**4. Conclusions**

Most of the farms visited belong to small producers, with 86% of the farms being owned by the producers and 70% of the farms being smaller than 30 ha. In 93% of the cattle farms, the continuous grazing system is most predominant, with fertilisation

*Sustainability of Soil Chemical Properties and Nutrient Relationships in Dairy and Beef Cattle… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.104647*

programmes implemented in 42% of the dairy farms and only in 5% of beef farms. The above indicates the low technological level of fertilisation management in beef cattle production systems compared to dairy cattle production systems in the subregions visited in the department of Antioquia.

The results of the soil analyses show high variability of chemical parameters in the studied subregions of the department. Micronutrient levels are adequate for most of the soils under the sampling conditions. Cation exchange capacity is low in all subregions except Urabá. Macronutrients, such as phosphorus and potassium, showed high levels in some dairy subregions and medium or low levels in the other areas. Other nutrients showed variable levels, possibly due to geographical location, soil and climatic conditions, grazing systems, botanical composition of pastures, and agronomic management; amongst other factors related to cattle production systems.

The distribution of some chemical parameters in the department is related to geographical location, such as pH and calcium, which had homogeneous variations according to latitude and longitude. Positive correlations were found amongst the parameters—organic matter, total nitrogen, and calcium; with negative correlations for calcium levels with exchangeable aluminium.

Pasture fertilisation programmes in the analysed dairy and beef subregions should be based on the application of calcium and magnesium amendments, some macronutrients, and some micronutrients, such as boron in some specific areas. Therefore, specific recommendations should be made for each farm based on the results of the soil analysis and the agronomic management in each distinctive production system. Thus, under the conditions evaluated, the impact of pasture management should be implemented to contribute to more sustainable dairy and beef farming.

### **Acknowledgements**

The authors are grateful to the "Sistema General de Regalías" of the Colombian Government for the financial support for the project entitled "Desarrollo y Establecimiento del Centro de Desarrollo Agrobiotecnológico de Innovación e Integración Territorial, El Carmen de Viboral, Antioquia, Occidente (CEDAIT)," Expert System subcomponent, code BPIN 2016000100060.

### **Author details**

Marisol Medina-Sierra\*, Mario Cerón-Muñoz and Luis Galeano-Vasco GAMMA Research Group, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, Antioquia University, Medellin, Antioquia, Colombia

\*Address all correspondence to: marisol.medina@udea.edu.co

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