What if sustainable and organic farming could thrive without animal manure? Explore how legumes and LoginEKO’s innovative model are transforming agriculture.
The global food system, a cornerstone of human survival, is simultaneously a leading contributor to environmental degradation. Agriculture feeds billions, but it’s intricately tied to climate change, land degradation, water scarcity, and biodiversity loss. Conventional agricultural practices have pushed planetary boundaries to their limits. So far, we’ve breached 6 of the 9 planetary boundaries. The urgency for innovative solutions that prioritize both productivity and sustainability has never been greater.
Sustainable farming offers a clear path forward. It is an integrated system of agricultural practices designed to meet current food needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own. By promoting soil health, reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and safeguarding natural resources, it provides an ecological balance that conventional methods cannot achieve.
This article explores the transformative potential of sustainable, large-scale, livestock-free farming, using the innovative model developed by LoginEKO as a real-world example.
Conventional farming dominates the global agricultural landscape, with approximately 98.6% of farmland managed using chemical-intensive methods (Hamed, 2024). While these practices aim to maximize yields, they come with severe environmental consequences:
The widespread use of synthetic inputs and monoculture farming further worsens the problem. These practices accelerate soil degradation, reduce organic carbon levels, and undermine long-term productivity.
To secure a sustainable future, transitioning to farming systems that balance productivity with ecological preservation is imperative.
Livestock farming occupies 77% of global agricultural land yet provides only 18% of calories and 37% of protein to the global diet, highlighting its inefficiency (Poore & Nemecek, 2018).
In addition to driving habitat destruction, water and nutrient pollution, industrial-scale livestock production contributes nearly 14.5% of total global emissions, representing over 70% of agriculture’s overall emissions (Gerber et al., 2013). Livestock farming generates large quantities of methane through enteric fermentation and manure management, making it one of the most significant contributors to agricultural emissions.
In Western Europe, countries like the Netherlands, Germany, and Belgium have developed highly industrialized livestock farming systems, leading to some of the highest livestock densities in the world. These systems generate substantial amounts of manure, exceeding the land’s capacity to absorb it sustainably. The outcome is nitrogen leaching into water systems, air pollution from ammonia, and rising methane and nitrous oxide emissions. This surplus of organic material creates regulatory challenges, as farmers must balance the need for soil fertility with compliance on GHG emissions and pollution controls.
Eastern Europe faces a different challenge. Countries such as Serbia, Romania, and Ukraine have extensive arable land but relatively low livestock densities. Consequently, farmers often lack organic matter, such as manure, to maintain soil organic carbon (SOC). This deficiency accelerates SOC depletion, undermining soil fertility, water retention, and overall ecosystem health. For instance, in Serbia, soil humus levels have declined by 0.5% every 20 years, dropping from an initial 4.5-5% to just 2.5% today (Vasin et al., 2011). This rapid loss of SOC threatens long-term agricultural productivity, particularly in regions where organic matter is not replenished through farming inputs.
It is unrealistic to expect a significant increase in livestock production in Eastern Europe. Competing with Western Europe’s well-established livestock sector, supported by advanced genetics, efficient management, and subsidies, is not feasible for most Eastern European countries. Given these structural disadvantages, expanding livestock populations as a solution to improve soil health is an unlikely solution.
Instead, we need a fresh approach, one that moves beyond livestock altogether: livestock-free, legume-based farming.
Legumes, like dry peas (Pisum sativum L.) offer a more efficient and sustainable alternative to livestock-based systems.
Producing 1 kg of protein from dry peas requires significantly less nitrogen input compared to livestock systems (Stagnari et al., 2017), making legumes key to sustainable agriculture (Poore & Nemecek, 2018). In fact, ruminants like cattle may require up to six times more nitrogen per kilogram of protein produced due to inefficiencies in converting feed into edible protein.
Legumes not only provide organic nitrogen through biological fixation but also support subsequent crops in rotation, reducing the reliance on synthetic fertilizers. This dual role of legumes underscores their potential to address both environmental and food security challenges while optimizing land use (Stagnari et al., 2017).
Recognizing the need for sustainable solutions, we’ve conducted comparative trials to evaluate the potential of legumes as a replacement for livestock manure.
