Download or read book Exploring the Potential of Manure Management for Increasing Nutrient Circularity of Intensive Dairy Farming Systems written by and published by . This book was released on 2023 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Dairy farming systems have been rapidly intensified over the past several decades in many world regions. One of the primary challenges in these intensive dairy farming systems is managing manure in a way that benefits agricultural production while minimizing environmental impacts. To increase the understanding of losses of manure constituents during manure management, we first zoomed in on gaseous emissions (mainly NH3, CH4 and N2O) from different manure management facilities. By conducting systematic literature reviews, we found large variation in reported nutrient losses across publications, especially for NH3 and CH4 emissions. Manure characteristics and temperature were identified as the main factors influencing these gaseous emissions. Based on the database compiled from systematic literature reviews, we proposed a modular approach and developed a flexible modular manure management (FarmM3) model. With contrasting manure management scenarios, the FarmM3 model allowed to quantify the degradation and losses of different manure constituents (e.g., OM, C, N, P and K) from manure management chains with different complexity, and to identify the most important parameters determining these losses. For highly intensive confinement dairy farms, improving manure management alone may not be enough to reduce nutrient losses due to high nutrient surpluses within farms. Thus, we zoomed out from nutrient losses from manure management chains and further investigated the impacts of various manure management chains and integration of crop and dairy production on nutrient use efficiency and circularity at whole farm level, including different farm components, such as dairy, manure, soil and crop. To simulate this, a whole farm model (FarmDESIGN) extended with a manure management module (FarmM3) was used to an intensive mixed crop-dairy farm in China. We found that manure management chains could be designed effectively to reduce nitrogen volatilization and soil N losses while improving soil OM balance. However, individual manure management technologies were insufficient to reduce N losses due to compensatory losses. Instead, combinations of slurry solid-liquid separation, covered storage of solid and liquid fractions during storage, and improved manure application could remarkably reduce N losses at manure management. Overall, we concluded that, to move towards sustainable intensification of dairy production, increasing nutrient circularity by improving manure management with multiple mitigation measures and integrating crop and dairy production within farm or between farms are essential. Policy support and improved communication of manure treatment technologies can facilitate adoption of improved manure management practices. Additionally, recoupling crop and dairy production beyond the farm scale is necessary for intensive dairy farms with limited land availability, and participatory approaches can help design effective scenarios for crop-livestock integration at the local or regional level.

Download or read book Improving Manure Management written by and published by . This book was released on 2022 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Animal manure was a scarce and valuable resource in history. However, with the relatively cheap and easy handle synthetic fertilizers becoming easily available, livestock manure has turned from a resource into a waste or a pollutant to the environment, especially in industrial size farms or regions with high livestock density. Chinese livestock production has been developing quickly towards specialized intensive production in recent years. Most of the intensive farms has little or no cropland, which making manure management and utilization complex and difficult. The large amount of manure excreted and unproperly managed has cause a lot of social and environmental problems such as ammonia (NH3) emissions, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and water eutrophication. These increasing environmental problems have attracted attentions from scientists and governments. Many researches have been conducted and several regulations have been announced aiming at solving the problem. However, livestock farmers as one of the stakeholders in the management process are usually overlooked by the researches and regulations. Their