FRNL New Knowledge Register

Introduction The Forages for Reduced Nitrate Leaching programme (FRNL; 2013-2019) combined fundamental, strategic and applied research, co-development and extension, to achieve and demonstrate practical, adoptable options for pastoral, arable and mixed farms to reduce nitrate leaching losses while maintaining or improving productivity and profitability. The main hypotheses of the programme were that this can be achieved by (1) reducing urinary nitrogen (N) excretion from livestock through the use of diverse pastures (i.e. mixtures containing grasses, legumes and herbs) and/or forage crops with a lower N content, without any reduction in animal performance; (2) improving N use efficiency of pasture and crops through the use of species and crop rotations that increase the uptake of soil N and thereby reducing N fertiliser input; and (3) a co-development approach ensuring close collaboration with end-users (farmers, rural professionals) to improve applicability and adoptability.

This document summarises key results of FRNL’s six years of research and co-development. It provides easy access to research results by listing all scientific output and papers published in proceedings of scientific and industry conferences and providing links to them.

The document is structured in accordance to the programme, with three clusters of work (so-called Research Aims): 1. Alternative pasture species (led by Grant Edwards; Lincoln University)

2. Crops (led by Mike Beare, Plant & Food Research) 3. Farm systems (led by Ina Pinxterhuis, DairyNZ)

Within each Research Aim, a number of projects were executed. In this document these are grouped where they contributed to a common goal. Titles of the various sections reflect these goals. We trust this structure helps you finding the publications relevant to your interest.

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