Source: TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY submitted to NRP
SYSTEMS FOR CONTROLLING AIR POLLUTION EMISSIONS OF BEEF CATTLE FEEDLOTS, SWINE, DAIRY AND POULTRY FACILITIES
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
COMPLETE
Funding Source
HATCH
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
0225523
Grant No.
(N/A)
Cumulative Award Amt.
(N/A)
Proposal No.
(N/A)
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Project Start Date
May 6, 2011
Project End Date
May 5, 2016
Grant Year
(N/A)
Program Code
[(N/A)]- (N/A)
Recipient Organization
TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY
750 AGRONOMY RD STE 2701
COLLEGE STATION,TX 77843-0001
Performing Department
Amarillo-TAMU Agr Res Center
Non Technical Summary
Texas' livestock feeding industry is focused in the High Plains, where one-third of U.S. beef is produced within 150 miles of Amarillo. Approximately 80 % of Texas' cattle on feed, 90% of the state's swine industry, and almost 20 % of the state's dairy industry are based in the High Plains. Environmental quality and natural resource challenges include: declining groundwater, air quality, manure nutrient management, and energy costs. Feedlots, dairies and swine facilities must compete for groundwater with irrigation, municipal and industrial demands including agricultural processing. Robust growth of the High Plains livestock-feeding industry is made possible by rising grain imports from other states (over 50%) which represents imported nutrients and water. The increasing use of bioproduct feed sources from the bioenergy and other industries is exacerbating the problems of excess nutrient being fed to livestock and hence passing through to increase manure nutrient concentrations and/or be emitted to the atmosphere. Ammonia and hydrogen sulfide are not "criteria pollutants" under the Clean Air Act, hence there are no federal NAAQS for these two gases however, under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act, confined animal feeding operations are required to report ammonia and hydrogen sulfide emissions if they emit more than 100 lb per day. Many states including Texas have regulations for ambient hydrogen sulfide concentrations. Odor is a high-profile issue at the local/regional levels, resulting from release of hundreds of gaseous compounds (odorants) from decomposing organic matter as influenced by pH, surplus moisture (which excludes oxygen), and warm temperatures. The livestock and poultry feeding industries need (a) accurate emissions data for both of these gases under various operating and climatic conditions, and (b) sound, cost-effective means to reduce those emissions. Manure-management practices that foster aerobic conditions can contribute to odor-control. Chemical and biochemical methods to suppress odor are in the research stage.
Animal Health Component
(N/A)
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
(N/A)
Developmental
(N/A)
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
1410410202050%
1333510202010%
1333410202010%
1333310202010%
1333210202010%
1333220202010%
Knowledge Area
133 - Pollution Prevention and Mitigation; 141 - Air Resource Protection and Management;

Subject Of Investigation
3210 - Egg-type chicken, live animal; 3220 - Meat-type chicken, live animal; 3310 - Beef cattle, live animal; 3510 - Swine, live animal; 3410 - Dairy cattle, live animal; 0410 - Air;

