Abstract
Dairy farming is the main agricultural activity of the Basque Country. A dairy farm is characterized as a system with soils and crops, forage, cattle and manure as main components, and in such a system, nutrient cycling is very important to maintain soil fertility and optimize forage production. To quantify nutrient transfers in the cycle, a simple system was developed and has been applied to seventeen farms to examine its ability to achieve a balanced P and K fertilization. These farms have provided data on inputs (fertilizer, feeds, concentrates), pasture and manure management, and outputs (milk production), and soil samples have been taken from farm pastures. Phosphorus and K in excreta and uneaten pasture is used with a relatively high efficiency as suggested by the relatively high efficiency of P and K utilization by the pasture that usually ranges from 70 to 90%. Concentrate feeding (3000 kg cow−1 yr−1) represents one of the main P and K inputs in Basque Country dairy farms, averaging 26 and 66 kg ha−1, respectively. Besides, release of K in the soil through slow liberation from non-exchangeable sites was estimated as 30 kg ha−1. Thus, a high efficiency in excreta recycling would diminish substantially P and K mineral fertilizer needs. Farm nutrient budgets appear to be a convenient tool for determining nutrient shortages and surpluses at farm level, and thus they are considered as a first step to support a better management of maintenance fertilization of permanent pastures.
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Oyanarte, M., Besga, G., Rodríguez, M. et al. Balanced pasture fertilization in the Basque Country: I. Phosphorus and potassium budgets on dairy farms. Nutr Cycl Agroecosyst 47, 261–269 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01986281
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01986281