Bioeconomy and Nutrient Efficiency Research
Nutrient efficiency & ammonia emisionsPasture-NUE
Objective: To improve nitrogen use efficiency in pasture-based systems.
Project partners in Teagasc Moorepark, UCC and UCD (NUE of animal diet through i.e. changing forage composition or fertilisation regime)
Johnstown will focus on the impact of animal excreta resulting from these diets on ammonia emissions.
Output: quantify diet-specific, country-specific ammonia emission factors for grazing dairy cows in Ireland for national inventory calculations.
Protected urea grows more grass over the long-term with lower emissions
ARAM Ammonia Recovery from Agriculture Manure
Overall Objective: explore ammonia recovery from animal manures as means of reducing Ireland’s ammonia emissions while producing feedstock for bio-based fertiliser or sustainable, carbon-free fuel
Supporting development of the circular bio-economy at ELSU
a focus on nutrients
Scientific Investigation
-Characterisation
-Mapping sources
-Agronomic efficacy
-Environmental loss
-Decision support tools
-Soil fertility & health effects
Education
-PhD, undergraduate
-In-service training of advisors
Demonstration and Extension to farmers
-Lighthouse demos
-In-service training
-Specialist and advisory involvement
LowfarmN
Overall Objectives:
To significantly advance and demonstrate low N input dairy grassland based systems which are profitable and environmentally sustainable,
To develop new low fertilizer N native forage producing rotations that also enhance carbon sequestration by connecting the forage land with the manure return, by use of cultivation techniques such as ploughing down high carbon topsoil with subsequent use of minimum/ no till establishment and by maintaining a year round growing crop.
multispecies swards
Multi4More DAFM funded
Overall Objectives: to optimise the design of multi-species swards.
Investigate the effects of lower-nitrogen multi-species swards on key grassland metrics for both production and environmental performance.