ScienceDaily  — Dairy cows that produce USDA-certified organic milk also produce manure that may gradually replenish soil nutrients and potentially reduce the flow of agricultural pollutants to nearby water sources, according to findings by Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists and colleagues.

Cows on organic dairy farms generally consume forage feeds cultivated on soils that are fertilized with manure and compost rather than manufactured fertilizers. This organic management, in turn, may significantly affect how easily nutrients are converted in soil into forms readily taken up by crops.

Working with colleagues at the ARS New England Plant, Soil, and Water Laboratory in Orono, Maine, and elsewhere, chemist Zhongqi He showed that conventional and organic dairy manures from commercial dairy farms differed in concentrations of plant nutrients, including phosphorus, metals and minerals.

Sumber : Science Daily

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http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090502084607.htm

Photo :  Manure from dairy cows fed organic diets contained different concentrations of plant nutrients, including phosphorus, metals and minerals compared to manure from cows fed conventional diets. (Credit: Photo by Scott Bauer.)