Article ID Journal Published Year Pages File Type
4492096 Agricultural Systems 2006 14 Pages PDF
Abstract

Data from the Farm Accountancy Data Network revealed that from 1989 to 2001 the average farm-gate N surplus of Flemish specialized dairy farms decreased from 378 to 238 kg N ha−1, the corresponding whole-farm N efficiency increased from 15% to 22%. Study of European literature on dairy farming, of experimental farms or farm groups and of progressive Flemish farms showed that there is scope for further improvement of the N use efficiency in Flemish dairy farming. The improvement can mainly be realized by changes in the operational management, resulting in an ever decreasing use of fertilizer N and concentrate N. Reasonable targets for sustainable dairy farming in Flanders are 150 kg N ha−1 year−1 for the farm-gate N surplus and about 85 kg milk kg−1 N surplus for eco-efficiency. These targets can be reached at production levels of up to 10,000 à 12,000 l ha−1 and at a satisfying income per unit of labour.

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