Concentrations of human health-related microorganisms in runoff from agricultural plots (0.75 m x 2 m) treated with fresh and aged cattle manure, swine slurry and no manure (control) were determined. Three consecutive simulated rainfall events, producing 35 mm rainfall and separated by 24 h, were carried out for each plot. Fecal indicator (Escherichia coli, enterococci, Clostridium perfringens ...

Ammonia (NH) emissions vary considerably among farms as influenced by climate and management. Because emission measurement is difficult and expensive, process-based models provide an alternative for estimating whole farm emissions. A model that simulates the processes of NH formation, speciation, aqueous-gas partitioning, and mass transfer was developed and incorporated in a whole farm simulati...

As agricultural production increases and demands for more sustainable production rise, it becomes necessary to develop and improve best management practices that allow farmers to efficiently utilize their inputs while minimizing unwanted losses. In addition to this, farmers must utilize recommendations in a way that is economically beneficial to their operation. Large-scale animal production ne...

There are approximately 2.5 million dairy cows in California. Emission inventories list dairy cows and their manure as the major source of regional air pollutants, but data on their actual emissions remain sparse, particularly for smog-forming volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and greenhouse gases (GHGs). We report measurements of alcohols, volatile fatty acids, phenols, and methane (CH4) emitt...

Survival and transport of pathogens from manure in the environment depend on a number of complex phenomena. An important question is how the properties of such a complex environment as the soil–manure medium impact the persistence of bacteria within the vadose zone. First, manure can change the partitioning of precipitation water between infiltration (enhanced by solid manure) and surface runof...

The objectives of this study were to investigate the effects of dietary crude protein (14.5 or 12.0%) and cellulose (8.7 or 2.5%) levels on composition of feces and manure after 8 wk of diet feeding and storage. Pigs were fed twice daily; after each feeding, urine and feces were collected and added to manure storage containers. On weeks 2 and 8 after initiation of the experiment, fresh fecal an...

BACKGROUND Residues of veterinary medicinal products (VMPs) enter the environment via application of manure onto agricultural areas where in particular antibiotics can cause phytotoxicity. Terrestrial plant tests according to OECD guideline 208 are part of the environmental risk assessment of VMPs. However, this standard approach might not be appropriate for VMPs which form non-extractable resi...

"Compost" dairy barns are relatively new, and this manure, which we refer to as stratified bedded pack (SBP) dairy manure, has neither been characterized in detail nor defined in terms of its N supply. We measured physical characteristics, nutrient concentration, N mineralization, and N supply to corn (Zea mays L.) of SBP dairy manure from eight Minnesota farms. Concentrations of N, P, and K we...

The objective of this study was to determine the effects of dietary crude protein (CP) level on odour emission, odour intensity, hedonic tone, and ammonia emission from pig manure and on manure composition (pH, total nitrogen, ammonium, volatile fatty acids, indolic, phenolic and sulphur-containing compounds). An experiment was conducted with growing pigs (n = 18) in a randomised complete-block...

Excessive use of animal manure on agricultural lands can impact the quality of surface and groundwater resources. A three–year study (1998–2000) was conducted on nine 0.4–ha plots and on six 2.1–m 2 lysimeters to investigate the effect of two nitrogen (N) application rates from laying hen manure and one N application rate from urea ammonium nitrate (UAN) fertilizer on surface and groundwater qu...