Dataset on nitrogen and phosphorus excretion in mountain dairy farms

In a mountain area (6200 Km2), data concerning 564 dairy farms (herd size and land use), animals (milk production and quality, and reproductive events), and diets (formulation and ingredient composition) were gathered from institutional databases or collected on farm, and merged. The farms were clustered in four farming systems: traditional with transhumance in alpine summer pastures (T-ALP), traditional without transhumance (T-noALP), traditional with use of silage (T-S), and modern (MOD). Based on the available inputs a model to estimate the nitrogen and phosphorus excretions per cow, per unit of milk produced and per hectare of utilized agricultural land was developed. The model was used for a regional study in Schiavon et al. (2019): Nitrogen and phosphorus excretion on mountain farms of different dairy systems. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agsy.2018.10.006