Uncertainty assessment of the breath methane concentration method to determine methane production of dairy cows.

The breath methane concentration method uses the methane concentrations in the cow's breath during feed bin visits as a proxy for the methane production rate. The objective of this study was to assess the uncertainty of a breath methane concentration method in a feeder and its capability to measure and rank cows' methane production. A range of controlled methane fluxes from a so-called artificial reference cow were dosed in a feed bin, and its exhaled air was sampled by a tube inside the feeder and analyzed.

Manual and automatic locomotion scoring systems in dairy cows: a review.

The objective of this review was to describe, compare and evaluate agreement, reliability, and validity of manual and automatic locomotion scoring systems (MLSSs and ALSSs, respectively) used in dairy cattle lameness research. There are many different types of MLSSs and ALSSs. Twenty-five MLSSs were found in 244 articles.

Total loss and distribution of nitrogen and phosphorus in the outdoor run of organic laying hens.

1. The objective of this study was to determine the level and variation of the total mass, and load of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) excreted into the outdoor run of organic egg production systems. 2.

Comparison of odour emissions from animal housing systems with low ammonia emission.

Nuisance from livestock facilities is an increasing problem in densely populated areas like The Netherlands. It is in the interest of both farmers and society that housing systems and management methods are developed to minimise the emission of odour. An odour research programme has been completed in The Netherlands to investigate odour emission from both conventional housing systems and systems designed for low ammonia emission.