Nutrient Mass Balance and Fate in Dairy Cattle Lots with Different Surface Materials

Abstract

Abstract.On dairy farms, outdoor lots where cows spend substantial time can be areas of high nutrient deposition in manure. This represents an inefficient use of farm nutrients, if the nutrients are not recovered, and a potential for nutrient loss to the environment. Management of barnyards to recover nutrients can have environmental and production benefits. We monitored nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) fate for five years in dairy heifer barnyard plots constructed with soil, sand, or bark mulch surfaces. The plots were stocked with heifers several times per year for about a week at a time. We monitored N and P loss in runoff (soil plots only), leachate, and gas emissions. Of the total N inputs to the plots through heifer excretion, 6% to 8% of inputs were lost in runoff (~2%), leachate (~3% to 4%), and gas emissions (~3% to 4%) from the soil and mulch plots. Most of the N inputs remained in the surface materials. For the sand plots, more N inputs were lost in leachate (~13%) and gas emissions (~6%), but most of the N remained in the surface material. Of total P inputs to the plots through heifer excretion, 4% to 6% of inputs were lost in runoff and leachate, with most of the P remaining in the surface materials. The results suggest that most of the nutrients deposited by heifers onto barnyards could be recovered and used as fertilizer for crop growth by excavating the surface materials and spreading them on cropland, by including animal holding areas in land used for crop rotation so crops can recover nutrients , or by corralling animals directly on cropland. Keywords: Barnyards, Cattle, Leaching, Nutrients, Runoff.