EU-FarmBook

Biogas done right: 10 "FARMING FOR FUTURE” actions for the agroecological transition. In particular, the aim is a greater stock efficency of C and N into the soils and a lower GHG and N emissions in the atmosphere linked to the digestate use in agriculture. Ecological practices (minimum soil tillage, innovative low-emission systems for the distribution of digestate) to reduce the use of synthetic fertilizers and increase the supply of organic matter in the soils. The "FARMING FOR FUTURE" actions for the agroecological transition are the follow: - Renewable energy in agriculture, replace fossil fuels with renewable energy sources to reduce pollution and emissions; - Agriculture 4.0, adopt advanced agricultural techniques and farming to optimize the use of nutrients; - Livestock manure management,use livestock manure and agricultural by-product to reduce emissions and produce renewable bioenergy - Organic fertilization, using digestate to guarantee the return of nutrients into the soil and reduce the chemical input; - Innovative agricultural processes, adopt agronomic techniques (e.g., minimum tillage, no-tillage, organic fertilization) to reduce emissions into the atmosphere; - Quality and animal welfare, implement agricultural and farm techniques to improve quality and animal welfare. - Increase in soil fertility, adopt double crops to increase carbon sequestration and soil fertility; - Agroforestry, integrate woody crops to increase photosynthesis and organic matter into the soil; - Production and utilisation of biomaterials, using biological, natural and renewable materials - Biogas and other renewable gas, produce methane and hydrogen from agricultural biogas.

• Sustainable agrotechnics
• Renewable fertilizers
• Fertigation
• Digestate microfiltration
• Subsurface drip fertigation

Intensive irrigation and nitrogen (N) fertilization are often linked to low N-fertilizer efficiency, and to high emissions of the greenhouse gas nitrous oxide (N2O). Efficient irrigation systems (e.g. subsurface drip irrigation [SDI]) combined with N-fertigation in a no-till agroecosystem can promote N-use efficiency, thereby curbing N2O emissions without depressing crop yield. Yet, crop type and SDI plant settings (and management) such as dripline spacing may determine the agronomic and environmental performance of SDI. In this two-year field study on maize (Zea mays L.) - soybean (Glycine max [L.] Merr.) rotation with conservation agriculture management (notill and cover crops), we investigated the effects of three different irrigation/fertilization systems (SDI with a narrow dripline spacing (70 cm) + fertigation with ammonium sulphate, SDI with a large dripline spacing (140 cm) + fertigation with ammonium sulphate, and sprinkler irrigation [SPR] + granular urea application) on yield, N-fertilizer efficiency, and N2O emissions in a fine-textured soil. We hypothesized that SDI systems (especially with narrow dripline distance) would increase yield and mitigate N2O compared with SPR, and particularly for maize due to its higher water and nutrient demand. We found that SDI increased maize yield (+31%) and Nfertilizer efficiency (+43–71%). These positive results were only observed during the drier year in which irrigation supplied ca. 80% of maize water requirements. The narrower dripline spacing mitigated N2O emissions compared with sprinkler irrigation (by 44%) and with the wider spacing (by 36%), due to a more homogeneous distribution of N in soil, and to a lower soil moisture content. Soybean yield and N-use efficiency were not affected by the irrigation systems. We also found that SPR enhanced cover crop residue decomposition, thus promoting the release of C and N into the soil and increasing N2O emissions. Overall, our study provides important insights on key management decisions that define the sustainability of novel irrigation systems; in particular SDI with a 70 cm dripline distance should be promoted for maize to increase productivity and decrease N2O emissions in fine-textured soils.

• Sustainable agrotechnics
• Renewable fertilizers
• Fertigation
• Digestate microfiltration
• Subsurface drip fertigation

The ""BIOGAS DONE RIGHT®"" is focused to produce quality food and supplies by differentiating and integrating agricultural activity with the production of energy (FOOD & FUEL) starting from residual biomass and additional raw materials through digestion anaerobic, reducing CO2 emissions from agricultural activity and increasing soil fertility.The “BIOGAS DONE RIGHT®” allows the agroecological reconversion of traditional agriculture according to the principles of Farming for future. The ""FARMING FOR FUTURE"" actions for the agroecological transition are the follow: - Renewable energy in agriculture - Agriculture 4.0 - Livestock manure management - Organic fertilization - Innovative agricultural processes - Quality and animal welfare - Increase in soil fertility - Agroforestry - Production and utilisation of biomaterials - Biogas and other renewable gas

• Sustainable agrotechnics
• Renewable fertilizers
• Fertigation
• Digestate microfiltration
• Subsurface drip fertigation