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AGROECOSYSTEMS COVER PAGE Project title: UNH Organic Dairy Farm Agroecosystem Study Project coordinator: John D. Aber Address: Department of Natural Resources, James Hall, UNH, Durham, NH 03824

Telephone: 603-862-3045 E-mail: john.aber@unh.edu Organization: University of New Hampshire Project duration: 3 years Keywords: Nutrient cycling, energy balance, ecosystem,

organic dairy, closed systems, alternative

energy, sustainability

Are you submitting this proposal to other funding agencies? If so ,where? No

TOTAL BUDGET REQUEST

SARE matching non-Federal other Federal

First Year Funding: $121,190 $60,271

Second Year Funding: $126,182 $63,329

Third Year Funding: $131,715 $66,177

Total Funding Request: $379,087 $189,777

Names and titles of appropriate officials and budget subtotal for each organization

Signature:__________________

Name:

Title:

Organization:

Budget Subtotal

Request: $379,087

Matching

Non-Federal: $189,777

Federal:

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PROJECT DESCRIPTION AND SIGN-OFF PAGE

Project title: UNH Organic Dairy Farm Agroecosystem Study

Project coordinator: (Name, address, telephone and e-mail) John D. Aber Department of Natural Resources, James Hall, UNH, Durham, NH 03824

603-862-3045 john.aber@unh.edu

Organizational Involvement

Check all that apply:

XX A. Farms/ranches XX F. Other government agencies (federal, state, local)

___ B. Other for-profit firms XX G. Universities — land grant

___ C. Private non-profits ___ H. Universities and colleges — other than land grant

___ D. Cooperative Extension ___ I. Other categories (specify)

___ E. NRCS

List all states where a major participant resides. List the project coordinator’s state first.

New Hampshire

Please indicate the number of Cooperative Extension personnel, if any, who play each of the following roles in this

project.

_____ Project coordinators ___1_ Cooperators

_____ Instructors _____ Target audience (students, trainees, etc.)

List all the institutions and organizations participating in this project.

Primary participant

University of New Hampshire

Cooperators

USDA-ARS New England Plant, Soil, and Water Research Unit in Orono, ME

USDA-ARS Pasture Systems and Watershed Management Research Unit in University Park, PA.

Advisors

Organic Valley Family of Farms

Northeast Regional Dairy Pool Coordinator

Aurora Organic Dairy

Stonyfield Farm, Inc.

Northeast Organic Dairy Producers Alliance

Application Checklist

Check that you have met the format requirements outlined on pages 2, 8, and 9 of the instructions.

____ cover page signed by appropriate official for each institution

____ 1 single-sided original, 25 double-sided copies

____ Pages numbered

____ Maximum pages per section not exceeded

____ 8-1/2” x 11” paper, tall or portrait orientation

____ 3-1/2” diskette with proposal in Microsoft Word

Signature of project coordinator __________________________ Date ____________________________

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Abstract Sustainability advances the integrity of interactions between society and ecosystems that

enhance the quality of life. The University of New Hampshire’s university-wide program in

sustainability, established in 1997, is organized around the interactions of climate, biodiversity,

food and culture systems and the need to sustain the integrity all four simultaneously. Enhancing

the long-term viability of farming practices that provide off-farm values such as environmental

quality, and support dynamic local communities, is integral to UNH’s commitment to

sustainability (http://www.sustainableunh.unh.edu/).

Dairy dominates animal agriculture in the Northeastern U.S., and is tied to the

continuation of important cultural values including the conservation of open land and

preservation of historical character. With the establishment of the first commercial-scale

Organic Research Dairy Farm in the country, UNH is uniquely positioned to fulfill the

traditional land-grant role of supporting a critical agriculture-based community in the state and

region.

The vision for the project begun with this proposal is to use the newly established,

commercial-scale, operating Organic Dairy Research Farm (ORDF) at the University if New

Hampshire as a test bed to achieve the vision of this project:

A Closed-System, Energy Independent Organic Dairy Farm for the Northeastern U.S.

We propose a farm-ecosystem level approach to the measurement all of the material and energy

flows occurring across the annual production cycle at the UNH Organic Dairy Farm. Natural

and human vectors will be compared, including, for example, inputs of nutrients in precipitation,

feed and fertilizer, and losses in product shipment, surface water runoff and ground water

leaching.

The proposed work is seen as the first stage in a 9-year project that will use the data

acquired in the first 3 years (phase 1) to redesign and implement changes in farm operations to

decrease nutrient losses and fossil fuel requirements (phase 2), which will be refined and

presented as best management practices (phase 3).

Open communication and transparency have been an integral part of the UNH Organic

Dairy Research Farm project from the beginning. UNH has established a set of stakeholder

advisory groups which provide direct links and two-way communication between this research

enterprise and potential users of the program’s outcomes. Emerging results of the research

proposed here will be made available quickly and directly to the dairy industry.