Field Of Science
2020 - Engineering;
Goals / Objectives
(1) To develop emissions inventories for gases of environmental regulatory concern from confined animal feeding operations in the Southern Great Plains using appropriate and scientifically defensible, emission monitoring protocols. These gases will include ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, methane, nitrous oxide, and odorous volatile organic compounds. (2) To identify and develop best management practices for mitigating the emission of gases of environmental regulatory concern from confined animal feeding operations in the Southern Great Plains. (3) To better define resource utilization by confined animal feeding operations focusing on resources that will be increasingly limiting on the Southern Great Plains in the near future such as water or have the potential to significantly influence the profitability of confined animal feeding operations such as energy.
Project Methods
A. Emissions inventory development activities will include: (a) Measurement of ammonia and hydrogen sulfide emissions from open area sources including feedlot pen area and dairy corrals, and fan ventilated livestock and poultry housing using continuous emission monitors. Ammonia data collected in this task will be combined with that collected by collaborating researchers using similar point and complementary open-path techniques. (b) Measurement of hydrogen sulfide emissions from open area sources including feedlot runoff retention structure areas using continuous point measurement of gas concentration. Emission rates of ammonia and hydrogen sulfide will be calculated from the concentration data and meteorological data for the site using Windtrax. Emissions will also be directly measured using a UNSW design wind-tunnel and a continuous emission monitors. (c) Measurement of methane emissions from open area sources including feedlot pen area and dairy corrals using continuous point measurement of gas concentration. Emission rates will be calculated from the concentration data and meteorological data for the site using Windtrax. Methane data collected in this task will be combined with that collected by collaborating researchers using complementary open-path techniques. (c) Measurement of nitrous oxide emissions from open area sources including feedlot pen area will be conducted using OP-FTIR and other appropriate instrumentation as available will be conducted with collaborating researchers. Emission rates will be calculated from the concentration data and meteorological data for the site using dispersion models including AERMOD and Windtrax. These integrated area measurements will be supplemented by studies with non-flow through - non-steady state chambers. The greenhouse gas concentrations in samples collected from the chambers will be determined using gas chromatography. Emission rates will be determined using the Hutchinson-Mosier equation. The NFT-NSS chamber studies will focus on the spatial variability within feedyard pen areas and laboratory studies to gain a mechanistic understanding of nitrous oxide formation in the feedlot pad. (d) Measurements of odorous VOC emission will be made using thermal desorption tubes and gas chromatography. B. Mitigation strategy development activities will include: (a) Development of a mechanistic understanding of emissions process for ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, methane and nitrous oxide from measurements undertaken as part tasks A.a, A.b A.c and A.d. Through a better understanding of the emissions processes of these compounds and controlling factors, strategies for mitigating and/or controlling the emissions may identified and developed. (b) Laboratory and field testing of strategies identified. C. Resource use characterization and utilization activities will include: (a) Measurement of water usage by feedlots and dairies, including total water use, water use by identifiable components of the production system and beneficial reuse of waste water. (b) Investigate the potential for and impediments to increasing the use of wastewater where clean water is currently being used.

Progress 05/06/11 to 05/05/16

Outputs
Target Audience:Researchers through publications and conference presentations, and industry organizations and key industry representatives through targeted presentations and informal communication. Changes/Problems:Lack of research funding from both State and Federal sources is hindering progress within this research area. Air emissions from animal feeding operations has not been included in any recent RFPs, and trying to devise projects to fit within even vaguely relevent RFPs has not been fruitful. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Ad-hoc training has been provided to several graduate students, Research Associates and Research Assistants from a number of projects measuring GHG emissions using NFT-NSS chambers, on best practice guidance on chamber deployment, sample vial preparation and sample collection practices. Training and software has been provided for computing fluxes from NFT-NSS chambers to these collaborating project members.AResearch Associate and Research Assistant have also been trained in the operation of a Varian 450 GC for GHG analysis. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Preliminary results from GHG projects have been communicated to the scientific community through conference papers and posters as listed in the products section of this report. Results of the GHG emissions work at feedyards has been shared with members of the TCFA Research committee and collaborating feedyards through presentations and informal discussions. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Nothing Reported

