By Jim Millar

A new report says the livestock sector’s use of nitrogen offers great potential to promote better environmental stewardship and sustainable agricultural practices, enhancing global food security.

The report by the Centre for Innovation Excellence in Livestock (CIEL) has identified that the livestock sector can use nitrogen more effectively through an appreciation of the nitrogen cycle and consideration to monitoring and management of nitrogen resources.

Nitrogen stimulates plant growth which underpins the productivity of modern agriculture. Nitrogen can have positive or negative impacts depending on its form and where that occurs in the agricultural system.

Nitrate can be used as a crop fertiliser, but must be carefully monitored to ensure excess nitrogen is not released from soil into waterways.

Nitrogen also may be lost from the cycle as a greenhouse gas, called nitrous oxide or an air pollutant such as ammonia which is normally released from livestock manure.

Ruminant livestock, such as cattle and sheep, play a key role in producing high-quality protein for human nutrition. It is essential for this as ruminants can capture nitrogen for protein synthesis using bacteria which colonise their gut.

With nitrogen being a fundamental component of agricultural systems, the Why Nitrogen Matters in Livestock Production Report seeks to understand how the industry can better utilise nitrogen and encourage effective nitrogen cycling.

Dr Mark Young, innovation specialist at CIEL, said the report has identified that the livestock sector can use nitrogen more effectively through an appreciation of the nitrogen cycle and consideration to monitoring and management of nitrogen resources.

“Nitrogen is essential for agriculture. It’s the key element needed for protein production, captured by microbes living in soil, in the roots of plants and colonising the gut of sheep and cattle.

“However, while some agricultural practices cause excessive loss of nitrogen to the atmosphere and waterways, others can capture nitrogen.

“Losses from the nitrogen cycle cannot be eliminated, so the livestock sector needs to exploit the opportunity to minimise losses and hold more nitrogen in the system.

“This will make farming both more efficient and reduce losses of nitrogen as nitrous oxide (a greenhouse gas), ammonia emissions, and nitrate through leaching or run-off.”

The report examines the natural nitrogen cycle and explains how farming practices shape the nitrogen cycle and the opportunities to improve nitrogen use.

Nitrogen is cycled through the air, soil, water and living organisms. Seventy-eight percent of air is made up of nitrogen gas, but plants and animals are unable to absorb nitrogen in this form.

The cycle is important because it allows nitrogen gas to be converted into compounds which can be used by plants and animals in protein production.

The full report is available on the CIEL website.