Our scientific trials compared the effects of alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) dry matter and solid cow manure digestate from a biodigester. These fertilizers were applied during primary soil preparation for wheat, including treatments with 5 and 10 t/ha of alfalfa dry matter and 20 t/ha of solid cow manure digestate.
In the first year, no significant differences in wheat grain yield or quality were observed between alfalfa and manure treatments. However, in the following season, when winter flax was sown for grain, the treatment with 5 t/ha of alfalfa dry matter produced an 11% higher yield compared to the digestate treatment.
While we also tested 10 t/ha of alfalfa dry matter, the results were similar to 5 t/ha, indicating that once a satisfactory nitrogen level is reached with 5 t/ha, further increases in fertilization do not enhance yield. Additionally, the higher application rate of 10 t/ha is twice as costly, making it less viable for sustainable and efficient farming practices.
This result highlights the sustained benefits of legume-based fertilizers under our conditions. Despite the relatively narrow C:N ratio of residues like alfalfa, the mineralization process is notably gradual, allowing nitrogen to be released over an extended period rather than being depleted within the first season.
This ensures that legumes not only provide immediate fertility benefits but also maintain their impact into the second year, effectively supporting soil productivity over multiple growing seasons.
Over the years, we have tested a variety of legume species—alfalfa, red and crimson clover, peas, vetches, lentils, and chickpeas—and explored different fertilization systems, including the cut-and-carry method (a practice where legumes are harvested and transported to fields as green manure to enrich the soil). These trials demonstrated the effectiveness of legumes in replacing animal manure and improving soil health, but the high costs associated with methods like cut-and-carry proved less viable. However, peas emerged as the most effective option, seamlessly fitting into crop rotations, providing exceptionally high levels of organic nitrogen, and avoiding the additional transportation and application costs inherent to cut-and-carry systems.
Building on these insights, we’ve developed a sustainable, livestock-free, organic model of food production. By focusing on legumes and eliminating the inefficiencies and environmental burdens associated with livestock, our approach offers a scalable, sustainable solution.
Through crop rotations that leverage legumes as a cornerstone for nutrient management, we demonstrate how agriculture can meet global food demands while maintaining soil health, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and fostering biodiversity.
Our farming model addresses agriculture’s two largest emission sources: methane from livestock and nitrous oxide from synthetic fertilizers. By eliminating livestock, we remove methane emissions entirely, while legumes naturally fix nitrogen in the soil, eliminating the need for synthetic fertilizers.
Legumes replenish organic matter in the soil and provide a sustainable source of organic nitrogen for subsequent crops in the rotation. Their significance is best illustrated through their application on our farm.
At the core of our model are winter peas (Pisum sativum L.), a critical component of our crop rotations.
In our semi-arid, heavy clay soils, winter peas have consistently demonstrated their ability to fix large quantities of atmospheric nitrogen. In one field, the aboveground biomass yielded over 300 kg/ha of organic nitrogen, highlighting the remarkable potential of this crop (Figure 1). This nitrogen not only serves the immediate next crop but also provides sufficient residual nitrogen to support at least two successive crops.
Contrary to common assumptions about the rapid mineralization of legumes due to their narrow C:N ratio, our environment allows for a more gradual nitrogen release. This ensures that the benefits of nitrogen fixation extend well beyond the initial crop, synchronizing nutrient availability with crop needs over multiple seasons.
Starting in autumn 2024, we transitioned to utilizing all winter peas exclusively for their protein-rich grain, while ensuring that the crop residues are incorporated into the soil to provide essential nitrogen for subsequent crops. Early termination and use as green manure are now reserved for exceptional cases, such as when severe lodging or significant disease and pest pressures arise.
The role of winter peas goes beyond nitrogen provision. When incorporated into the soil, their residues help maintain soil organic carbon (SOC) levels, improve soil structure, and enhance water retention—factors essential for mitigating the challenges of semi-arid farming. This dual function, as both a nutrient provider and a soil improver, highlights the role of winter peas in building resilient and sustainable farming systems like ours.
Additionally, winter peas offer a practical advantage: while the grain can be sold as a high-value product, the remaining crop residues are returned to our fields, enriching the soil with organic nitrogen.