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Research efforts in this project have remained focused on measuring baseline greenhouse gas emissions and developing a mechanistic understanding of greenhouse gas emissions from feedyards. Considerable work was invested in analyzing data collected during 2011 - 2015 measurement campaigns for manure pack greenhouse gas emissions from pens at Feedyards A and C. This work will result in several publications in the next year. In each campaign, a recently emptied pen was obtained, the bases for ten NFT-NSS chambers were installed in two rows from the front to the back of the pen of the afternoon it was vacated. Measurements were undertaken once per day (12:00 CST) from three days following base installation for five days. There was considerable spatial variability in emission rates within each pen. Emission flux data from the studies is highly skewed and various statistical transformations have been evaluated for treating the datasets prior to statistical analysis. The CH4 emission flux from the manure pack in all 18 studies ranged from 0 to 438.02 and averaged 8.87 mg/m2/hr while the N2O emission rates ranged from 0 to 712.52 and averaged 7.31 mg/m2/hr over these study periods. The wide range of N2O concentrations measured in this project has required the development of an analysis protocol to cope with this extended concentration range as the responseof the Electron Capture Detector on the GC is not linear over this range. Excellent collaboration with USDA-ARS has continued and deepened in this research area, especially with Dr David Parker with whom I have partnered in establishing his GHG laboratory and in conducting laboratory research trials utilizing our combined instrumentation. The OP-FTIR system at Feedyard C was reconfigured to a dual IR Source configuration was completed. Damage to one IR Source incurred during the Dec 2015 blizzard was able to be repaired. Problems with the FTIR Spectrometer required its return to the manufacturer for lengthy and expensive repairs on two occasions, preventing the collection of any data before the end of this project's reporting period. The 10 m meteorological station at Feedyard A was also damaged during the Dec 2015 blizzard and ongoing issues related to its prolonged deployment in the challenging environment of a cattle feedlot pen necessitates a major commitment to its relocation with new mounting hardware. A small study was completed using ammonia and hydrogen sulfide Radiello passive samplers, investigating fenceline concentrations and potentially inferring average emissions at feedyards. Average NH3 flux rates while of the same magnitude were lower than those measured in other recent Texas studies. The use of a weekly average concentration for a pollutant that has a diurnal variation may not yield sufficiently sensitive results. Exposing the NH3 diffusive sampling cartridges for only 1 day may be preferable. Average H2S flux rates were similar to those measured in other recent Texas studies. The use of a weekly average concentration for a pollutant concentration that a reasonably constant emission may yield sufficiently sensitive results, however episodic H2S emissions would be underestimated by this technique. Exposing the H2S diffusive sampling cartridges for 7 days generally yielded good analytical results. Using expertise and techniques developed during this project, I have collaborated with Dr Nithya Rajan on emissions of greenhouse gases from various bioenergy cropping systems, with Dr Richard Teague on emissions of greenhouse gases from various grazing systems, and with Dr Katie Lewis emissions of greenhouse gases from cotton cropping systems.

Publications

  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Shreck, A. L., P. J. Ebert, E. A. Bailey, J. S. Jennings, K. D. Casey, N. A. Cole. 2015. Effects of supplementation to steers consuming green chopped wheat pasture on energy losses and nitrogen balance. J. Anim. Sci. Vol. 93, Suppl. s3/J. Dairy Sci. Vol. 98, Suppl. 2, p 311.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Rajan, R., S. Sharma, K. D. Casey, S. Maas. 2015. Effect of Soil Moisture and Temperature on Soil Carbon Flux from a Conventional Cotton Cropping System. In: Proc of the ASA, CSSA and SSSA International Annual Meetings, Nov 15-18. 2015, Minneapolis, MN.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Waldrip, H. M., K. D. Casey, R. W. Todd, N. A. Cole. 2015. Factors Affecting Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Beef Cattle Feedyard Manure: A Laboratory Study. In: Proc of the ASA, CSSA and SSSA International Annual Meetings, Nov 15-18. 2015, Minneapolis, MN.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Waldrip, H. M., K. D. Casey, R. W. Todd, N. A. Cole. 2015. Predicting Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Beef Cattle Feedyard Manure. In: Proc of the ASA, CSSA and SSSA International Annual Meetings, Nov 15-18. 2015, Minneapolis, MN.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Casey, K. D., H. M. Waldrip, R. W. Todd, N. A. Cole. 2015. Optimizing NFT-NSS Chamber Techniques for Greenhouse Gas Emissions Measurements from Feedyard Pen Surfaces. In: Proc of the ASA, CSSA and SSSA International Annual Meetings:, Nov 15-18. 2015, Minneapolis, MN.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Casey, K.D., H.M. Waldrip, R.W. Todd, and N.A. Cole. 2016. Nitrous oxide and methane emissions from beef cattle feedlot pen surfaces. In: Proc of the Greenhouse Gas and Animal Agriculture 2016 Conference:, Feb 14-18. 2016, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.