adoption of techniques, and the drivers and barriers for them to use advanced techniques are unknown in China, which making the effectiveness of the regulations very limited. Therefore, the objectives of this PhD thesis include: i) to understand the adoption of manure management techniques and the drivers and barriers for those adoptions; ii) to estimate the impact of current management and explore options to mitigate the negative impacts. The work was mainly conducted with farm surveys and farmers’ interview on intensive dairy and poultry farms in Hebei and Shandong provinces, which were the major livestock production areas in China. With this survey data, in Chapter 2 the adoption rate of manure treatment techniques was analysed. Solid-liquid separation, anaerobic digestion, and composting were the only three techniques found in the survey. For dairy farms, 39% of the farms were equipped with solid-liquid separator, another 13% with anaerobic digestor and 6% with composting. However, most of the equipment were not used in practice and the actual operational rate was very low. For poultry farms there were almost no treatment at all. Interviews with farmers revealed that subjective norms from social referents, particularly from government agencies, were the main driver for the adoption of treatment techniques. However, the financial burden and technique failure hinder the adoption in practice. Even though Chinese government provided subsidies for the construction cost, the high operational cost and the bad manure market make the cost and the benefit unbalanced. Farmers therefore had low intentions to use these techniques. Chapter 3 focused on crude protein (CP) content in animals’ diet ration, because CP content determines nitrogen excretion in manure. When CP content exceed a certain level, animal productivity cannot increase further but N excretion in manure increases quickly. Therefore, low protein feeding is suggested by many researches as an effective method to reduce N excretion. Collected samples from mixed diet rations show that the mean CP content of animals’ diet ration was close to literature recommendations. However, there were large variations among farms, which indicates that there are still potentials to reduce CP content on some farms. Feeding companies actually defined the feed ingredients and nutritional values of animal diet rations. Farmers knew little about the importance of protein and the crude protein content of their animal rations. Speaking of low protein feeding, farmers were worried about the potential negative impacts on their production and financial risks. The results indicate that implementation of low protein feeding needs the active involvement of feeding companies, and more trainings are needed to help farmers understand feed protein better. In chapter 4 a model was developed to quantify the N and P flows based on mass balance approach. With the manure management information in each step collected from the farm survey, N and P flows in the management chain were quantified. On average 197 kg N and 30 kg P were excreted per cow per year (including young stock) and there was a substantial variation among the farms in NUE (53±20%) and PUE (84±22%) at farm level. Effects of management technologies varied greatly among farms; increases in farm-level NUE ranged from 0-53% and for PUE from 0-79%. Improving manure storage and treatment technologies and increasing manure export had relatively large effects on farm-level NUE and PUE and nutrient losses, while effects of low-protein feeding were limited. In chapter 5 the relationship between livestock density and soil P content was analysed at county and farm levels. Relationship between livestock density and soil P content was found to be insignificant at county level with the statistical data. However, at the farm level, livestock farms with cropland tended to have higher P content than crop farms without livestock in topsoil, mainly because that livestock farms with cropland tended to apply excessive amount of manure to cropland. The results indicate that manure was over applied from livestock farms but were not well utilized from crop farms. The results from this thesis point to the need for improved manure utilization in cropland, for developing a functioning ‘manure market’ with the involvement of middlemen, and for manure application limits for cropland on livestock farms. Hopefully, this thesis will contribute to improving manure management at farm level and to improving the sustainability of agriculture in practice.

