Farm data
- 55 ha light sandy soil: 11 ha permanent grassland: 44 ha in crop rotation, including: 22 ha grass 10 ha silage maize , 6 ha corn cob silage and 6 ha barley/pea silage.
- Production quota: 658,000 kg milk, 4.33% fat.
- 76 milking cows, 50 young animals.
- Channel floor in the dairy barn to reduce ammonia emissions.
- Extra feed storage for self-produced concentrate.
- Extra manure storage due to brief manure application period.
- Manure digestion facility with possibility for digesting co-products.
- 1.2 ha of natural habitat, accessible via the walking route 'Het Markepad'.
Farm management characteristics
- Farm management focuses on attaining low farm and soil surpluses of nitrogen and phosphate, thus producing minimal environmental load on soil, water and atmosphere.
- Low fertilisation level; maize and barley-peas silage are given no chemical fertiliser; liquefied manure is efficiently distributed on the crops; in 2005, no chemical nitrogen or phosphate was used.
- Crop rotation system: 3 years grass, 2 years maize, 1 one-year barley/peas.
- Undersowing grass in maize acts as a nitrogen catch crop.
- Balanced ration for dairy cattle; feed norms for energy value and intestinal digestible protein.
- Pasturing of dairy cattle limited to six hours per day; the cattle are kept indoors after mid-September.
- There are few young animals, which provides land for growing our own feed concentrate.
- Corn cob silage and maize straw are harvested in a single pass; milking cows are fed the energy-rich cobs via computer operated feeders, which replaces purchased concentrate.
- Fermentation of manure and co-products supplies our own energy and reduces greenhouse gas emissions.
- Irrigation is essential for good crop yields. Due to the combination of mechanical and chemical weed control, there is little environmental load on the water and soil.
- The efficiency of the individual measures and of the total farm is an important indicator.
Nitrogen and phosphate balance
Target: nitrogen surplus of 125 kg/ha and phosphate surplus of 0 kg/ha.
|
|
Nitrogen |
|
|
Phosphate |
|
|
2004/2005 |
Average 93-05 |
Statutory norm 93-05 |
2004/2005 |
Average
93-05 |
Statutory norm 93-05 |
| A. Input |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Concentrage |
94 |
87 |
87 |
29 |
28 |
28 |
Fodder/concentrate
replacement |
1 |
7 |
7 |
1 |
3 |
3 |
| Chemical fertiliser |
2 |
55 |
55 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
| Legumes |
23 |
12 |
- |
0 |
0 |
- |
| Co-products |
8 |
1 |
1 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
| Deposition |
49 |
49 |
- |
2 |
2 |
- |
| Miscellaneous |
4 |
5 |
- |
1 |
0 |
- |
| Total input |
181 |
216 |
150 |
35 |
34 |
32 |
| B. Output |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Milk |
65 |
65 |
65 |
23 |
24 |
24 |
| Cattle |
8 |
9 |
9 |
5 |
6 |
6 |
| Fodder |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Organic manure |
0 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| Total output |
73 |
76 |
76 |
28 |
30 |
30 |
| C. Change in inventory |
26 |
3 |
- |
6 |
1 |
- |
| D. Animal correction |
- |
- |
14 |
- |
- |
- |
| Surplus (A-B-C-D-) |
82 |
137 |
60 |
1 |
3 |
2 |
Nitrate
Every year, the nitrate level in the upper groundwater is measured at 170 locations. In 2003 N level was 50 mg/l and in 2004 it rose to 55 mg/l. The average for the years 1993 through 2004 was 55 mg/l, slightly above the European nitrate guideline of 50 mg/l.
Ammonia
The ammonia emission is 20 kg N per ha on average. This is an 80% reduction relative to the average dairy farm in 1980.
Phosphate
Between 1993 and 1998, the average Pw (water soluble phosphate) level of the parcels declined from 58 to 44. After this, Pw stabilised at around 48.
Average ration for the coming winter
- Basic ration: 60% grass silage; 25% maize silage; 15% barley/pea silage with addition of resistant soya.
- Supplementary concentrate consists of corn cob silage + soya.
- Ration characteristics: Nutrition norm for VEM, DVE and OEB. Raw protein content of ration: 14.5%.
- Target value bulk tank milk urea nitrogen: 15 - 20.
|
Farm results 2004/2005 (€100 kg milk) |
|
|
| Sales income: |
|
36.27 |
| Feed costs |
5.62 |
|
| Cost of dairy cattle |
4.09 |
|
| Crop costs |
0.31 |
|
| Allocated costs |
|
10.02 |
| Balance dairy cattle |
|
26.25 |
| Contract work |
5.67 |
|
| Equpment and facilities |
6.69 |
|
| Land and buildings |
9.23 |
|
| Leases and milk quota |
0.83 |
|
| Other costs |
3.63 |
|
Rolling annual average milk production
| age |
count |
kg mik |
% fat |
% protein |
kg fat |
kg protein |
netto yield /yr. |
| 4,10 |
76 |
9509 |
4,43 |
3,46 |
421 |
329 |
2385 |
Current priority areas De Marke
- Additional reduction of nitrate in groundwater
- Pasturing
- Animal health and welfare
- Soil fertility: phosphate, organic matter and soil organisms
- Biogas from manure and other residues
- Effects of fermented manure
- Food safety
- Landscape, nature and biodiversity
- Cost-price reduction
- Research manure policy use standards 2009