Spatial Distribution of Ammonia Concentrations and Modeled Dry Deposition in an Intensive Dairy Production Region.

Agriculture generates ~83% of total US ammonia (NH) emissions, potentially adversely impacting sensitive ecosystems through wet and dry deposition. Regions with intense livestock production, such as the dairy region of south-central Idaho, generate hotspots of NH emissions. Our objective was to measure the spatial and temporal variability of NH across this region and estimate its dry deposition.

National Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction Potential from Adopting Anaerobic Digestion on Large-Scale Dairy Farms in the United States.

Waste-to-energy systems can provide a functional demonstration of the economic and environmental benefits of circularity, innovation, and reimagining existing systems. This study offers a robust quantification of the greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction potential of the adoption of anaerobic digestion (AD) technology on applicable large-scale dairy farms in the contiguous United States. GHG reduction estimates were developed through a robust life cycle modeling framework paired with sensitivity and uncertainty analyses.

Long-term dairy manure amendment promotes legacy phosphorus buildup and mobility in calcareous soils.

Continuous application of dairy manure to soils can lead to excessive phosphorus (P) accumulation (legacy P), which requires understanding for managing nutrient availability and leaching. This study was conducted in Kimberly, ID, where dairy manure or conventional fertilizer was applied to calcareous soil plots under continuous crop rotations for 8 years (2013-2020), followed by 2 years with no amendment. To understand legacy P behavior in the soils, total P, organic/inorganic P, and plant-available Olsen bicarbonate P and Truog extraction measurements were made from surface and subsurface samples.

Fifty years of environmental progress for United States dairy farms.

Dairy farms in the United States have changed in many ways over the past 50 yr. Milk production efficiency has increased greatly, with ∼30% fewer cows producing about twice the amount of milk today. Other improvements include increases in crop yields, fuel efficiency of farm equipment, and efficiency in producing most resources used on farms (e.

Uncertainty in phosphorus fluxes and budgets across the US long-term agroecosystem research network.

Phosphorus (P) budgets can be useful tools for understanding nutrient cycling and quantifying the effectiveness of nutrient management planning and policies; however, uncertainties in agricultural nutrient budgets are not often quantitatively assessed. The objective of this study was to evaluate uncertainty in P fluxes (fertilizer/manure application, atmospheric deposition, irrigation, crop removal, surface runoff, and leachate) and the propagation of these uncertainties to annual P budgets. Data from 56 cropping systems in the P-FLUX database, which spans diverse rotations and landscapes across the United States and Canada, were evaluated.

DATAMAN: A global database of methane, nitrous oxide, and ammonia emission factors for livestock housing and outdoor storage of manure.

Livestock manure management systems can be significant sources of nitrous oxide (N O), methane (CH ), and ammonia (NH ) emissions. Many studies have been conducted to improve our understanding of the emission processes and to identify influential variables in order to develop mitigation techniques adapted to each manure management step (animal housing, outdoor storage, and manure spreading to land). The international project DATAMAN (http://www.

P-FLUX: A phosphorus budget dataset spanning diverse agricultural production systems in the United States and Canada.

Quantifying spatial and temporal fluxes of phosphorus (P) within and among agricultural production systems is critical for sustaining agricultural production while minimizing environmental impacts. To better understand P fluxes in agricultural landscapes, P-FLUX, a detailed and harmonized dataset of P inputs, outputs, and budgets, as well as estimated uncertainties for each P flux and budget, was developed. Data were collected from 24 research sites and 61 production systems through the Long-term Agroecosystem Research (LTAR) network and partner organizations spanning 22 U.

Challenges and opportunities for manureshed management across U.S. dairy systems: Case studies from four regions.

The manureshed represents cropland needed to safely assimilate manure nutrients from an animal feeding operation. Dairy manuresheds can be contained on-farm but may need to involve additional farms that can assimilate excess nutrients. We present case studies reviewing challenges and opportunities to manureshed management in four major dairy-producing states using available information on local manuresheds.

Simulating soil nitrogen fate in irrigated crop production with manure applications.

Dairy manure is commonly applied to irrigated agricultural crops in the Magic Valley Region of southern Idaho, which has reported to impact the quality of surface and ground water. In this study, we used the Root Zone Water Quality Model (RZWQM2) to provide information about the long-term implications of manure applications. RZWQM2 was first calibrated and validated using 4 years of data from a long-term study with annual and biennial manure application rates of 18 Mg ha, 36 Mg ha, and 52 Mg ha, along with a control and conventional fertilizer treatment for crop yield, soil water and soil N.

Ammonia and nitrous oxide emission factors for excreta deposited by livestock and land-applied manure.

Manure application to land and deposition of urine and dung by grazing animals are major sources of ammonia (NH ) and nitrous oxide (N O) emissions. Using data on NH and N O emissions following land-applied manures and excreta deposited during grazing, emission factors (EFs) disaggregated by climate zone were developed, and the effects of mitigation strategies were evaluated. The NH data represent emissions from cattle and swine manures in temperate wet climates, and the N O data include cattle, sheep, and swine manure emissions in temperate wet/dry and tropical wet/dry climates.

Pesticides Misused for Bed Bug Control: Comparing Professional and Nonprofessional Applications Reported to the National Pesticide Information Center, 2013-2017.

To compare outcomes when pesticides are used to control bed bugs by professionals and nonprofessionals. All US National Pesticide Information Center inquiries from 2013 to 2017 were assessed to identify scenarios involving bed bugs and pesticide applications. Cases were evaluated with respect to types of applicators, misapplications, and human pesticide exposures.

DATAMAN: A global database of nitrous oxide and ammonia emission factors for excreta deposited by livestock and land-applied manure.