Download or read book Applied Manure and Nutrient Chemistry for Sustainable Agriculture and Environment written by Zhongqi He and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2014-04-07 with total page 385 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Due to the rapid increase in world population and improving living standards, the global agriculture sector is confronting with challenges for the sustainability of agricultural production and of the environment. Intensive high-yield agriculture is typically dependent on addition of fertilizers (synthetic chemicals, animal manure, etc.). However, non-point nutrient losses from agricultural fields due to fertilization could adversely impact the environment. Increased knowledge on plant nutrient chemistry is required for improving utilization efficiency and minimizing loses from both inorganic and organic nutrient sources. For this purpose, the book is composed of 19 chapters that highlight recent research activities in applied nutrient chemistry geared toward sustainable agriculture and environment. Topics of interest include, but are not limited, to speciation, quantification, and interactions of various plant nutrients and relevant contributories in manure, soil, and plants. This book outlooks emerging researchable issues on alternative utilization and environmental monitoring of manure and other agricultural by products that may stimulate new research ideas and direction in the relevant fields.

Download or read book Alternate Methods of Manure Handling written by Fred Magdoff and published by . This book was released on 1978 with total page 52 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Improving Manure Management at Smallholder Dairy Farms in Indonesia written by and published by . This book was released on 2021 with total page 180 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As a response to a high demand for milk and low national milk supply, the Indonesian government aims to increase national milk production by, among others, increasing the dairy cattle population. This will have consequences especially for manure production. Manure is an inevitable by-product of dairy production and has a number of benefits if it is appropriately managed, but can also cause environmental impacts when high manure production is followed by improper manure management. To avoid these adverse environmental impacts, manure needs to be managed appropriately. Smallholder dairy farms in Indonesia, however, are currently characterized by poor manure management, and with the expected increase in manure production, the importance of improving manure management is increasing. Improving manure management on smallholder farms involves many aspects, such as feed management, land for storing and applying manure, and costs associated with manure management. Knowledge about many of these aspects is lacking. The overall aim of the studies in this PhD thesis was to evaluate emissions to the environment associated with manure management and to identify improvement options on smallholder dairy farms in Indonesia. To this end, the studies in this PhD thesis analysed various aspect of manure management at different aggregation levels (i.e., the animal, farm, regional, and value chain level). At the animal level (Chapter 2), the models to accurately predict N-P excretion of dairy cows on smallholder farms in Indonesia based on readily available farm data were developed. The model predicted actual nutrient excretions with reasonable accuracy. The total N excretion of dairy cows in Indonesia was on average 197 g animal-1 d-1, whereas P excretion was on average 56 g animal-1 d-1. At the farm and regional level (Chapter 3), nutrient balances from dairy farming systems with different manure management systems (MMSs) were analyzed. Furthermore, nutrient balances from farm level were upscaled to regional level to determine the sector’s contribution to the pollution of the Citarum river and to identify potential options for improvement. Results showed that the N balances of all 30 dairy farms averaged 222 kg N farm-1 yr-1 and did not differ between MMSs. The P balances of the farms differed between MMSs; balances were highest for farms that discharge manure (83 kg P farm-1 yr-1) and lowest for farms that sell or export manure (-25 kg P farm-1 yr-1). Annually, all dairy farms in the Lembang region caused a loss of 1,061 tons of N and 290 tons of P into the environment and they extracted 8 tons of P from soils. At the farm and value chain level (Chapter 4 and 5), greenhouse gas emission (GHGE) at the value chain level by means of life cycle assessment (LCA) was estimated. Chapter 4 assessed seasonal differences in GHGE from Indonesian dairy farms by means of longitudinal observations and evaluated the implications of number of farm visits on the variance of the estimated GHGE per kg milk (GHGEI) for a single farm mean, and for the population mean. Results showed that GHGEI was higher in the rainy (1.32 kg CO2-eq kg-1 FPCM) than in the dry (0.91 kg CO2-eq kg-1 FPCM) season. The between farm variance was 0.025 kg CO2-eq kg-1 FPCM in both seasons. The within farm variance in the estimate for a single farm mean and the population mean decreased with an increase in number of farm visits. Variability in GHGEI can therefore be reduced by increasing the number of visits per farm. Forage cultivation was the main source of between farm variance, enteric fermentation the main source of within farm variance. Chapter 5 identified mitigation strategies of GHGE at smallholder dairy farms. The relationship between GHGEI and milk yield per cow for all farms was modelled and farms with an GHGEI below and above their predicted GHGEI were compared (‘low’ and ‘high’ GHGEI farms). Results showed that milk yield explained 57% of the variance in GHGEI among farms. Low GHGEI farms had fewer cows, and fed less rice straw, more cassava waste, and more compound concentrate feed (particularly the type of concentrates consisting largely of by-products from milling industries) than high GHGEI farms. In addition, low GHGEI farms discharged more manure, stored less solid manure, used less manure for anaerobic digestion followed by daily spreading, and applied less manure N on farmland than high GHGEI farms. At the farm and regional level (Chapter 6), the constraints on manure management on smallholder dairy farms and potential opportunities for improvement were identified. There are 20 constraints on manure management, of which availability of space to store manure on the farm, and costs of manure management are regarded most important. Stakeholders proposed strategies to improve manure management: communal manure storage (CMS), a structured manure market, and providing economic and institutional support such as access to credits and financial incentives for good manure management. The cost of manure management was high, and farms that sell or export manure, and farms that have a bio-digester had higher net total cost than farms that discharge manure. Total revenue (TR) differed between manure management systems and farms that apply manure had lower TR than farm that sell or export manure. All MMSs had negative net gross margins which could be explained by the high costs attributed to labour (i.e., family labour) and low revenue from manure. In Chapter 7, the methodological issues of the study, including the scope of the models and the method of data collection were discussed. Chapter 7 integrates the knowledge gained in the various studies and identifies a series of improvement options that connect the aggregation levels animal, farm, region, and value chain. It further suggests ways to create an enabling environment required to implement and effectuate the improvement options.

Download or read book Animal Manure written by Heidi M. Waldrip and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2020-05-05 with total page 448 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The majority of meat, milk, and eggs consumed in the United States are produced in concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFO). With concentrated animal operations, in turn comes concentrated manure accumulation, which can pose a threat of contamination of air, soil, and water if improperly managed. Animal Manure: Production, Characteristics, Environmental Concerns, and Management navigates these important environmental concerns while detailing opportunities for environmentally and economically beneficial utilization.