Progress 10/01/14 to 09/30/15

Outputs
Target Audience:Researchers through publications and conference presentations, and industry organizations and key industry representatives through targeted presentations and informal communication. Changes/Problems: The above average rainfall experienced during this period combined with collaborating feedyards operating at near full capacity and being unable to releasepens for a research study, has restricted the number of field studies that were able to be conducted during this period. Previous experience has shown that if the pack moisture content is elevated at the start of a study and a rainfall event is received, the NFT-NSS chambers will no longer be representative of the general pen condition. Lack of research funding from both State and Federal sources is hindering progress within this research area.Air emissions from animal feeding operations has not been included in any recent RFPs, and trying to devise projects to fit within even vaguely relevent RFPs has not been fruitful. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Ad-hoc training has been provided to several graduate students,Research Associates and Research Assistantsfrom a number of projects measuring GHG emissions using NFT-NSS chambers, on best practice guidance on chamber deployment, sample vial preparation and sample collection practices. Training and software has been provided for computing fluxes from NFT-NSS chambers to these collaborating project members. A Research Chemist, Research Associate and Research Assistant have also been trained in the operation of a Varian 450 GC for GHG analysis. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Preliminary results from GHGprojects have been communicated to the scientific community through conference papers and posters as listed in the products section of this report. Results of the GHG emissions work at feedyards has beenshared with members of the TCFA Research committee and collaborating feedyards through presentations and informal discussions. My visit to Brazil in July 2015 provided an opportunity to discuss techniques and results with Brazilian researchers working in similar areas. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Work will continue with field and laboratory studies of GHG emissions from feedlot pad surfaces using NFT-NSS chamber based techniques. Studies are continuing to transition from emission measurements to more strategic observations and interventions which hopefully will shed light on the mechanisms of N20 emission from feedyard pen surfaces.The OP-FTIR system has been reconfiguredwith just one FTIR unit and two orthogonally located IR sources to determine integrated emission fluxes from a feedyard, however technical issues haveprevented collection of useful data. If these technical issues can be overcome, area integrated emission fluxes should be able to be measured. A small scale study using Radiello® passive samplers to investigate the feasibility of using these as a low cost method of measuring local concentrations and potentially inferring emission fluxes of ammonia and hydrogen sulfide..

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Research efforts in this project have remained focused on measuring baseline greenhouse gas emissions and developing a mechanistic understanding of greenhouse gas emissions from feedyards.Further one week campaigns to measure greenhouse gas emissions from the manure pack in feedyard pens were conducted during Summer 2015 at Feedyard-A. In each campaign, a recently emptied pen was obtained, the bases for ten NFT-NSS chambers were installed in two rows from the front to the back of the pen of the afternoon it was vacated. Measurements were undertaken once per day (12:00 CST) from three days following base installation for five days. There was considerable spatial variability in emission rates within each pen. Emission flux data from the studies is highly skewed and various statistical transformations have been evaluated for treating the datasets prior to statistical analysis.The CH4 emissionflux from the manure pack at Feedyard-A ranged from 0 to 438.02 and averaged 78.54 mg/m2/hr while the N2O emission rates ranged from 0 to 53.71 and averaged 4.14 mg/m2/hr over these study periods. With 2015 being the 4 th wettest year on record for Amarillo, pen moisture was higher than in previous years as reflected in the elevatedCH4 emission fluxes. The wide range of N2O concentrations measured in this project has required the development of an analysis protocol to cope with this extended concentration range as the response of the ECD detector on the GC is not linear over this range. This protocol was completed during this year and reprocessing of all chromatograms where the concentration exceeded 10 ppm has been completed and all subsequent flux esimates have been recalculated.

Publications

  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Todd, R.W., Cole, N.A., Hagevoort, G.R., Casey, K.D., Auvermann, B.W. (2015). Ammonia losses and nitrogen partitioning at a southern High Plains open lot dairy. Atmospheric Environment, 110: 75-83
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Casey, K.D., Waldrip, H.M., Todd., R.W., Cole, N.A. 2015. Greenhouse gas emissions from beef cattle feedlot pen surfaces in Texas. In: Proc of the ASABE International Annual Meeting, Jul 27-29. 2015, New Orleans, LA
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Casey, K.D., Waldrip, H.M., Todd, R.W., Cole, N.A. 2015. Nitrous oxide and methane emissions from beef cattle feedyard pen surfaces in the High Plains of Texas. In: Proc of World Congress on Integrated Crop-Livestock-Forestry Systems, Jul 13-17. 2015, Brasilia, Brazil.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2015 Citation: Casey, K.D., Waldrip, H.M., Todd, R.W., Cole, N.A. 2015. Measuring Nitrous Oxide and Methane from Feedlot Pen Surfaces: Experience with NFT-NSS Chamber Technique. In: Proc of Waste 2 Worth 2015, Mar 30  Apr 3. 2015, Seattle, WA.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Casey, K.D., Waldrip, H.M., Todd, R.W., Cole, N.A. 2014. Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Beef Cattle Feedlot Pen Surfaces in Texas. In: Proc of ASA, CSSA, & SSSA International Annual Meeting, Nov 2-5. 2014, Long Beach, CA.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Waldrip, H.M., Casey, K.D., Todd, R.W., Cole, N.A. 2014. Predicting Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Beef Cattle Feedyard Manure. In: Proc of ASA, CSSA, & SSSA International Annual Meeting, Nov 2-5. 2014, Long Beach, CA.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Todd, R.W., Cole, N.A., Hagevoort, R., Casey, K.D. 2014. Ammonia Losses from an Open Lot Southern High Plains Dairy during Summer. In: Proc of ASA, CSSA, & SSSA International Annual Meeting, Nov 2-5. 2014, Long Beach, CA.


