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Managing nutrient in organic farming system: reliance on livestock production for nutrient management of arable farmland

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Organic agriculture is a production system which relies on ecosystem management and ecological processes rather than on the external flow of agricultural inputs. The development of the organic sector has induced a spatial decoupling of livestock and crop production. This has increased the flow of nutrients that occurs between farms compared to what happens within individual farms. Organic systems have replaced synthetic inputs with site-specific management practices to balance input and output nutrients to ensure short-term productivity and long-term sustainability. This paper addresses the nutrient management of mixed and specialized farming systems, with a special emphasis on the reliance on livestock production for the nutrient management of arable farmland. We assessed the nutrient budgets of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) of 28 organic farms selected according to livestock density from three French counties. The farms were classified as stockless, mixed, and cattle farming systems. A soil surface nutrient budget was calculated for each farm based on inputs (N fixation, excreta, and manure) and outputs (grazing offtake, harvests) on annual crops and grasslands. Inputs due to N atmospheric deposition and seeds and losses due to leaching and volatilization were not considered in this study. Nutrient budgets of the 28 farms revealed N, P, and K deficits, although disparities between farming systems and their geographical location were also observed. Stockless farms presented high N deficit whereas mixed and livestock farming systems presented lower deficits (close to equilibrium) or even surpluses in a county with a high density of livestock farms. Differences between farming systems in terms of P and K budgets followed the same trend, but regional specificities appeared significant in stockless and livestock systems (related to the size of farms and the stocking rate). None of the farms purchased off-farm organic fertilizers when exchanges of manures and straw were observed at the regional scale. When livestock is present on the farm, the nutrient resources came mainly from recycling internal resources (manures, excreta, and N fixation), whereas stockless farming systems purchased organic manure from neighboring farms (14 to 58 % of total N inputs, 10 to 100 % of total P and K inputs). The sustainability of stockless organic farming systems is questioned, noticeably those that were located in regions where resources of organic matter are scarce. Only farming systems producing large quantities of manure or which purchased feed showed balanced nutrient budgets.

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Acknowledgements

This work was partly financed by the Rhone-Alpes region in the research project CPER AB. We would like to thank Carl Holland and Linda Northrup for revising the text in English. Finally, we would like to give special thanks to the organic farmers from the three counties without whom this study would not have been possible.

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  1. INRA UR 055 SAD ASTER-Mirecourt, 662 Avenue Louis Buffet, 88500, Mirecourt, France

    Damien Foissy

  2. ISARA-Lyon, UR SCAB, 23 rue Jean Baldassini, 69364, Lyon Cedex 07, France

    Jean-François Vian & Christophe David

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  1. Damien Foissy
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  2. Jean-François Vian
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Correspondence to Damien Foissy.

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Foissy, D., Vian, JF. & David, C. Managing nutrient in organic farming system: reliance on livestock production for nutrient management of arable farmland. Org. Agr. 3, 183–199 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13165-014-0060-8

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