Abstract
Data from the Farm Accountancy Data Network revealed that from 1989 to 2001 the average farm-gate N surplus of Flemish specialized dairy farms decreased from 378 to 238 kg N ha −1, the corresponding whole-farm N efficiency increased from 15% to 22%. Study of European literature on dairy farming, of experimental farms or farm groups and of progressive Flemish farms showed that there is scope for further improvement of the N use efficiency in Flemish dairy farming. The improvement can mainly be realized by changes in the operational management, resulting in an ever decreasing use of fertilizer N and concentrate N. Reasonable targets for sustainable dairy farming in Flanders are 150 kg N ha −1 year −1 for the farm-gate N surplus and about 85 kg milk kg −1 N surplus for eco-efficiency. These targets can be reached at production levels of up to 10,000 à 12,000 l ha −1 and at a satisfying income per unit of labour.
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