Progress 10/01/13 to 09/30/14

Outputs
Target Audience: Dairy Farmers, Feedlot Managers, Researchers, Industry Representatives, Students, public Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Ad-hoc training has been provided to several Post-Doctoral Research Associates and Research Associates from a number of projects measuring GHG emissions using NFT-NSS chambers, on best practice guidance on chamber deployment, sample vial preparation and sample collection practices. A Research Associate and a Research Chemist have also been trained in the operation of a Varian 450 GC for GHG analysis. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Preliminary results from GHG and water use projects have been communicated to the scientific community through conference papers and posters as listed in the products section of this report. Results of the GHG emissions work at feedyards has been informally shared with members of the TCFA Research committee. Poster presentations related to the dairy water use project were made at the annual Ogallala Aquifer Project meeting in Lubbock, TXand the Southwest Dairy Field Day near Friona, TX. An invited presentation on Water Conservation Opportunities in the Feedlot and Dairy Industries was given at the Joint Annual Animal Science Meetings in Kansas City, MO incorporating elements of the dairy water use project and previous projects on water use in feedyards.. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Work will continue with field and laboratory studies of GHG emissions from feedlot pad surfaces using NFT-NSS chamber based techniques. Studies are transitioning from emission measurements to more strategic observations and interventionswhich hopefully will shed light on the machanisms of N20 emission from feedyard pen surfaces. Work has commenced on repositioning and reconfiguring the OP-FTIR systemto investigate theuse of just one FTIR unit and two orthogonally located IR sources to determine integratedemission fluxes from a feedyard. Measurements of water use at dairies has been completed and instrumentation removed from co-operating sites. Data analysis and report writing related tothe project are ongoing.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Research efforts in this project have remained focused on measuring baseline greenhouse gas emissions anddeveloping a mechanistic understanding of greenhouse gas emissionsfrom feedyards and understanding the water balance of dairies. Seven, one week campaigns to measure greenhouse gas emissions from the manure pack in feedyard pens were conducted duringFall 2013 at Feedyard-A (2 x 1 week), during Spring 2014 at Feedyard-A (1 x 1 week), and during Summer 2014 (3 x 1 week) at Feedyard-A. In each campaign, a recently emptied pen was obtained, the bases for ten NFT-NSS chambers were installed in two rows from the front to the back of the pen of the afternoon it was vacated. Measurements were undertaken once per day (12:00 CST) from three days following base installation for five days. There was considerable spatial variability in emission rates within each pen. Emission flux data from the studies is highly skewed and various statistical transformations have been evaluated for treating the datasets prior to statistical analysis. While the emission flux data for CO2 and CH4 can be made normal by log transformation, this transformation is unable to make the N2O data normal. Evaluation of other statistical transforms including the Johnson series of transformations is being undertaken for application to these datasets. The CH4 emission rate from the manure pack at Feedyard-A ranged from 0 to 3.74 and 1.60 mg/m2/hr while the N2O emission rates ranged from 0 to 14.09 and 3.72 over the two, one week study periods in Fall 2013. At Feedyard-A, the CH4 emission rate from the manure pack ranged from 0 to26.22, 210.95 and 36.52 mg/m2/hr while the N2O emission rates ranged from 0 to 43.09, 48.75 and 0.21 mg/m2/hr overthree, one week study periods in Summer 2014. Both CH4 and N2O emissions were generally temperature dependent and decreased with decrease in manure pack temperature. In the study conducted in Spring 2014, the bases were arranged in a circle and treatments were applied where the dry surface layer was removed from three bases and added to the adjacent corresponding bases, giving treatments of control, surface removed and surface added. Through the third day, N2O emissions where higher from bases with added surface material than the control bases which in turn had greater emission than the bases with surface remove, indicating thatN2O emission is being driven from the surface layer of the manure pack. The objective of this study was interrupted after day 3 by a rainfall event. Rainfall events also influenced the results of the last two days during the last two trials during the Summer 2014.