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Proposal Narrative

I. Introduction and Vision: A Closed-System, Energy Independent, Organic Dairy A. Sustainability and the Role of Agroecosystems

Sustainability advances the integrity of interactions between society and ecosystems that

enhance the quality of life. As a research enterprise, sustainability is concerned with assuring

the health and resilience of the coupled human-environment system by managing vulnerability,

and enhancing adaptive capacity. In practical terms, Sustainability is “place-based,” where

diverse settings reflect particular patterns of social and ecological interactions. At the farm

enterprise level the goal of sustaining the integrity of the agroecosystem encompasses soil, plant

and animal health, product quality, and economic viability; it is treated as a single system

resulting from interactions of social and ecological components. The agroecosystem is a vital

part of the larger food system, the integrity of which directly impacts community sustainability

on a regional scale.

The University of New Hampshire’s university-wide program in sustainability,

established in 1997, is organized around the interactions of climate, biodiversity, food and

culture systems and the need to sustain the integrity all four simultaneously. Its programming

encompasses the university’s curriculum, operations, research and engagement, what is

referred to as the CORE, including the Organic Dairy Research Farm (ODRF). UNH’s

comprehensive commitment to sustainability is reflected in other projects as well, including the

Local Harvest program with UNH Dining Services, a statewide Farm-To-School program and

an interdisciplinary center integrating sustainable agriculture, food entrepreneurship and

nutrition (http://www.sustainableunh.unh.edu/fas/index.html). These food system projects

are integrated with related efforts in climate and energy, biodiversity and ecosystems and

culture to build a sustainable community that practices what it teaches, and to create a learning

environment in which the next generation of citizen/professionals are inspired and empowered

to meet the challenges and opportunities of sustainability.

The development of new approaches and methods that improve the long-term viability

of farming practices that enhance off-farm values such as environmental quality, and that

support for dynamic local communities is integral to UNH’s commitment to sustainability

(http://www.sustainableunh.unh.edu/).

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B. Why an Organic Research Dairy Farm (ORDF) at the University of New Hampshire?

Vision and Goals of the Proposed Research

Dairy dominates animal agriculture in the Northeastern U.S., but rising energy, feed and

capital investment costs combine to shrink profit margins, threatening the regional viability of

the dairy industry and regional agriculture in general. Values linked to agriculture, including

the conservation of open land and preservation of historical character could be lost as well.

Higher milk prices and lower capital costs make organic dairy agroecosystems a viable strategy

for managing risks, vulnerabilities and uncertainties.

However, transitioning from energy-intensive conventional systems to energy efficient

agroecological practices can be an expensive and management-intensive process requiring a

fundamental change in operational principles and practices. The transitional process itself

entails significant risk for operating farms with narrow profit margins.

With the establishment of the first commercial-scale ODRF in the country, UNH is

uniquely positioned to fulfill the traditional land-grant role of supporting a critical agriculture-

based community in the state and region.

The goal of the research project described here is to anticipate and support the transition

of dairy farms in the northeast to sustainable production by exploring the fundamental energy

and material flows of the model, commercial-scale ODRF at the University of New Hampshire

(UNH), and designing best management practices to achieve the vision of the overall project,

which is:

The primary changes implied by this goal include significant reductions in generation of off-site

pollution and internalization of energy and nutrient flows. Figure 1 captures the key alterations

of flows envisioned. A traditional dairy (top diagram) is closely tied to market conditions and

reliant on uncontrollable market forces for basic inputs to production, bringing increased costs

and also increased uncertainty. Operational organic dairies (not shown) reduce chemical and

biochemical inputs. The system we are moving towards (bottom diagram) will reduce market

interactions, ideally, to the sale of our products. Energy is derived from alternative systems

drawing on wind, wood, or solar sources, digestion of manures for methane, or perhaps

manure-driven fuel cells. Waste-handling processes will be optimized to minimize runoff

pollution to surface waters, and perhaps greenhouse gas emissions as well.

A Closed-System, Energy Independent Organic Dairy Farm for the Northeastern U.S.

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Figure 1. Conceptual Diagram of Changes in Practice between a Tradition Dairy and an Energy Independent, Closed-Cycle Organic Dairy

The Energy-Independent, Closed-System Organic Dairy envisioned in this proposal removes many of the requirements for imports (empty arrows), including all chemicals and feeds. Energy will be generated on-site from one of several sources (arrows with orange-red gradient). Leaching losses are reduced or removed, as are greenhouse gas emissions (narrowed arrows). The only major export is product.

A Traditional Dairy imports significant amounts of energy, fertilizers, biocides and biochemicals. Dependence on the marketplace for these inputs means both higher costs and increased uncertainty. Concentration of wastes leads to runoff and surface water pollution. Alternative forms of energy are not tapped.

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C. Approach and Timeline: Applying Ecosystem-Level Research Tools at the Farm Scale

To achieve the goals of this project, we will draw heavily on the ecosystem-level

research of two of the principal investigators carried out at the Hubbard Brook Experimental

Forest, and through NSF’s Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) Program. The Hubbard

Brook Experimental Forest, located in the White Mountains of New Hampshire and operated by

the USDA Forest Service, is the site of the longest running ecosystem-level studies and

experiments in the United States (www.hubbardbrook.org). We propose that examining energy

and nutrient flows at the farm-ecosystem level will provide valuable insights into methods for

reducing nutrient losses and environmental impacts, while removing the need for imported

fossil fuels, feeds, fertilizers and animal bedding.

