FIL-IDF - Climate Changes - Improving Nutrient Management

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Source : Fonterra

Nitrous oxide is emitted from soils when nitrogen levels exceed the level which pasture is able to absorb for growth. Applying just the right amount of nitrogen (from effluent or fertiliser) at the right times minimises the amount of nitrous oxide emitted from soils.
All Fonterra suppliers are required to prepare a farm nutrient budget. This enables farmers to better manage nutrients in order to reduce nitrous oxide emissions, nutrient loss to waterways, and increase profit.
A key next step from this process is to compile the information into a database in order to allow farmers to benchmark themselves against their neighbours. Fonterra is currently in talks with the fertiliser companies who hold this information in order to leverage this data for this purpose.
In the past year Fonterra has doubled the number of sustainability specialists providing advice to our dairy farmer suppliers. These specialists help farmers to adopt practices that will optimise effluent management and hence reduce the amount of nitrogen lost as nitrous oxide or nitrate.