Publications

  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Jerez, S. B., S. Mukhtar, W. Faulkner, K. D. Casey, M. S. Borhan, R. A. Smith. (2013). Evaluation of electrostatic particle ionization and biocurtain" technologies to reduce air pollutants from broiler houses. Applied Engineering in Agriculture 29(6): 975-984.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Casey, K. D., G. R. Hagevoort, D. B. Parker, R. E. DeOtte Jr. (2014). Water Use at Texas High Plains Dairies. Electronic Conference Proceedings (abstract), 18th World Congress of CIGR. Beijing, China. Sept, 2014. Abstract No. 0508-005.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2014 Citation: Casey, K. D., J. M. Sweeten, and R. Hagevoort. (2014). Water usage at cattle feedlots and the potential for water conservation. J. Anim. Sci Vol. 92, E-Suppl. 2/J. Dairy Sci. Vol. 97, E-Suppl. 1, p217. [Abstract & Invited Presentation]


Progress 01/01/13 to 09/30/13

Outputs
Target Audience: Nothing Reported Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Ad-hoc training has been provided to severalPost-Docoral Research Associates and Research Associates from serveral projects measuring GHG emissions using NFT-NSS chambers, on best practice guidance on chamber deployment, sample vial preparationand sample collection practices. A Research Associate has also been trained in operation in the operation of a Varian 450 GC forGHG analysis. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Preliminary results from GHG and water use projects have been communicated to the scientific community through conference papers and posters as listed in the products section of this report. Results of the GHG emissions work at feedyards has been informally shared with members of the TCFA Research committee. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? Work will continue with field and laboratory studies of GHG emissions from feedlot pad surfaces using NFt-NSS chamber based ctechniques. Measurements of water use at dairies will be completed, instrumentation removed from co-operating sites and the project will continue with data analysis and report writing.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Research efforts in this project have remained focused on measuring baseline greenhouse gas emissions from feedyards and understanding the water balance of dairies. Five, one week campaigns to measure greenhouse gas emissions from the manure pack in feedyard pens were conducted during Spring 2013 at Feedyard C (2 x 1 week) and during Fall 2013 at Feedyard A (3 x 1 week). In each campaign, a recently emptied pen was obtained, the bases for ten NFT-NSS chambers were installed in two rows from the front to the back of the pen of the afternoon it was vacated. Measurements were undertaken once per day (12:00 CST) from three days following base installation for five days. There was considerable spatial variability in emission rates within each pen. Emission flux data from the studies is highly skewed and various statistical transformations have been evaluated for treating the datasets prior to statistical analysis. While the emission flux data for CO2 and CH4 can be made normal by log transformation, this transformation is unable to make the N2O data normal. Evaluation of other statistical transforms including the Johnson series of transformations is beingundertaken for application to these datasets. The CH4 emission rate from the manure pack at Feedyard-C ranged from 0 to 14.89 and 127.86 mg/m2/hr while the N2O emission rates ranged from 0 to 7.26 and 0.07 over the two, one week study periods in Fall. At Feedyard-A, the CH4 emission rate from the manure pack ranged from 0 to 116.13, 3.74 and 1.60 mg/m2/hr while the N2O emission rates ranged from 0 to 7.69, 14.09 and 3.73 mg/m2/hr over the three, one week study periods in Fall. Both CH4 and N2O emissions were generally temperature dependent and decreased with decrease in manure pack temperature. Two identical bi-static OP-FTIR units were located on the northern and southern edges of Feedyard-C covering the predominant wind directions measuring overall facility emissions. While good data with high reliability and percentage completeness was available from the southern edge unit for the period Jan – Aug 2013, persistent problems with the northern edge unit resulted in low data availability for this location. Due to lack of on-going funding to maintain and operate this monitoring system, data collection ceased in August 2013. While much has been learned about how to deploy and operate these OP-FTIR open path monitoring systems in the ‘hostile’ environment around a beef cattle feedyard, limited concurrent upwind and downwind measurement data has been able to be collected due to persistent reliability problems with the northern unit. The operating environment is ‘hostile’ to instrument system in that dust continually coats surfaces of the reflectors and lenses continually reducing returned signal strength, requiring frequent maintenance. Over the path lengths being used (300 – 500 m), very small changes in instrument alignment resulting from differential heating, soil movement and wind induced vibration result in significant deterioration in signal strength and quality. At two dairies on the High Plains, ultra-sonic water meters are used to measure the water use and effluent irrigation. The first dairy is a 3,400 milking cow, open corral design while the second is a 4,500 milking cow, freestall facility. The total water use expressed per milking cow was 336 L/hd/d on a monthly average basis (Range: 318 -353) at the open corral dairy while at the freestall facility, the total water use was 441 L/hd/d on a monthly average basis (Range: 364 - 516). The freestall facility maintains a full breeding herd on-site, whereas the open corral facility ‘buys in’ replacement heifers. Floating sensor platforms instrumented to measure lagoon surface temperature, deep lagoon temperature and lagoon depth to infer evaporation and seepage losses were deployed in August 2012 on the retention lagoon at the open corral dairy and the two retention lagoons at the freestall facility. Less data has been obtained from these measurement systems than expected because of instrument damage by wild animals, unfavorable seasonal conditions and lagoon maintenance operations.