The project is envisioned in three stages covering a 9 year period (Table 1). In the first

phase, covered by the work described in this proposal, we will measure and quantify all of the

material and energy flows occurring across the annual production cycle at the UNH ORDF,

including both natural processes and management activities, and explore a wide range of

alternatives for internalizing energy and nutrient cycles.

In the second 3-year phase, these analyses will be used as the basis for designing and

implementing energy systems and best management practices (BMPs) for the integrated farm

ecosystem with the explicit goal of minimizing losses of nutrients and minimizing required

imports. In this phase, we intend to work cooperatively with existing programs addressing

alternative energy sources on the farm (e.g. http://www.sare.org/publications/energy/energy.pdf,

http://www.climateandfarming.org/eghg-f.php. The final 3-year phase will focus on refining

tested systems and selecting those most appropriate for the test farm location.

Throughout the project, we will pursue the cross-cutting goal of establishing the

University of New Hampshire ODRF as a transparent, accessible, long-term agroecological

research site that evaluates and integrates best management practices (BMPs) in a

representative, sustainable agroecosystem in the Northeastern U.S. Target BMPs will reduce

reliance on fossil energy, conserve the water resource, and minimize nutrient losses to adjacent

systems. The systems tested will also be analyzed for financial viability by tracking costs of

inputs and revenues from products. While the optimal solution will be sustainable both

environmentally and commercially, short-term financial considerations will not impact the

integrity of the research or the range of solutions investigated.

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Table 1. Complete 9 year project timeline:

Year 1: Finish outline of energy and nutrient flows at the Organic Dairy Research Farm.

Years 2-3:

• Conclude research into those flows which are most significant and least well quantified. These include:

o Water and nutrient flows to the Lamprey River o Rate and composition of manure production as well as current storage

practices and effects on decay and energy and nutrient balances o Productivity of pasture and woodland systems

• Investigate alternative methods for increased efficiency of resource use, generation of energy and minimization of nutrient loss. These include:

o Wood energy from woodlots o Methane from digestion of manures o Direct generation of electricity from manures in fuel cells o Addition of additional synergistic animal production systems (e.g. pigs,

chickens) that increase efficiency of energy and nutrient use o Extended grazing cycle to reduce feed imports and manure handling o Seasonal calving cycles to improve efficiency o Forage-only feeding to reduce grain inputs and costs o Producing animal bedding on-site

• Analyze economic impact of alternative systems o Reduction in energy costs o Increase in sales of products (e.g. organic compost and milk products)

Years 4-6:

• Develop and test methods selected in the first round of funding. We cannot at this time determine which alternatives will be seen as most effective. This is the nature of research. Over the next 3 years, it is very likely that new processes and new approaches will be developed in the agricultural community. We will monitor such developments closely.

Years 7-9:

• This third phase of the project will see the selected and developed technologies and practices taken from research scale to production scale. At the end of 9 years, our goal is for the UNH Organic Research Dairy Farm to be energy independent

II. The Organic Dairy Research Farm System at the University of New Hampshire

The University of New Hampshire established the first fully-operational and

commercial-scale organic dairy at a land grant university in December of 2005. The UNH

ODRF includes over 200 acres of certified-organic pasture and crop land, and 160 acres in

woodlands. Most of this land is in the combined holdings of the Burley-DeMerritt and Bartlett-

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Dudley farms in Lee, NH. The farm currently supports a herd of 43 milking cows and 18

heifers, all Jerseys. The first calves were born in late fall 2006 and milk deliveries began in

January of 2007. Farm fields abut significant wetland areas that drain to the Lamprey River,

which carries a federal Wild and Scenic designation. The final optimal herd size is anticipated

to be between 60 and 80 milking cows plus youngstock.

The ODRF represents a significant departure from traditional dairy practices at the

University of New Hampshire, which include a 100-cow conventionally-operated Dairy

Teaching and Research Center. The Burley-DeMerritt farm has been used for beef production

and other animal-related research, but has never sustained a dairy operation. The farm has

been through only one cycle of freshening and milk production. Many operational aspects of

the farm are still experimental. Experiments have just begun on alternative feeding programs

and intensive grazing trials. The energy and nutrient balances of the farm are not well

understood, and the potential to internalize both energy and nutrient cycles rely on an

understanding of these flows at the farm-ecosystem level. Other areas of current investigation

include carrying capacity for grazing, timing of breeding and calving, extending the grazing

season and vertical integration into processed products.

An organic dairy system was chosen and developed at UNH in response to agricultural

history and practice in New Hampshire, the emergence of strong demand for the product, the

development of strong partnerships with organic dairy practitioners and industry stakeholders,

and the potential to revitalize the agricultural community and culture in northern New

England.

