Researchers investigate 'whole farm' approach to reduce dairy...( hey will examine: Improving phospho...)

Many of these systems have been tried in part, Muir said, but what makes this project unique is the "whole-farm" approach. Rather than just looking at how a single change affects phosphorus buildup and runoff, researchers will investigate how the various strategies reinforce one another.

"It's really a matter of fine-tuning a system that isn't necessarily broken but could run better," Muir said. "We have also included the dairymen as full partners in the design, implementation and interpretation of research and subsequent outreach. It is, after all, their dairies."

Along the way, the team will collect data that can be used to write regulations that reflect the "real world," Muir said.

Another factor that makes the research project different from those that came before is this real-world nature, Lambert said.

"We're doing this work on real, operating dairies. It's not something confined to a laboratory," Lambert said. "(We will be) tracking phosphorus from the time it enters the farm until it leaves it."

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