Nitrogen Technology Improves Dairy Manure Management and Crop Yield

Advanced nitrogen technologies are being applied across agriculture, forestry and mining to increase productivity while reducing environmental impact. Studies indicate that such technologies can raise crop yields by up to 30% and cut fertilizer runoff.

In the United States, a USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Conservation Innovation Grant of nearly $1 million funded research on 15 dairy‑manure treatment systems. The work, led by technical consultant Jeff Porter of Newtrient, showed that nitrogen enrichment can boost the nitrogen content of liquid waste streams by about 70 percent and recover roughly half of the phosphorus and organic nitrogen as fine solids. The technologies, including ultrafiltration and polymer‑assisted separation, promise lower production costs and greater on‑farm nutrient‑use efficiency, supporting long‑term sustainability goals for dairy producers.