The Dairy has been conceived from the start as a publicly-accessible, transparent

operation with a major outreach component. Major public events have been held by UNH and

its supporters to publicize this new endeavor, and members of the major organic dairy

organizations across New England and the nation have been involved at every step. Many of

these partners are represented on the ODRF Executive Advisory Committee, which meets

regularly and both provides valuable guidance and feedback, and increases outreach and

impact. This group is indicative of the approach being taken with the Farm. Attendees at the

last meeting, held in late October, are listed in Table 2. Members of this group have expressed

considerable enthusiasm for the research proposed here.

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Table 2. Members of UNH Organic Dairy Executive Advisory Team External Stakeholders John Cleary, Organic Valley Family of Farms Clark Driftmier, Senior VP of Marketing, Aurora Organic Dairy Wendy Fulwider, Animal Well-being Specialist, Organic Valley Family of Farms Nancy Hirshberg, VP of Natural Resources, Stonyfield Farm, Inc. Ed Maltby, Executive Director, NODPA Peter Miller, Northeast Regional Dairy Pool Coordinator, Organic Valley Family of Farms UNH Faculty and Staff John Aber, Professor of Natural Resources Doug Bencks, University Architect/Director, UNH Campus Plan Tom Brady, Dean, College Life Science and Agriculture (COLSA) Kevin Brussell, Project Director-Special Projects, UNH ODRF Gretchen Forbes, Marketing & Promotion Coordinator, COLSA Tom Kelly, Chief Sustainability Officer, UNH Office of Sustainability Chris Neefus, Interim Assoc. Dir., NH Agricultural Experiment Station Tina Sawtelle, Assoc. Dean COLSA/ Dir. Finances & Planning Mike Sciabarrasi, Extension Professor, Business Management Specialist Chuck Schwab, Professor of Animal and Nutritional Sciences Peggy Sullivan, Dir. Corporate/Foundation Relations, UNH Foundation Paul Tsang, Professor of Animal and Nutritional Sciences

UNH has created an aggressive building plan for the farm, and is rapidly acquiring the

capital needed to bring this plan to fruition. The first step was to design and construct a

milking center, a maternity suite for the cows, a nursery barn for the calves, and a feed center,

all of which were completed in 2006. A hay and equipment storage building was added this

year. Funds have come from both on- and off-campus sources, and include major contributions

from two leading processors of organic milk, Stonyfield Farms and Aurora Organic Dairy. Both

the VP for Research and the Provost at UNH have made significant allocations to support this

project, demonstrating the strategic value placed on the Organic Dairy at all levels of the

University.

Operations at the ODRF are directed by a diverse and well-respected board of advisors,

including dairy farmers, veterinarians, grazing consultants and an animal nutritionist. The farm

will serve as an applied research facility for sustainable dairy production and management, as

well as a regional organic-education headquarters to help support organic dairy farmers,

farmers transitioning from conventional to organic production, and students of sustainable

agriculture.

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The ORDF project is well-supported by the University, and has established a significant

stakeholder advisory group. The University Sustainability Office has committed resources to

help maintain an open, transparent, web-based information system to enhance communication

among university-based and farm/processor partners. The College of Life Sciences and

Agriculture has established a new faculty position in organic dairy agriculture, representing a

major, long-term commitment to this research area. a stakeholder advisory group for the

Organic Dairy which provide immediate links and two-way feedback between the research

enterprise and potential users of the program’s outcomes.

III. Preliminary Data and Proposed Work

A. Introduction and Overview

The overarching goal of the 3-phase, 9-year research project is to test the environmental

and commercial sustainability of a closed-system, energy-independent organic dairy

agroecosystem in the Northeast. The research proposed in this first phase has two major

components that build toward this goal, and also build on the fundamental investment that

UNH and its ARS research partners have made in establishing and documenting a working,

commercial-scale organic dairy.

Significant baseline data collection has already occurred at the ODRF, the proposed site

for this research. Available data include basic analyses of soils and vegetation collected in

cooperation with scientists at the USDA-ARS New England Plant, Soil, and Water Research

Unit in Orono, ME and the Pasture Systems and Watershed Management Research Unit in

University Park, PA. Field installations include a well field established as part of a cooperative

project between faculty in the departments of Natural Resources and Earth Sciences at UNH.

Precipitation inputs are available through UNH’s AIRMAP program, which operates a state-of-

the-art atmospheric chemistry station at a nearby site. Energy consumption, feed purchase, and

milk production are all currently being monitored.

The two related components of the research proposed in phase 1 of this project are:

To measure 1) the water and nutrient element balances and flows, and 2) the energy and

carbon balances and flows, over the UNH Organic Dairy agroecosystem.

The immediate goal of this first phase work is to understand critical pathways in the

nutrient, carbon and energy systems, so that the redesign of farm energy and production

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operations can be based on a solid understanding of the entire system and its function.

Preliminary work on formulating a simple model of these pathways has been undertaken.

B. Baseline data on soils and vegetation – and a GIS resource

Our ability to carry out fundamental research on the nutrient, carbon and energy flows

at the UNH Organic Dairy have been greatly enhanced by the efforts of our research partners at

the USDA-ARS New England Plant, Soil, and Water Research Unit in Orono, ME and the

Pasture Systems and Watershed Management Research Unit in University Park, PA. Scientists

from these units have collected a substantial baseline data set on soil fertility and vegetation at

the UNH Organic Dairy Research Farm. The nutrient assessments conducted by the Orono lab

are part of a collaborative project, “Reducing Off-farm Grain Inputs on Northeast Organic Dairy

Farms,” (CSREES/USDA Award No. 2005-51106-02390, Integrated Organic Program).

