The compilation of economic information allows the identification of competitive conditions and cost-effective practices. By looking at the economic value of legumes at the individual crop level, it is shown which factors determine the profitability and which current developments on feed and food market can strengthen the position of Europeangrown legumes. The comparative advantage is discussed and reflected with insights on legumes’ competitiveness in various regions, showing legumes’ competitive power to several break crops. Expanding the analysis to the level of crop rotations allows to integrate legumes’ pre-crop effects and resulting resource benefits to farmers are described. The importance to go beyond conventional gross margin analysis is underlined with approaches to assess the economic performance of cropping systems that can prevent economic underestimation of legumes and reveal their real economic performance. Legume prices are also discussed within the context of their value for animal feeding which shows potential to improve their crop-level economic value and simple tools for calculating the feed value are provided. The positive externalities for society caused by legume cultivation are also discussed and exemplary measures to value the environmental benefits are presented. Conclusions towards successful legume production in Europe are drawn and discrepancies between production potentials and actual practice will guide the search for barriers at farm, value chain and sector level, which is also relevant information for policy makers.
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Agricultural run-off and subsurface drainage tiles transport a significant amount of nitrogen and phosphorus leached after fertilization. alchemia-nova GmbH in collaboration with University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna developed two multi-layer vertical filter systems to address the agricultural run-off issue, which has been installed on the slope of an agricultural field in Mistelbach, Austria. While another multi-layer addressing subsurface drainage water is implemented in Gleisdorf, Austria. The goal is to develop a drainage filter system to retain water and nutrients. Both multi-layer filter systems contain biochar and other substrates with adsorption properties of nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus). The filter system can be of practical use if an excess of nutrients being washed out is of concern in the fields of the practitioner by keeping the surrounding waters clean. This approach may result in economic value by re-using the saturated biochar as fertilizer and improving the soil structure, thus increasing long-term soil fertility. Link: https://wateragri.eu/a-bio-inspired-multilayer-drainage-system/
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under Grant Agreement No 858735This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under Grant Agreement No 858735. FACTSHEET NANOCELLULOSE MEMBRANES FOR NUTRIENT RECOVERY Key information Functionalized nanocellulose membranes can take up nitrate and phosphate. These membranes can be put in a water treatment unit. As the membranes are biobased, degradable materials, they can after use be added to the soil, thus returning the leached nutrients back for their original purpose providing fertilizers (nutrient recycling).
Because variables such as temperature and humidity have a profound effect on the activity of crop pests, diseases and natural enemies, the ability to monitor environmental conditions within a crop has always been important for crop protection.