ISSUE: Environmental regulation will have an ever-increasing impact on farm competitiveness and profitability. Currently, neither farm owners nor regulators have a complete understanding of the nutrient balance on a beef farm. Are beef farms importing or exporting nutrients? Answers to this and similar questions are needed if farmers and regulators are going to develop effective nutrient management plans that will reduce risk to the environment while not adversely impacting the profitability of the beef farm business.

RESOLUTION: Using historical farm records, a base analysis was conducted on a local beef feedlot using a computer model developed at Cornell called the Cornell Net Carbohydrate and Protein System (CNCPS). Model projections matched actual farm observations and predicted that the quantity of nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium excreted per acre was similar to most dairy farms. Alternates were evaluated with the model using intervention strategies that can be expected to increase animal performance and reduce nutrient excretion. Changing cropping and feeding strategies to include more corn silage and less feeds purchased off the farm was projected to increase animal performance 14%, decrease feed costs 1.5 %, and decrease nitrogen and phosphorous excretion 10% and 7% respectively.

IMPACT: The profit margins in the cattle feeding business are slim. On this case study farm, the 1.5 % reduction in feed costs was projected to reduce feed expenses just over $5000/year, a significant savings. Of value to the environment is the reduction in nutrient excretion. While other nutrient management strategies have focused on preventing nutrients from leaving the farm, the CNCPS model focuses on feeding strategies to reduce the quantity of nutrients produced. The model projected that annual excretion of nitrogen would be reduced by 6 tons and phosphorous would be reduced by over 1200 lbs. As demonstrated by this case study, the model can be used to design balanced rations resulting in fewer nutrients per unit of product sold. This has the potential to help farms be both economically and environmentally sustainable that might otherwise be at risk.