Data sets collected and made available include both high-resolution, spatial sampling

and field level testing of the following:

Soils: Texture (% sand, silt, clay) Vegetation:

Nutrient concentration Species presence and abundance

Carbon concentration and partitioning Species diversity

Nitrogen mineralization potential Coefficient of community

Co-location of soil and vegetation sampling sites, along with collection of information on land

use history and current management practices, will allow comparisons among vegetation and

soils as a function of management practices. The establishment of permanent plots will support

resampling for change detection over time.

In addition, all field soils have been sampled according to the protocol of the National

Soil Tilth Laboratory in Ames, IA as part of the national USDA-ARS and USDA-NRCS

Conservation Effects Assessment Program. As part of this national effort, all samples will be

analyzed for water content, microbial biomass carbon, water stable aggregation, potential

mineralizable nitrogen, electrical conductivity, pH, soil test P and K, and total organic carbon

and nitrogen. Soil Quality Index values will be developed for each indicator and the Pasture

Condition Score system will be used to quantify pasture health.

All soil and vegetation data have been entered into a geographic information system

which will be made available to this project. The availability of such spatially-explicit data is

essential for the calculation of farm-level totals for water, nutrient, carbon and energy flows.

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This cooperative effort is being led by Dr. Matt Sanderson at the USDA-ARS Pasture

Systems and Watershed Management Research Unit, University Park, P. Dr Sanderson is the

national coordinator for the pastureland component of CEAP.

C. Estimation of nutrient, water, carbon and energy balances

1. Overview

We will use the whole-ecosystem approach pioneered by Bormann and Likens (1967,

1994, 1995), at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest to quantify inputs and outputs of water,

nitrogen, phosphorus, sulfur, major cations and anions, carbon and energy, both natural and

anthropogenic, as well as transfers among the fields, dairy, forests and wetlands. The primary

natural inputs include net carbon sequestration from photosynthesis (pastures and woodlands),

nitrogen fixation (pastures and woodlands), and inputs of nutrients in rainfall. Anthropogenic

inputs include imported feed, organic fertilizers (manure), fossil fuel energy, and organically

raised animals. Outputs include milk and animals, methane and CO2 emissions from animals

and manures, ammonia emissions from animal waste, CO2 emissions from fossil fuel

combustion, and nutrient losses to surface runoff and groundwater.

Inputs, outputs and transfers will be measured over the organic dairy system as

embedded in the entire farm property, including the organic dairy proper, adjoining pasture

and crop lands, and surrounding forests and wetlands. The property boundaries of the ODRF

will serve as the bounds of the study ecosystem.

NOTE: Details of sampling and references to methods are included in the literature review

section

2. Nutrient and water balances

Most major inputs and outputs to the organic dairy ecosystem will be quantified

directly, and others will be estimated from literature values. Inputs of nutrients in rainfall are a

surprisingly large fraction of total inputs to forests and pastures and will be measured at the

nearby Thompson Farm as part of the UNH AIRMAP project, funded separately. One of our

PIs (McDowell) is responsible for ongoing sampling of precipitation chemistry at that site.

Analysis includes measurement of nutrients (NH4, NO3, DON, PO4), organic matter (DOC), and

major cations and anions (Na, K, Ca, Mg, SO4, and Cl) on a storm event basis. Total annual

nitrogen inputs (measured wet deposition plus estimated dry deposition) ranged from 8.5-10.5

kg ha-1 year-1for calendar years 2004-2006.

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Inputs of feed, animals, and organic fertilizers will be assessed by direct measurement of

the mass of each input at a drive-on weighing facility, which when combined with values for

nutrient concentration will allow calculation of nutrient inputs. Nutrient contents will be

determined by direct analysis (feed, fertilizers) or literature values (animals). Estimates of

nitrogen fixation by forest and pastures of the organic dairy system will be obtained from the

literature.

Groundwater originating from the site discharges to the Lamprey River, which runs

adjacent to the organic dairy system and forms one of our study ecosystem’s boundaries, as

both groundwater and surface water. Surface water fluxes will be measured with a v-notch

weir, and groundwater discharges will be estimated by mapping the water table configuration,

measuring hydraulic conductivity via slug-tests, and constructing a simple groundwater model

of the site. Evaporation and infiltration will be measured with a Class A evaporation pan and

soil lysimeters in select locations. Samples will be taken for nutrients and organic carbon in

the wells on a monthly basis, using the same methods applied to precipitation

One of the primary goals of this project is to establish relatively closed cycles for major

nutrients. For the organic dairy system to be sustainable from a nutrient perspective, the

nitrogen, phosphorus, calcium, and other nutrients exported in farm products and subsurface

drainage must be replaced by nutrient inputs to the site from atmospheric deposition, nitrogen

fixation, or “mining” of soil resources or weathering of deeper soils and bedrock parent

material. Alternatively, soils and adjacent wetlands can be important sinks for excess nutrient

loading resulting from imported feed being transferred to fields as manure.

