Characterization of Animal Production and Manure Management On Traditional and Modern Farms in China.

Characterization of animal production and manure management on traditional and modern farms in China Fanghao Wang1,2, Zhengxia Dou2, Tom Sims3 and Fusuo Zhang1 1 College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193 China 2 Center for Animal Health and Productivity, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Kennett Square, Pennsylvania 19348 USA 3 College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716 USA Animal production in China has experienced dramatic changes in the last few decades, due to the rapid growth and expansion of modern production systems featuring larger herd size, professional and technology driven management, and contemporary animal rearing and feeding facilities. Nevertheless, the family-based traditional animal production systems still prevail throughout the country. To-date, more than 80% of the 252 million rural households have one to three pigs (averaging two). These small pig operations make 53% contribution to the total pork production in China (2006 data). Family-based dairy and beef operations also account for more than 50% of the total output in that sector, although their shares in total eggs and broiler meat production are much smaller, 25% and 35%, respectively. Total contribution of traditional animal productions to the overall animal production in China has been in a steady decline, because of migration of farmers from rural areas to the cities and because of the rapid increase in modern animal production systems. From the environmental point of view, the traditional systems still emphasize nutrient recycling as about 85% of the animal manure is collected and applied to crop land. In contrast, only about 22% of the manure produced in modern production systems is used to produce agricultural crops. Trends and changes in animal production sectors and manure management along with it’s the effects on N and P recycling and potential environmental implications will be presented.