2nd Project meeting of the SAIN WG1 Project: A review of manure management in China
(13th October 2010. Nanjing Agriculture University.)

The second meeting of the SAIN WG1 Project, A Review of Manure Management in China was held in Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China on October 13th, 2010. This meeting was organized by the College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, Nanjing Agricultural University, with the aim of promoting China-UK exchanges and cooperation in the field of manure management. More than 10 representatives and experts from the UK and China attended the conference.
The UK has developed technical advice for manure management in order to improve manure nutrient management and to comply with national and international guidelines and policies to control pollution of the environment. Some of this experience is of relevance to the Chinese situation. However, it is also important to provide a baseline understanding of manure management in China, to determine to what extent manure nutrient overuse is perhaps due to poor management of manures.
Baseline information about manure generation in different provinces and how manure is managed before application to soil (i.e. during storage) and then knowledge of typical application rates and integration with inorganic fertilisers is important for policy objectives in e.g estimating nutrient overuse, predicting losses of ammonia, nitrous oxide and methane emissions to air and nutrients to water courses.
Participants discussed the present situation of circular agriculture in China and how manure, compost and digestate from biogas plants is currently managed within this system. The conference also addressed the need to understand how future trends towards intensification of livestock in China may affect future management of manures, composts and digestate.
In brief, the conference outlined the national assessment of manure management in China, before looking at potential barriers to use of manure nutrients based on the initial results of manure surveys in Jiangsu Province, Shaanxi Province, and Beijing city. In total, >950 farmers were interviewed in the three provinces about manure management on their farms. The data from these surveys will provide a real understanding of contrasting manure management and attitudes towards use of manure nutrients in the three provinces.
Additional details about the conference follow:

Present:
Dr Dave Chadwick (Rothamsted Research, North Wyke)
Prof Chen Qirong, Dr Yu Guanghui and student (Nanjing Agriculture University)
Prof Chen Qing, and Kang Lingyun (Chinese Agricultural University)
Prof Tong Yanan and student (North West Agriculture and Forestry University).

Proceedings: Initially, Professor Shen Qirong (WG1 member and Vice-President of Nanjing Agricultural University) welcomed all participants. Dr Dave Chadwick introduced the project and he was followed by a presentation by Prof Chen Qing on the national assessment of manure management in China (WP1). Dr Dave Chadwick then outlined progress in WP2 (Future trends in livestock production). This was followed by a presentation by Dr Yu Guanghui of initial results from Jiangsu province on ‘Barriers to use of manure nutrients’ (WP4). There were two other presentations about initial results of the farmer surveys in Beijing and Shaanxi provinces (by Kang Lingyun and Prof Tong Yanan). After lunch, discussions continued about next steps; (i) the potential visit to the UK by Chinese collaborators, (ii) a project presentation at the Agriculture and Climate Change UK-China High Level Experts’ Seminar in Beijing (8-10th November 2010), and (iii) the venue for the next project meeting in China.