Download or read book Physicochemical Transformations of Manure to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions Improve Nutrient Use and Minimize Environmental Impacts of Dairy Operations written by Rylie Jo Ellison and published by . This book was released on 2020 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Storage and agricultural applications of manure often result in significant loss of carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus to the environment through volatilization and leaching. In California, manure management is estimated to be the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture, mainly as methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O), with dairy operations being a key contributor. One of the main challenges with using animal wastes as nutrient sources is the unpredictable nitrogen mineralization rate for crop uptake. Many dairies limit application of manure organic nitrogen to prevent groundwater contamination. With a large range of dairy sizes and types of manure management systems in California, there is also a need for a variety of manure treatment technologies to address these problems. Treatments examined in this dissertation are two physicochemical techniques: chemical solid-liquid separation (coagulation) and hydrodynamic cavitation with chemical stabilization. Physically and chemically transforming animal wastes to exhibit a predictable nitrogen mineralization response is an important research and development priority. Generating a stabilized and easily transportable fertilizer from manure can help reduce environmental concerns related to on-farm nutrient management and enhance the economic feasibility for dairies. Enhancing solid-liquid separation with chemical coagulants traditionally used in wastewater treatment can isolate dissolved and particulate organic matter and phosphorus from manure into stabilized solids (flocs) while leaving the plant-available ammonium-N in the liquid fraction (effluent). In this research, a range of coagulants, including metal salts and organic polymers were tested with multiple dairy process wastewaters. The effects of chemical coagulation on the composition of the separated manure fractions, and the resulting impact on greenhouse gases and nutrient cycling are extensively explored through a series of laboratory incubations of manure effluents and manure-amended soils. Anaerobic incubations of the effluent fractions were performed to determine how both removing coagulated solids from manure process wastewater or leaving coagulated manure flocs in anaerobic storage affects greenhouse gases, CH4 in particular. This simulates how greenhouse gases from anaerobic storage ponds, or lagoons, on dairies would be affected by this treatment practice. In each incubation, regardless of coagulant type or separation of solids, CH4, and/or CO2 and N2O were significantly reduced. Several aerobic soil incubations simulated how adding coagulated manure flocs or effluents would impact the nutrient cycling of chemically separated manures applied to agricultural soils. Coagulation generally tended to stabilize organic matter, and slow C, N, and P mineralization of the solid floc fraction, depending on the type of coagulant used. This could potentially increase C sequestration and reduce nutrient runoff on dairies; however, farmers would need to manage for less nutrient availability. Lastly, the potential for hydrodynamic cavitation to be employed in a dairy manure treatment system was explored. The effects of hydrodynamic cavitation on manure were to break down organic matter and increase nitrogen availability, which could help in regulating the rate of nitrogen mineralization from manure. Hydrodynamic cavitation is also used for sterilization, which could be another benefit for manure applications. However, further work is needed to determine the efficacy of hydrodynamic cavitation for treating manure at a larger scale.

Download or read book Manure Use for Fertilizer and for Energy written by James M. MacDonald and published by DIANE Publishing. This book was released on 2010 with total page 53 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: About 5% of all U.S. cropland is currently fertilized with livestock manure. Expanded environmental regulation through nutrient management plans will likely lead to wider use of manure on cropland, at higher production costs, but with only modest impacts on commodity demand, or farm structure. While current use is limited, expanded gov¿t. support could lead to a substantial increase in manure use as a feedstock. However, current energy processes are unlikely to compete with fertilizer uses of manure, because they leave fertilizer nutrients as residues, in more marketable form, and because manure-to-energy projects will be most profitable in regions where raw manure is in excess supply, with the least value as fertilizer. Charts and tables.

Download or read book Dairy Manure Management written by Natural Resource, Agriculture, and Engineering Service and published by . This book was released on 2005 with total page 360 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This conference proceedings includes over 30 papers by university, government, and industry specialists addressing the topic of dairy manure management. The proceedings will help producers and their advisors plan new or upgraded manure systems to meet regulatory and community expectations.

Download or read book Tackling Climate Change Through Livestock written by Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and published by Food & Agriculture Org.. This book was released on 2013 with total page 139 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Greenhouse gas emissions by the livestock sector could be cut by as much as 30 percent through the wider use of existing best practices and technologies. FAO conducted a detailed analysis of GHG emissions at multiple stages of various livestock supply chains, including the production and transport of animal feed, on-farm energy use, emissions from animal digestion and manure decay, as well as the post-slaughter transport, refrigeration and packaging of animal products. This report represents the most comprehensive estimate made to-date of livestocks contribution to global warming as well as the sectors potential to help tackle the problem. This publication is aimed at professionals in food and agriculture as well as policy makers.

Download or read book Exploring Barriers and Opportunities for Utilization of Dairy Cattle Manure in Agriculture in West Java Indonesia written by Windi al Zahra and published by . This book was released on 2021 with total page 44 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In West Java, Indonesia, most dairy farmers are currently discharging cattle manure into the environment, causing environmental pollution and local nuisance. In this study we explored barriers and opportunities for increased utilization of dairy cattle manure in agricultural sectors in West Java. Interviews were conducted with dairy cooperatives, provincial governments, and a number of potential large-scale users of cattle manure. Results give insight in current manure management issues and initiatives, and perceived constraints and opportunities for increased utilization of cattle manure by these stakeholders. The horticultural sector, tea and coffee plantations, and forestry areas in West Java were identified as potential large-scale users of dairy cattle manure, but various practical, economic and organizational constraints need to be overcome.

