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Sustainable Management of Livestock Farms for Reducing Environmental Loading of...
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Sustainable Management of Livestock Farms for Reducing Environmental Loading of Nutrients

A special issue of Animals (ISSN 2076-2615). This special issue belongs to the section "Animal System and Management".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 November 2020) | Viewed by 10071

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Partha Ray

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Agriculture, Policy and Development, University of Reading, Reading, Berkshire RG6 6AH, UK
Interests: livestock production; phosphorus pollution; dietary management strategies; livestock manure; manure management strategies; micropollutants in livestock manure

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The traditional use of livestock manure as a fertilizer to improve soil fertility has been under scrutiny because of the accumulation of manure-borne nutrients in soil and subsequent water pollution. Intensification of livestock production to improve global food security has resulted in the generation of a large amount of manure, which is more than what is required to support/improve plant growth in certain countries. The continuous land application of manure-borne nutrients at a rate higher than what crops can utilize has resulted in the saturation of soil nutrient reserve, which contributes to nutrient loss to surface and ground water via surface runoff and leaching, respectively, leading to unwanted algal bloom in waterbodies and eutrophication. In addition, the intensification of livestock production has caused nutrient surplus on livestock farms and aggravated the issue of spatial variability in soil nutrient status. This Special Issue will publish current research on identifying, developing, and applying sustainable on-farm management strategies to reduce nutrient accumulation on livestock farms and subsequent nutrient loss to the environment. We are also seeking contributions on farmer-friendly but robust methods/tools to quantify nutrient status and utilization efficiency at the farm level.

Note: Studies that focus solely on soil management strategies on livestock farms will not be considered for publication in this Special Issue.

Dr. Partha Ray
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Animals is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • nutrient utilization efficiency
  • nutrient loss
  • nutrient cycling
  • feeding strategies
  • agronomic practices
  • livestock manure
  • manure management
  • nitrogen
  • phosphorus

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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24 pages, 2284 KiB  
Article
Alternative Management Systems of Beef Cattle Manure for Reducing Nitrogen Loadings: A Case-Study Approach
by Yubin Wang, Suraj Ghimire, Jingjing Wang, Renjie Dong and Qian Li
Animals 2021, 11(2), 574; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11020574 - 23 Feb 2021
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 3174
Abstract
Livestock manure is one of the main sources of agricultural nonpoint source pollution and poses a great threat to the environment and human health. Sustainable management of manure via recycling is an effective means to tackle the problem. Based on field interviews in [...] Read more.
Livestock manure is one of the main sources of agricultural nonpoint source pollution and poses a great threat to the environment and human health. Sustainable management of manure via recycling is an effective means to tackle the problem. Based on field interviews in China, multiple case studies were employed to investigate alternative manure management systems. Four conclusions arose. First, compost-based systems, product-based systems, substrate-based systems, and biogas-based systems were identified as four main types of manure management systems, with each possessing its success factors and risk factors. The adoption of a system was driven by various factors. Second, market-oriented operation was the dominant operation mechanism of all the manure management systems. Third, compared to direct application of manure to croplands, all the four manure management systems could reduce nitrogen loadings from livestock farms and lower their environmental effects. Among the systems, biogas-based systems could reduce nitrogen loadings to the greatest extent, followed by product-based systems and substrate-based systems, and then by compost-based systems. Lastly, integrated management of manure with mixed recycling systems is imperative for reducing its environmental effects, which can benefit from the increasing role of third-party entities in manure recycling. Policy implications were also discussed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Management of Livestock Farms for Reducing Environmental Loading of Nutrients)
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21 pages, 4798 KiB  
Article
Integrated Crop-Livestock Systems for Nitrogen Management: A Multi-Scale Spatial Analysis
by Suraj Ghimire, Jingjing Wang and John R. Fleck
Animals 2021, 11(1), 100; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11010100 - 6 Jan 2021
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 3194
Abstract
The size and productivity of the livestock operations have increased over the past several decades, serving the needs of the growing human population. This growth however has come at the expense of broken connection between croplands and livestock operations. As a result, there [...] Read more.
The size and productivity of the livestock operations have increased over the past several decades, serving the needs of the growing human population. This growth however has come at the expense of broken connection between croplands and livestock operations. As a result, there is a huge disconnect between the nutrient needs of croplands and the availability of nutrients from livestock operations, leading to a range of environmental and public health issues. This study develops a theoretical framework for multi-scale spatial analysis of integrated crop-livestock systems. Using New Mexico, USA as a case study, we quantify the amount of nitrogen produced by dairy farms in the state and examine if the available nitrogen can be assimilated by the croplands and grasslands across spatial scales. The farm-level assessment identifies that all the farms under study do not have adequate onsite croplands to assimilate the nitrogen produced therein. The successive assessments at county and watershed levels suggest that the among-farm integration across operations could be an effective mechanism to assimilate the excess nitrogen. Our study hints towards the multi-spatial characteristic of the problem that can be pivotal in designing successful policy instruments. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Management of Livestock Farms for Reducing Environmental Loading of Nutrients)
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Review

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15 pages, 567 KiB  
Review
Proxy Measures and Novel Strategies for Estimating Nitrogen Utilisation Efficiency in Dairy Cattle
by Anna Lavery and Conrad P. Ferris
Animals 2021, 11(2), 343; https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11020343 - 29 Jan 2021
Cited by 17 | Viewed by 3254
Abstract
The efficiency with which dairy cows convert dietary nitrogen (N) to milk N is generally low (typically 25%). As a result, much of the N consumed is excreted in manure, from which N can be lost to the environment. Therefore there is increasing [...] Read more.
The efficiency with which dairy cows convert dietary nitrogen (N) to milk N is generally low (typically 25%). As a result, much of the N consumed is excreted in manure, from which N can be lost to the environment. Therefore there is increasing pressure to reduce N excretion and improve N use efficiency (NUE) on dairy farms. However, assessing N excretion and NUE on farms is difficult, thus the need to develop proximate measures that can provide accurate estimates of nitrogen utilisation. This review examines a number of these proximate measures. While a strong relationship exists between blood urea N and urinary N excretion, blood sampling is an invasive technique unsuitable for regular herd monitoring. Milk urea N (MUN) can be measured non-invasively, and while strong relationships exist between dietary crude protein and MUN, and MUN and urinary N excretion, the technique has limitations. Direct prediction of NUE using mid-infrared analysis of milk has real potential, while techniques such as near-infrared spectroscopy analysis of faeces and manure have received little attention. Similarly, techniques such as nitrogen isotope analysis, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy of urine, and breath ammonia analysis may all offer potential in the future, but much research is still required. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainable Management of Livestock Farms for Reducing Environmental Loading of Nutrients)
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