Department of Animal Science
Date of this Version
January 1998
Abstract
Managing the environmental risk associated with livestock production is a significant challenge. The degree of imbalance between the amount of nutrient input and nutrient output for a livestock operation provides insight into the underlying causes of nutrient-related environmental challenges. A nitrogen and phosphorus balance was constructed for 33 Nebraska livestock operations (including 17 swine operations). On most farms, substantially more nitrogen entered the farm (through purchased feed, fertilizer, etc) than left it in the form of animals, crops and manure sold. Most farms also had an accumulation of phosphorus. Size of the operation and the degree of integration between livestock and a cropping operation provided only limited explanation of the variation in nutrient balance observed among the individual operations.
Comments
Published in 1998 Nebraska Swine Report, compiled by Duane E. Reese, Associate Professor and Extension Swine Specialist, Department of Animal Science. Prepared by the staff in Animal Science and cooperating Departments for use in Extension, Teaching and Research programs. Published by Cooperative Extension Division, Agricultural Research Division, and Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Swine reports website: www.ianr.unl.edu/pubs/swine/pigpdf.htm