Author
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Owens, Lloyd |
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Submitted to: American Society of Agronomy Abstracts
Publication Type: Abstract Only Publication Acceptance Date: 10/1/2006 Publication Date: 11/1/2006 Citation: Owens, L.B. 2006. Water quality from grass-based dairy farm tile lines [abstract]. American Society of Agronomy Abstracts. ASA-CSSA-SSSA Annual Meeting. Nov. 12-16, 2006, Indianapolis, IN. 2006 CD-ROM 217-8. Interpretive Summary: Technical Abstract: Subsurface water quality from agricultural systems varies with the type of system and management. Systems with high inputs from fertilizer and/or manure may have high nutrient levels, e.g. NO3-N, in subsurface water. This study investigates the water quality from tile lines on grass-based dairy farms. Monthly samples have been collected and analyzed from 1 to 4 tile lines on 7 grass-based dairy farms in eastern Ohio for more than 1 year. A dry growing season in 2005 limited the number of available samples during that year. Detailed management records often are not available, but preliminary data indicate that NO3-N and PO4-P concentrations in shallow groundwater from grass-based dairy farms are usually at acceptable environmental levels. Nevertheless, if high rates of N fertilizer are applied, e.g. 280 kg/ha annually, NO3-N concentrations above 10 mg/L are measured. Longer periods of study and data from more farms are needed to confirm the hypothesis that grass-based dairy farms have environmentally sound impacts on groundwater quality. |
