Sustainable farm-based protein for organic dairy cows

英国严重依赖进口大豆为牲畜饲料提供蛋白质。这对运输大豆所用的燃料以及这些国家大豆生产的可持续性产生了重大的环境影响。严重依赖大豆进口也使英国在供应有限时面临风险，例如干旱。该项目的目的是确定最合适的蛋白质作物，并以足够的数量/质量种植这些作物，以满足奶牛的需求。这样做的目的是通过创造一个可持续的，本土种植的供应，以减少与喂养奶牛的环境影响。该项目将使用在诺丁汉大学的田间实验和在诺丁汉郡和康沃尔郡的田间规模的地块相结合，以确定种植农场蛋白质作物用于有机奶牛口粮的可行性。在大学，我们将测试一系列作物和间作作物在不同的成熟阶段，评估每个阶段的营养价值。在农场，我们将专注于作物的农艺管理，特别是杂草和害虫控制。这两个农场都是有机农场，因此杂草和害虫控制特别具有挑战性。该项目的创新之一将是使用太阳能机器人种植和除草。虽然除草机器人在蔬菜作物中已经建立，但它们在耕地作物中的使用还有待测试。我们将评估成功的建立和杂草控制时，使用机器人相比，目前的做法。如果成功的话，这将减少杂草竞争/提高产量，并通过摆脱对种植的依赖来减少对环境的影响，以控制有机作物中的杂草。该项目将评估用国产蛋白质替代进口大豆的可持续性和环境影响，包括全面的碳审计，这将证明在转向净生产方面的贡献。在项目年份的生长季节将举办农民参与日，并将在诺丁汉郡和康沃尔郡举办讲习班，传播项目成果。虽然该项目最初侧重于有机生产，但其结果也适用于希望摆脱进口大豆的传统农民。

The UK relies heavily on imported soya to supply protein for livestock feed. This has major environmental impacts in terms of the fuel used to transport the soya and also the sustainability of soya production in those countries. The heavy reliance on soya imports also exposes the UK to risk when supply is limited, for example by drought. The aim of the project is to identify the most appropriate protein crops and to grow these in sufficient quantity/quality to meet the needs of the dairy cows. In doing so, the aim is to reduce the environmental impact associated with feeding the cows by creating a sustainable, home-grown supply.This project will use a combination of field experiments at the University of Nottingham and field-scale plots in Nottinghamshire and Cornwall to determine the feasibility of growing on-farm protein crops for use in organic dairy cow rations. At the University we will test a range of crops and intercrops at different stages of maturity, assessing the nutritional value at each stage. On farm we will focus on the agronomic management of the crops, especially weed and pest control. Both farms are organic and hence weed and pest control are especially challenging.One of the innovative aspects of the project will be the use of a solar powered robot to plant and weed the crops. While the weeding robots are becoming established in vegetable crops, their use in arable crops has yet to be tested. We will evaluate the success of establishment and weed control when using the robot compared to current practice. If successful this should both reduce weed competition/improve yields and reduce environmental impact by moving away from the reliance on cultivations to control weeds in organic crops.The project will assess the sustainability and environmental impact of replacing imported soya with home-grown protein including a full carbon audit which will demonstrate the contribution in terms of moving to net-zero emissions.Farmer engagement days will be held during the growing season of both project years and workshops will be held in Nottinghamshire and Cornwall to disseminate project findings. While the project is initially focussed on organic production, the results will also be applicable to conventional farmers who wish to move away from imported soya.