Our work in temperate and tropical forests suggests that soils represent a large store of

nitrogen and other nutrients, which can buffer imbalances in inputs and outputs over decades.

The long-term study of pasture health to be conducted by USDA ARS collaborators will

determine changes in soil nutrient status over the longer term. It will be particularly valuable

as we assess the long-term carbon and nutrient budgets for the site, and the role that soil plays

in maintaining agricultural outputs from the organic dairy.

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3. Energy and carbon balances

Energy requirements and costs are a critical part of a financially and environmentally

sustainable organic dairy operation. In this part of the proposed work, we will measure both

the geophysical and operational components of the energy and carbon balances over the entire

ODRF.

Photosynthesis and biomass production are the dominant processes for capturing

energy and carbon on the dairy property.

We propose to map and measure total forest production in 20 plots distributed

throughout the woodlands. This will include mapping stems and taking tree cores to determine

the previous five years of diameter growth. Existing allometric equations will be used to

convert current and 5-year-previous diameters to total tree biomass by component, and

increment in this quantity over the 5 year period. Leaf litter fall will also be collected to index

total site net primary production above ground. Measured values at sample plots will be

extrapolated over the entire property using existing forest type maps and remote sensing

images. All samples will be dried, ground and measured for C and N content by CHN

analyzer.

We will measure total forage production using a combination of exclusion plots and

clipped plots at 40 sampling points distributed across the different pastures at the farm.

Sampling times will be matched to farm activities such as pasture rotation and hay harvesting.

Samples will be analyzed for C and N content as for forest foliage above. These samples will be

used to estimate total biomass harvested for hay and ingested by grazing cows.

We also propose to inventory abiotic energy sources. These include solar and wind

energy inputs, as well as imports of fossil fuels and electricity. Solar and wind inputs will be

estimated from data at the near-by AIRMAP tower, cross-checked with long-term climatic

records from the Pease/Portsmouth National Weather Service Office. Near-surface winds will

be estimated by down-scaling from regional data, and will be checked by direct measurements.

Fossil fuel usage will be estimated from records provided by electric and fuel bills, and EPA

data on fuel use by power plants in the region. Information on use cycles of equipment and

operational energy demand during use will yield estimates for individual activities.

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These basic data will then be used to construct an energy budget for the site, including

transfers between parts of the system (e.g. pasture to dairy to manure to pasture), and total net

carbon balance.

4. Systems Analysis and a Simple Model

We have begun to construct the outline of a simple model of energy and nitrogen

movements on the Farm (see Figure 1). A team of students has been engaged with PIs from the

project to visualize and quantify these flows, and construct a spreadsheet-based analysis.

Results will be presented at a research conference at UNH this spring. The model to be used is

constructed in Excel to enhance transparency and accessibility. This preliminary work has

advanced the project and will speed completion of the first phase.

IV. Anticipated Outcomes

A. General

The primary outcome of the first 3-year phase of this project proposed here will the first

detailed understanding of the nutrient, water, carbon and energy balances of an operational

organic dairy in the northeast. Our discussions with producers and processors in the industry

suggest that this will be valuable information for them, as they share the stated vision of the full

project – developing closed-system, energy independent organic dairy farms. This was made

abundantly clear at the October meeting of the Organic Dairy Executive Advisory Team.

Members of that group saw this research as providing high-priority information that is crucial

to moving organic dairies toward a financially and environmentally sustainable future.

The results of this research will find its way into the peer-reviewed scientific literature,

in both dairy- and ecosystem-related journals. The unique status of the UNH organic dairy as a

commercial-scale, and ecosystem-size operation will make results from the studies proposed

here of significant interest to both communities.

More importantly, the information will be shared openly with the producer and

processor communities as part of the overarching goal of the UNH Organic Dairy of serving as

a totally transparent, accessible, long-term agroecological research site that evaluates and

integrates best management practices (BMPs) in a representative, sustainable agroecosystem in

the Northeastern U.S. The nature of this transparency will be reflected in rapid posting of

research results to the project website, inclusion of stakeholder groups in the evaluation and

valuation of research results, and incorporation of feedback from the organic community into

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research plans. The UNH Organic Dairy has already established a track record matching these

goals.

Research results will also form the critical foundation for the second phase of the work –

redesigning on-farm systems to reduce off-site nutrient loading and greenhouse gas footprint,

while moving towards an increasingly closed nutrient cycle and energy independence.

B. Specific

1. Papers for professional meetings and peer-reviewed journals

Several traditional professional papers will be produced. The publication records of the

PIs on this project demonstrate very high productivity in this area, and assure presentation of

results to the research community. Topics for these papers may include:

• The energy and nutrient budgets of an operating organic dairy farm in New Hampshire

• Impacts of organic dairy practices on groundwater nutrient content and leaching losses

• Internalizing energy and nutrient flows in an organic dairy ecosystem

Outreach activities are an essential part of the ODRF operation. Transparency and accessibility

are key characteristics and central goals of the project. The ORDF website will become a

repository for results achieved through the research program described here.

