Repository logo
  • Log In
    New user? Click here to register.Have you forgotten your password?
University College Dublin
    Colleges & Schools
    Statistics
    All of DSpace
  • Log In
    New user? Click here to register.Have you forgotten your password?
  1. Home
  2. College of Health and Agricultural Sciences
  3. School of Agriculture and Food Science
  4. Agriculture and Food Science Research Collection
  5. Establishing national benchmarks of N and P balances and use efficiencies on Irish grassland farms
 
  • Details
Options

Establishing national benchmarks of N and P balances and use efficiencies on Irish grassland farms

Author(s)
Thomas, Ian  
Buckley, Cathal  
Kelly, Edel  
Murphy, Paul  
et al.  
Uri
http://hdl.handle.net/10197/10474
Date Issued
2018-06-21
Date Available
2019-05-15T11:28:14Z
Abstract
Improving grassland agriculture sustainability requires minimising nutrient balance (NB) surpluses and increasing nutrient use efficiencies (NUE). To set targets for improved farm nutrient management, benchmarks were established by farm sector and production intensity using 1,379 nationally representative farms from the Irish National Farm Survey. Annual farm-gate NBs (kg ha-1) and NUEs (%) for nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) were calculated from import/export data from 2008 to 2015, inclusive. Quantile regression analysis and percentile rankings were used to identify benchmark farms with the lowest surpluses per production intensity (kg N or P exported ha-1), highest NUEs and highest gross margins (Euro ha-1). Large differences in NBs between farms of the same sector and production intensity indicate considerable potential for improvements. For example, benchmark dairy farms maximised productivity (median export 55 kg N ha-1), NUE (median 31%) and gross margins (median Euro 2,593 ha-1) whilst keeping surpluses low (median 124 kg N ha-1) via lower fertiliser and concentrate feed imports and higher stocking densities (median 2.1 livestock units ha-1). Using benchmarks as targets to encourage improvements in nutrient management could help farms achieve this potential and assist in achieving national objectives for sustainable agricultural production.
Sponsorship
Environmental Protection Agency
Type of Material
Conference Publication
Publisher
Teagasc
Series
Volume 23, Grassland Science in Europe
Copyright (Published Version)
2018 Teagasc
Subjects

Benchmark

Balance

Nutrient use efficien...

Sustainability

Ntirogen

Phosphorous

Language
English
Status of Item
Peer reviewed
Journal
Horan, B., Hennessy, D., O’Donovan, M., Kennedy, E., McCarthy, B., Finn, J.A., O' Brien, B. (eds.). 27th EGF General Meeting on “Sustainable Meat and Milk Production from Grasslands” Grassland Science in Europe
Conference Details
The 27th General Meeting of the European Grassland Federation, Cork, Ireland, 17-21 June 2018
ISBN
978-1-84170-643-6
This item is made available under a Creative Commons License
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/ie/
File(s)
Loading...
Thumbnail Image
Name

Thomas et al 2018.pdf

Size

1.44 MB

Format

Adobe PDF

Checksum (MD5)

649c36256303f380f94a6298beee0c68

Owning collection
Agriculture and Food Science Research Collection

Item descriptive metadata is released under a CC-0 (public domain) license: https://creativecommons.org/public-domain/cc0/.
All other content is subject to copyright.

For all queries please contact research.repository@ucd.ie.

Built with DSpace-CRIS software - Extension maintained and optimized by 4Science

  • Cookie settings
  • Privacy policy
  • End User Agreement