Environmental performance of commercial beef production systems utilizing conventional productivity-enhancing technologies.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of using conventional productivity-enhancing technologies (PETs) with or without other natural PETs on the growth performance, carcass traits, and environmental impacts of feedlot cattle. A total of 768 cross-bred yearling steers (499 ± 28.6 kg;  = 384) and heifers (390 ± 34.

Water use intensity of Canadian beef production in 1981 as compared to 2011.

The amount of beef produced per animal in Canada increased significantly from 1981 to 2011, due to enhanced production efficiency and increased carcass weight. This study examined the impact of improvements in production efficiency on water use intensity over this period. Temporal and regional differences in cattle categories, water use for drinking, feed production and meat processing, feeding systems, average daily gains, and carcass weight were considered in the analysis.

Modeling future water footprint of barley production in Alberta, Canada: Implications for water use and yields to 2064.

Despite the perception of being one of the most agriculturally productive regions globally, crop production in Alberta, a western province of Canada, is strongly dependent on highly variable climate and water resources. We developed agro-hydrological models to assess the water footprint (WF) of barley by simulating future crop yield (Y) and consumptive water use (CWU) within the agricultural region of Alberta. The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) was used to develop rainfed and irrigated barley Y simulation models adapted to sixty-seven and eleven counties, respectively through extensive calibration, validation, sensitivity, and uncertainty analysis.

Assessment of potential nutrient build-up around beef cattle production areas using electromagnetic induction.

Electromagnetic induction (EMI) has been used to map soil properties such as salinity and water content. The objective of this research is to use EMI to map the potential distribution of nutrients around beef cattle pens and to relate this distribution to major physiographic field features. Beef cattle farms in different physiographic locations were surveyed in Manitoba, Canada, using an EM-38 conductivity meter georeferenced with a GPS receiver.

Calibration models for electromagnetic induction methods to assess nutrient accumulation beneath confined livestock areas.

Nutrient accumulation in soils beneath confined livestock areas is a potential source of groundwater contamination. Electromagnetic induction (EMI) has become a practical method to assess nutrient content, with multiple linear regression (MLR) as the statistical method often employed to translate EMI readings into nutrient content. The purpose of this research is to compare and contrast the performance of spatially referenced MLR models that include secondary, 'easy-to-acquire' predictor variables such as spatial coordinate locations, soil water content and elevation information with MLR models based solely on EMI readings.