The ODRF Farm currently embraces the University's Outreach Mission by:

• Assisting suppliers to test feeds, equipment, management methods & technologies • Giving farmers tools and data to assess transition from conventional to organic • Supplying the public, producers, distributors with research results about organic milk • Leveraging private and federal resources to advance developments in organic dairy

farming

The University of New Hampshire is also committed to educating and inspiring a new

generation of young farmers in sustainable, ecological and biologically sound farming practices.

Students are learning both conventional and organic theory and practice and are conducting

research in organic production and management.

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Finally, the ODRF is closely allied with producers and processers across the region and the

nation. These include:

• John Cleary, Organic Valley Family of Farms

• Clark Driftmier, Senior VP of Marketing, Aurora Organic Dairy

• Wendy Fulwider, Animal Well-being Specialist, Organic Valley Family of Farms

• Nancy Hirshberg, VP of Natural Resources, Stonyfield Farm, Inc.

• Ed Maltby, Executive Director, NODPA

• Peter Miller, Northeast Regional Dairy Pool Coordinator, Organic Valley Family of Farms

• Kelly Shea, VP, Organic Stewardship, Horizon Organic Dairy

Through this commitment to high quality peer-reviewed publications, service to the organic

dairy community, contact with practitioners and stakeholders, and to the education of the next

generation of organic dairy farmers, the research proposed here will have a significant impact

on sustainable agriculture in the region and beyond.

V. Key Individuals

John Aber, UNH Professor of Natural Resources and Director of Environmental Sciences

Role: Overall Project management, lead research on energy and carbon balances of the

Organic Dairy Ecosystem, assist with analysis of nutrient and water balance efforts

Qualifications: Over 30 years as active researcher in ecosystem analysis. More than 200

papers, books and book chapters published, including a basic text in terrestrial ecosystems,

Distinguished Professor, UNH, Distinguished Alumnus, Yale School of Forestry and E.S.

Kevin Brussell, UNH Organic Research Director

Role: Provide day-to-day supervision of research on-site

Qualifications: 29 years experience in sustainable organic grain and livestock production.

He coordinated and participated in sustainable on-farm research projects with the

University of Illinois Agroecology Department.

Matt Davis, UNH Associate Professor of Earth Sciences.

Role: Co-lead research on water and nutrient balances, provide expertise on hydrologic

flows and hydrogeology

Qualifications: More than 10 years research in the geologic influences on aquifers and

understanding fluid flow and water-rock interactions. Recent interests in geothermal

energy.

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Bill McDowell, UNH Professor of Natural Resources

Role: Co-lead research on water and nutrient balances, provide expertise on measurement

of nutrient fluxes and balances

Qualifications: Over 30 years experience in water quality analysis and ecosystem ecology.

Developed and manages the UNH Water Quality Analysis Laboratory. Published over 100

books, book chapters, and peer-reviewed articles. Fulbright Scholar in Environmental

Sciences, 1995-1996, Charles University, Prague.

Chuck Schwab, UNH Professor of Animal and Nutritional Sciences.

Role: Provide expertise on dairy nutrition and feeding strategies. Provide expertise on

design and operation of organic dairy systems

Qualifications: More than 30 years experience in research on dairy cattle nutrition. Received

the 2005 American Feed Industry Association Award and the 2006 UNH Excellence in

Public Service Award. Leads UNH Organic Dairy project. Is Founder and Acting Executive

Director of the Feed Analysis Consortium, Inc. (FeedAC).

VI. Literature Review

A. Ecosystem Concept

The watershed-ecosystem concept was first proposed by Bormann and Likens (1967). At

the heart of their approach was the construction of complete input and output water and

nutrient budgets using gauged watersheds at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest in West

Thornton, NH. Initial work was performed on a reference system (watershed 6) for which long-

term records have now been developed and reported (Likens and Bormann 1995). This

approach has also been valuable in analyzing the impacts of management practices and natural

succession (e.g. Bormann and Likens, 1994). The long-term data sets acquired increase in value

with time, providing a basis for testing predictive ecosystem-level models (Aber et al. 2002).

PIs on this proposal have significant, long-term experience at Hubbard Brook (e.g. Aber

et al. 1979, 2002, McDowell and Likens 1988, Bernhardt et al. 2005), and with other long-term

ecosystem experiments related to disturbance, management history, and nutrient and energy

balances (Aber et al. 1998; Chestnut et al. 1999, McDowell et al. 1996).

B. USDA Soil and vegetation sampling

Permanent pasture and vegetation sampling points have been established at a set of

georeferenced locations as part of a multiscale plot sampling regime in the major vegetation

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types and management areas on the farm (Stohlgren et al., 1995; Tracy and Sanderson, 2000).

Species diversity and coefficient of community (Magurran, 1988) will be determined.

A key aspect of the sampling protocols initiated by our USDA collaborators is the co-

location of soil and vegetation sampling sites. This will allow comparisons among vegetation

indicators and soil variables, age, and land-use history and current management using the

statistical methods of Urban et al. (2002).

