Grassland management to minimize the environmental impact of dairy farming

2017 ◽  
pp. 183-210
Author(s):  
Margaret E. Graves ◽  
◽  
Ralph C. Martin ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Grassland Management ◽  
Dairy Farming

scholarly journals Intensification: A Key Strategy to Achieve Great Animal and Environmental Beef Cattle Production Sustainability in Brachiaria Grasslands

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (16) ◽  
pp. 6656 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abmael da Silva Cardoso ◽  
Rondineli Pavezzi Barbero ◽  
Eliéder Prates Romanzini ◽  
Ronyatta Weich Teobaldo ◽  
Fernando Ongaratto ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Beef Cattle ◽  
Technical Assistance ◽  
Ghg Emissions ◽  
Grassland Management ◽  
Feeding Strategies ◽  
Cattle Production ◽  
Forage Production ◽  
Cultural Aspects ◽  
Beef Cattle Production

Intensification of tropical grassland can be a strategy to increase beef production, but methods for achieving this should maintain or reduce its environmental impact and should not compromise future food-producing capacity. The objective of this review was to discuss the aspects of grassland management, animal supplementation, the environment, and the socioeconomics of grassland intensification. Reducing environmental impact in the form of, for example, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is particularly important in Brazil, which is the second-largest beef producer in the world. Most Brazilian pastures, however, are degraded, representing a considerable opportunity for the mitigation and increase of beef-cattle production, and consequently increasing global protein supply. Moreover, in Brazil, forage production is necessary for seasonal feeding strategies that maintain animal performance during periods of forage scarcity. There are many options to achieve this objective that can be adopted alone or in association. These options include improving grassland management, pasture fertilization, and animal supplementation. Improving grazing management has the potential to mitigate GHG emissions through the reduction of the intensity of CO2 emissions, as well as the preservation of natural areas by reducing the need for expanding pastureland. Limitations to farmers adopting intensification strategies include cultural aspects and the lack of financial resources and technical assistance.

Parameters affecting the environmental impact of a range of dairy farming systems in Denmark, Germany and Italy

2013 ◽  
Vol 54 ◽  
pp. 133-141 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matteo Guerci ◽  
Marie Trydeman Knudsen ◽  
Luciana Bava ◽  
Maddalena Zucali ◽  
Philipp Schönbach ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Dairy Farming

scholarly journals Nitrate leaching and growth of cereal crops following cultivation of contrasting temporary grasslands

2001 ◽  
Vol 136 (3) ◽  
pp. 271-281 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. ERIKSEN
Keyword(s):  
Nitrate Leaching ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Residual Effect ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Grassland Management ◽  
Dairy Farming ◽  
Residual Effects ◽  
Cereal Crops ◽  
N Losses ◽  
N Use

Intensive dairy farming with low N use efficiencies may have adverse environmental impact through nitrate leaching. The residual effects of six different temporary grasslands (1994–96) on yield and nitrate leaching in the following cereal crops (1997–99) were investigated on a loamy sand in central Jutland. The grasslands were unfertilized grass–clover and fertilized ryegrass subject to cutting or continuous grazing by dairy cows with two levels of N in feed supplements. In the first year there was sufficient residual effect of the grazed grasslands to obviate the need for supplementary fertilizer, but in the following years gradually more fertilizer N was required to obtain optimal yields. Nitrate leaching decreased as a function of time after cultivation of grassland, but grassland management had little effect on the subsequent nitrate leaching (6 to 36 kg N/ha in unfertilized plots). Application of cattle slurry to cereals influenced nitrate leaching more than the history of the grassland and caused the annual mean nitrate concentration to exceed the EU Drinking Water Directive upper limit in most cases. Presumably, large differences in N-input during the grassland phase of the crop rotation had relatively little effect on the subsequent N release because of variable N losses during grazing. Possibilities for further improvement of the utilization of grassland N following cultivation are limited when the current knowledge has been implemented. If the N use efficiency of dairy farming systems is to be further improved the utilization of N during the pasture phase is crucial.

Environmental impact and efficiency of use of resources of different mountain dairy farming systems

2020 ◽  
Vol 181 ◽  
pp. 102806 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Berton ◽  
G. Bittante ◽  
F. Zendri ◽  
M. Ramanzin ◽  
S. Schiavon ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Dairy Farming ◽  
Use Of Resources
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