Based on the outstanding results achieved with winter peas, we have discontinued the use of alfalfa as a primary source of organic nitrogen. This transition aligns with our goal to balance ecological sustainability with economic efficiency in our farming practices.
Rotating leguminous crops with cereals and oil crops provides a sustainable foundation for maintaining soil fertility and eliminating reliance on synthetic fertilizers. The incorporation of crop residues, combined with conservation tillage practices, contributes not only to the preservation but also to the gradual improvement of SOC levels.
What makes our farming model particularly effective is its ability to maintain yields comparable to EU averages — producing 8,700 tonnes this year — even without animal manure or synthetic inputs. While it may not achieve the highest yields of conventional farming, it performs reliably at the level of national or even EU production averages. This demonstrates that the model not only supports soil health and emission reductions but also ensures economically viable productivity for farmers.
Our legume-based model enables low-input farming systems, like those in Eastern Europe, to enhance soil quality and productivity in a cost-effective and sustainable way.
In Western Europe, where the focus is on reducing GHG emissions and managing excess manure, our model offers a transition away from livestock-intensive systems. Shifting to legume-based farming reduces methane emissions from livestock and nitrous oxide emissions from fertilizer use. Excluding livestock from farming systems also eases the environmental burden of manure management, while the increased cultivation of legumes enhances carbon sequestration and improves soil health.
Adopting a livestock-free, legume-based model in Western Europe would alleviate regulatory pressures related to manure disposal and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. In regions with intensive livestock farming, such as the Netherlands and Belgium, surplus manure production is estimated to exceed nutrient absorption capacity by up to 30%, contributing to nitrate leaching and water pollution (European Environment Agency [EEA], 2018). This has led to significant challenges in meeting nitrate limits under the EU Nitrates Directive, further exacerbating biodiversity loss in affected areas (EEA, 2018). Additionally, livestock farming accounts for approximately 54% of methane emissions and 80% of ammonia emissions from agriculture in Europe (Gerber et al., 2013), making it a major contributor to climate change and air pollution.
By shifting towards plant-based systems, farmers can significantly reduce their environmental footprint while contributing to broader environmental goals.
The LoginEKO model promotes biodiversity, enhances soil health, and supports emission reductions, aligning well with regional and global sustainability frameworks. For example, the EU Green Deal targets include achieving net-zero emissions by 2050 and reducing nutrient losses by 50%, goals that the LoginEKO model directly addresses (European Commission, 2019).
A critical aspect of this system is the role of legumes in rotations. Legumes naturally fix nitrogen in the soil, eliminating the need for synthetic fertilizers while providing organic nitrogen for subsequent crops. Crop residues, particularly from cereals and oil crops, when combined with conservation tillage, help maintain and even increase soil organic carbon (SOC) levels over time. Studies indicate that conservation practices can increase SOC by 0.5–1.0% over a decade, significantly enhancing carbon sequestration potential (Lal, 2004). This approach not only mitigates environmental pressures but also ensures long-term soil health and productivity.
Our livestock-free, legume-based model provides a versatile solution tailored to Europe’s diverse agricultural challenges.
In Eastern Europe, it focuses on restoring SOC levels and eliminating reliance on chemical fertilizers, creating more resilient and productive soils. In Western Europe, it provides a clear pathway to reduce GHG emissions, manage manure surpluses, and transition to more sustainable farming practices.
The global agricultural sector must adopt practices that minimize environmental harm while ensuring food security.
This imperative is highlighted by many, including the UNEP Emissions Gap Report 2020, which underscores the importance of enhanced agricultural management and the transition to more sustainable, plant-based diets (UNEP, 2020).
Building on these principles, our model presents a compelling approach for both Eastern and Western Europe, fostering healthier soils, reducing agriculture’s carbon footprint, and ensuring long-term agricultural sustainability in the face of climate change.
To ensure that the benefits of the livestock-free, legume-based farming model are accessible to all, we are committed to freely sharing our knowledge and solutions. By integrating this expertise into our Farming Software, currently in beta testing with external users, we aim to empower farmers of all educational backgrounds to adopt sustainable practices with ease. This software will encapsulate our comprehensive experience and innovations, providing a user-friendly platform that will be available to all farmers – further advancing the global transition to sustainable agriculture.
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