The Soil Management Assessment Framework (SMAF) will be used to calculate Soil

Quality Index (SQI) values for each indicator (Andrews et al., 2004), and the Pasture Condition

Score system developed by the USDA-NRCS will be used to quantify pasture health (Cosgrove

et al., 2001; Sanderson et al., 2005).

C. Nutrient and water balances

The watershed-ecosystem approach has been used successfully in regional synthesis

efforts describing nitrogen dynamics (Boyer et al. 2002), as well as in more detailed studies of

nitrogen and phosphorus budgets in large agricultural watersheds (e.g. Borbor-Cordova et al.

2006). Here we propose to build on this earlier work to develop energy, carbon, and nutrient

budgets in a farm ecosystem.

Inputs of nutrients in rainfall will be measured at the nearby AIRMAP site (Talbot et al.

2005) on a storm event basis using an Aerochem Metrics wet deposition collector operated

according to protocols similar to those established in the National Atmospheric Deposition

program (NADP; e.g. McDowell et al. 1990). Analytes include NH4, NO3, DON, PO4, organic

matter (DOC), and major cations and anions (Na, K, Ca, Mg, SO4, and Cl). Major cations and

anions are measured by ion chromatography, NH4 and PO4 by automated colorimetric analysis

using EPA-approved methods

(http://www.epa.gov/waterscience/methods/method/index.html), and organic matter (DOC

and DON) by Shimadzu high temperature carbon analyzer with nitrogen module (Merriam et

al. 1996). Dry deposition will be estimated using relationships previously established for New

England by Ollinger et al. (1993), and will be checked against direct measurements made at the

AIRMAP site.

Outputs of nutrients and carbon in surface runoff will be measured as the product of

runoff volume and measured nutrient concentration as is typically done in whole-watershed

investigations (e.g. Bormann and Likens 1967). Surface water fluxes will be measured with a v-

21

notch weir (Sanders, 1998). Groundwater discharges will be estimated by mapping the water

table configuration, measuring hydraulic conductivity via slug-tests, and constructing a simple

groundwater model of the site (e.g. Viller et al., 2003). Samples will be taken from wells on a

monthly basis, and analyzed using the same methods applied to precipitation Particulate C, N,

and P will be measured as well as dissolved materials in stream water. Particulate C and N and

P will be measured using a Perkin-Elmer Elemental analyzer with colorimetric analysis of

phosphate following digestion

(http://www.epa.gov/waterscience/methods/method/index.html ).

Outputs to the Lamprey River in shallow groundwater will be assessed using hand-

augured riparian wells (e.g. McDowell et al. 1992). Hydrologic fluxes from the wells to the river

will be estimated using a network of piezometers to measure the hydraulic gradient and the

saturated hydraulic conductivity (e.g. Vellidis et al., 2003). The piezometers will be installed in

the riparian discharge area to a depth of approximately 2 meters with a hydraulic auger. As

with surface runoff, multiplying nutrient concentration by water volume will provide estimates

of nutrient mass exported per unit time. Well samples will be taken for nutrients and organic

carbon monthly and analyzed with the analytical techniques described above for precipitation.

Nutrient content in feed and products(C, N, and P) will be determined directly using

methods described for particulate matter in stream runoff Estimates of nitrogen fixation by

forest and pastures for New England will be taken from Boyer et al. (2002).

D. Carbon and energy balances

Methods for measuring biomass production in forests and fields are well-established.

Diameter distributions and radial increment in forests are used in combination with allometric

equations converting diameter into biomass to estimate total tree mass by component, and

increment over time (e.g. Pastor et al, 1984a,b, Magill et al. 2004). Methods for pasture biomass

sampling are also well-established (e.g. Lauenroth and Sala 1992), and the factors affecting

production in managed and natural systems has been discussed in detail (e.g. Frank et al.

1998). Methods for estimating the energy content and carbon equivalents of fuels, and

the efficiency of their use, are available at the Department of Energy (DOE) Energy

Efficiency and Renewable Energy program (http://www.eere.energy.gov/).

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E. Models of Agroecosystems

Several recent efforts have been made to compile energy and nutrient budgets

for agricultural ecosystems, and to compare organic and traditional methods. From this

extensive literature, only a few studies may be cited here. We have used the outline

provided by Van Horn et al. (1996) as a starting point, rather than the more complex

realizations found, for example, in Refsgaard et al. (1998). A framework for comparing

organic and traditional systems can be drawn from Condron et al. (2000), Haas et al.

(2001) and Pimentel et al. (2005). Studies on individual processes and components are

available for selected parts of the farm system, notably the handling and impacts of

manures (e.g. Van Horn et al., 1994).

We are also aware of on-going efforts at allied institutions, and at SARE, to

develop and promote alternative energy systems on farms (e.g.

http://www.climateandfarming.org/eghg-f.php and

http://www.sare.org/publications/energy/energy.pdf.

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Aber, J., McDowell, W., Nadelhoffer, K., Magill, A., Bernston, G., Kamakea, M., McNulty, S., Currie, W., L. Rustad, L., Fernandez, I. (1998) Nitrogen saturation in temperate forest ecosystems: Hypotheses revisited. BioScience, 48, 921-934.

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