Nitrous oxide (N O), ammonia (NH ), and methane (CH ) emissions from the manure management chain of livestock production systems are important contributors to greenhouse gases (GHGs) and NH emitted by human activities. Several studies have evaluated manure-related emissions and associated key variables at regional, national, or continental scales. However, there have been few studies focusing on the drivers of these emissions using a global dataset.

Survey of selected antibiotic resistance genes in agricultural and non-agricultural soils in south-central Idaho.

Improving our understanding of antibiotic resistance in soils is important for the protection of human, animal and ecological health. In south-central Idaho, antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) [blaCTX-M-1, erm(B), sul1, tet(B), tet(M) and tet(X)] and a class 1 integron-integrase gene (intI1) were quantified in agricultural and non-agricultural soils (96 total sites) under various land use practices (cropland, forestland, inactive cropland, pastureland, rangeland, recreational, residential). We hypothesized that gene occurrence and abundance would be greater in intensively managed agricultural soils.

Short-term methane emissions from 2 dairy farms in California estimated by different measurement techniques and US Environmental Protection Agency inventory methodology: A case study.

Reported estimates of CH emissions from ruminants and manure management are up to 2 times higher in atmospheric top-down calculations than in bottom-up (BU) inventories. We explored this discrepancy by estimating CH emissions of 2 dairy facilities in California with US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) methodology, which is used for BU inventories, and 3 independent measurement techniques: (1) open-path measurements with inverse dispersion modeling (hereafter open-path), (2) vehicle measurements with tracer flux ratio method, and (3) aircraft measurements with the closed-path method. All 3 techniques were used to estimate whole-facility CH emissions during 3 to 6 d per farm in the summer of 2016.

Tracking antibiotic resistance genes in soil irrigated with dairy wastewater.

The application of dairy wastewater to agricultural soils is a widely used practice to irrigate crops and recycle nutrients. In this study, small-scale field plots were irrigated monthly (6 times) with dairy wastewater (100%), wastewater diluted to 50% with irrigation (canal) water, and diluted wastewater spiked with copper sulfate (50 mg Cu L), while control plots were irrigated with canal water. In addition, half of all plots were either planted with wheat or were left as bare soil.

Short communication: Identifying challenges and opportunities for improved nutrient management through the USDA's Dairy Agroecosystem Working Group.

Nutrient management on US dairy farms must balance an array of priorities, some of which conflict. To illustrate nutrient management challenges and opportunities across the US dairy industry, the USDA Agricultural Research Service Dairy Agroecosystems Working Group (DAWG) modeled 8 confinement and 2 grazing operations in the 7 largest US dairy-producing states using the Integrated Farm System Model (IFSM). Opportunities existed across all of the dairies studied to increase on-farm feed production and lower purchased feed bills, most notably on large dairies (>1,000 cows) with the highest herd densities.

Effect of Dairy Manure Storage Conditions on the Survival of O157:H7 and .

Dairy manure is regularly applied to crop fields as a solid or liquid to improve the soil nutrient status. However, pathogens may survive during manure storage and enter the environment during application. In this study, three storage practices were evaluated to understand the survival patterns of O157:H7 and spp.

Occurrence and abundance of antibiotic resistance genes in agricultural soil receiving dairy manure.

Animal manures are commonly used to enhance soil fertility, but there are growing concerns over the impact of this practice on the development and dissemination of antibiotic resistance. The aim of this field study was to determine the effect of annual dairy manure applications on the occurrence and abundance of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in an agricultural soil during four years of crop production. Treatments included (i) control (no fertilizer or manure), (ii) inorganic fertilizer and (iii) dairy manure at three application rates.

Use of new technologies to evaluate the environmental footprint of feedlot systems.

With increased concern over the effects of livestock production on the environment, a number of new technologies have evolved to help scientists evaluate the environmental footprint of beef cattle. The objective of this review was to provide an overview of some of those techniques. These techniques include methods to measure individual feed intake, enteric methane emissions, ground-level greenhouse gas and ammonia emissions, feedlot and pasture emissions, and identify potential pathogens.

Methane emissions from dairy lagoons in the western United States.

Methane generation from dairy liquid storage systems is a major source of agricultural greenhouse gas emissions. However, little on-farm research has been conducted to estimate and determine the factors that may affect these emissions. Six lagoons in south-central Idaho were monitored for 1 yr, with CH emissions estimated by inverse dispersion modeling.

Nutritional and Environmental Effects on Ammonia Emissions from Dairy Cattle Housing: A Meta-Analysis.

Nitrogen excreted in dairy manure can be potentially transformed and emitted as NH, which can create livestock and human respiratory problems and be an indirect source of NO. The objectives of this study were to: (i) investigate environmental factors influencing NH emissions from dairy housing; and (ii) identify key explanatory variables in the NH emissions prediction from dairy housing using a meta-analytical approach. Data from 25 studies were used for the preliminary analysis, and data from 10 studies reporting 87 treatment means were used for the meta-analysis.

Detection of Purple Sulfur Bacteria in Purple and Non-purple Dairy Wastewaters.

The presence of purple bacteria in manure storage lagoons is often associated with reduced odors. In this study, our objectives were to determine the occurrence of purple sulfur bacteria (PSB) in seven dairy wastewater lagoons and to identify possible linkages between wastewater properties and purple blooms. Community DNA was extracted from composited wastewater samples, and a conservative 16S rRNA gene sequence within and genes found in both purple sulfur and nonsulfur bacteria was amplified.

Methods to assess youth engagement in a text messaging supplement to an effective teen pregnancy program.

Youth are prolific users of cell phone minutes and text messaging. Numerous programs using short message service text messaging (SMS) have been employed to help improve health behaviors and health outcomes. However, we lack information on whether and what type of interaction or engagement with SMS program content is required to realize any benefit.