Download or read book Agroecosystem Diversity written by Gilles Lemaire and published by Academic Press. This book was released on 2018-10-08 with total page 478 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Agro-Ecosystem Diversity: Impact on Food Security and Environmental Quality presents cutting-edge exploration of developing novel farming systems and introduces landscape ecology to agronomy. It encompasses the broad range of links between agricultural development and ecological impact and how to limit the potential negative results. Presented in seven sections, each focusing on a specific challenge to sustaining diversity, the book provides insights toward the argument that by re-introducing diversity, it should be possible to maintain a high level of productivity of agro-ecosystems while also maintaining and/or restoring a satisfactory level of environment quality and biodiversity. Demonstrates that diversified agro-ecosystems can be intensified with environmental quality preserved, restored and enhanced Includes analysis of economic constraints leading to specialization of farms and regions and the social locking forces resisting to diversification of agro-ecosystems Presents a global vision of world agriculture and the tradeoff between a necessary increase in food production and restoring environment quality

Download or read book Livestock s Long Shadow written by Henning Steinfeld and published by Food & Agriculture Org.. This book was released on 2006 with total page 418 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "The assessment builds on the work of the Livestock, Environment and Development (LEAD) Initiative"--Pref.

Download or read book Practical Handbook of Material Flow Analysis written by Paul H. Brunner and published by CRC Press. This book was released on 2016-04-19 with total page 333 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The first-ever book on this subject establishes a rigid, transparent and useful methodology for investigating the material metabolism of anthropogenic systems. Using Material Flow Analysis (MFA), the main sources, flows, stocks, and emissions of man-made and natural materials can be determined. By demonstrating the application of MFA, this book reveals how resources can be conserved and the environment protected within complex systems. The fourteen case studies presented exemplify the potential for MFA to contribute to sustainable materials management. Exercises throughout the book deepen comprehension and expertise. The authors have had success in applying MFA to various fields, and now promote the use of MFA so that future engineers and planners have a common method for solving resource-oriented problems.

Download or read book Water use in livestock production systems and supply chains Guidelines for assessment written by Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and published by Food & Agriculture Org.. This book was released on 2019-08-14 with total page 130 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Technical Advisory Group (TAG) for Water Use Assessment, composed by 30 international experts, has developed guidelines on water footprinting for livestock supply chains. The mandate of the Water TAG was to provide recommendations to monitor the environmental performance of feed and livestock supply chains over time so that progress towards improvement targets can be measured; apply the guidelines for feed and water demand of small ruminants, poultry, large ruminants and pig supply chains; build on and go beyond the existing FAO LEAP guidelines; and pursue alignment with relevant International Organization for Standardization (ISO) standards, specifically ISO 14040, ISO 14044 (ISO, 2006b and 2006a) and ISO 14046 (ISO, 2014). The guidelines on water use assessment include the impact assessment: the assessment of the environmental performance related to water use of a livestock-related system by assessing potential environmental impacts of blue water consumption following the water scarcity footprint according to the framework provided by ISO 14046 (ISO, 2014); and the assessment of the system’s productivity of green and blue water. The guidelines are thus intended to support the optimization of use of water resources and the identification of opportunities to decrease the potential impacts of water use in livestock production. The Water TAG guidance is relevant for livestock production systems, including feed production from croplands and grasslands, and production and processing of livestock products (cradle-to-gate). It addresses all livestock production systems and livestock species considered in existing LEAP animal guidelines: poultry, pig, small ruminant and large ruminant supply chains.

Download or read book Sustainable Dairy Production written by Peter de Jong and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2013-01-16 with total page 197 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book offers a comprehensive overview of the state of the art in sustainable dairy production, helping the industry to develop more sustainable dairy products, through new technologies, implementing life cycle analysis, and upgrading and optimization of their current production lines. It aims to stimulate process innovations, taking into account environmental, economic and public relations benefits for companies. Topics covered include: How to set up a sustainable production line How to quantify the carbon foot print of a dairy product by using life cycle analysis Current technologies to improve the carbon foot print What measures can be taken to reduce the global warming potential of the farm Reduction of water use in dairy production Marketing sustainable dairy products Bench marking of dairy products against other food products Potential future technological developments to improve the carbon foot print for the following decades

Download or read book Nutrient Management on Dairy Farms written by Stu Klausner and published by . This book was released on 1993 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: