Dairy farmers can reduce their impact on water quality, while maintaining or increasing profitability, through an innovative project called Precision Feeding, conducted by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine, Penn State University, and the Department of Agriculture.

These project partners are helping Pennsylvania dairy producers to adjust feed rations, so that cows are fed nitrogen and phosphorus according to their needs. As a result, fewer nutrients will end up in the manure.

Cows’ nutritional requirements fluctuate over time due to age, size, pregnancy and milk production. In addition, hay, silage and other feeds have inconsistent nutrient levels, due to diversity in soil type, weather, time of harvest, and many other factors.

The Precision Feeding project will analyze the nitrogen and phosphorus levels in feeds on the farm, as well as in the milk and manure, and work with the farms’ nutritionists to adjust the diets to meet the cows’ needs more precisely.

This is expected to lead to a 30 to 40 fold reduction in the nitrogen and phosphorus content of the farm's manure. The reductions will greatly reduce the farmers’ manure management challenges and lead to lower nutrient contributions to local streams and, ultimately, the Chesapeake Bay.

The Chesapeake Bay Commission named precision feeding as one of the most efficient strategies for reducing nutrient loads in its report, Cost-Effective Strategies for the Bay: 6 Smart Investments for Nutrient and Sediment Reduction.

Precision feeding is already widespread in swine and poultry production, where feed inputs are provided by scientific analysis. CBF foresees the dairy initiative leading to adoption by about 4,000 Pennsylvania dairy farms, with reductions of approximately 24 million pounds nitrogen pollution and 9.5 million pounds of phosphorus pollution.

CBF staff will be visiting with some of the farmers in the program to follow the progress of the study. Check the CBF-PA website for updates, photos and interviews with farmers in the coming months.

5/12/2006