosystems requires multidisciplinary approaches to improve
P management. With regard to a sustainable agricultural P cycle, this study addresses aspects of
feeding strategies and animal physiology (e.g., phase feeding, P conditioning, liquid feeding, phytase
supplementation, genetics), soil agroecosystems (e.g., P cycling, P losses, P gains), reuse and recycling
(e.g., manure, slaughter waste), measures of farmers’ economic performance (e.g., bio-economic
models), and P governance/policy instruments (e.g., P quota, P tax). To reconcile the economic
and ecological sustainability of animal husbandry, the strategic objective of future research will be
to provide solutions for a sufficient supply of high-quality animal products from resource-efficient
and economically competitive agro-systems which are valued by society and preserve soil and
aquatic ecosystems.: This work was partly funded by the Leibniz Science Campus Phosphorus Research Rostock and has
received funding from the European Research Association Networks (ERA-NETs) Cofunds Sustainable Animal
Production (SusAn) as part of the PEGaSus project (2817ERA02D). The Leibniz Institute for Farm Animal Biology
(FBN) provided own matched funding. Department of Animal Science, Aarhus University covered some of the
expenditures for running the pig experiments. The publication of this article was funded by the Open Access Fund
of the Leibniz Association and the Open Access Fund of the Leibniz Institute for Farm Animal Biology (FBN)