Publications

  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Parker, D., J. Ham, B. Woodbury, L. Cai, M. Spiehs, M. Rhoades, S. Trabue, K. Casey, R. Todd, and A. Cole. 2013. Standardization of Flux Chamber and Wind Tunnel Flux Measurements for Quantifying Emissions from Area Sources. Atmospheric Environment 66: 72-83.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Cole, N.A., K.E. Hales, R.W. Todd, K.D. Casey, J.C. McDonald. 2013. Effects of corn processing method and dietary inclusion of wet distillers grains with solubles (WDGS) on enteric methane emissions of finishing cattle. In: Proceedings of the Waste to Worth Conference. April 1-5, 2013, Denver, CO.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Galvin, G., P. DAbreton, M. Atzeni, R. Ormerod, L. Fitzmaurice K. Casey, 2013, Comparison of TAPM and Observed Wind Speed Data on the Darling Downs. In Proceedings of 21 st International Clean Air and Environment Conference. Sydney, Australia, Sept, 7-11, 2013. Paper 18  USB Stick, Olinda, Australia.: CASANZ.
  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Accepted Year Published: 2013 Citation: Jerez, S. B., S. Mukhtar, W. Faulkner, K. D. Casey, M. S. Borhan, R. A. Smith. 2013. Evaluation of electrostatic particle ionization and biocurtain" technologies to reduce air pollutants from broiler houses. Applied Engineering in Agriculture 29(n): nnn-nnn. (accepted Aug 22, 2013)
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Casey, K. D., and V. K Vaddella. 2013. Greenhouse gas emissions from pen surfaces at Texas High Plains beef feedyards during fall. Proceedings of the 5th Greenhouse Gases & Animal Agriculture Conference (GGAA 2013). Advances in Animal Biosciences 4(2): 522. June 23-26, 2013, Dublin, Ireland.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2013 Citation: Casey, K. D., V. K. Vaddella, H. M. Waldrip, R. W. Todd, W. B. Faulkner. 2013. Greenhouse gas emissions from beef cattle feedlot pen surfaces in Texas during fall. ASABE Paper No. 13-1620819, St. Joseph, Mich.: ASABE. [Abstract & Poster]


Progress 01/01/12 to 12/31/12

Outputs
OUTPUTS: Research efforts in this project have remained focused on measuring baseline greenhouse gas emissions from feedyards and understanding the water balance of dairies. At two dairies on the High Plains, ultra-sonic water meters are used to measure the water use and effluent irrigation. The first dairy is a 3,400 milking cow, open corral design while the second is a 4,500 milking cow, freestall facility. The total water use expressed per milking cow was 311 L/hd/d on a monthly average basis (Range: 330 -273) at the open corral dairy while at the freestall facility, the total water use was 502 L/hd/d on a monthly average basis (Range: 735 -370). The proportion of the clean water inflow to the facility that was subsequently reused by irrigation to land was 29% at the open corral dairy and 43% at the freestall dairy. Floating sensor platforms were designed constructed and deployed in August on the retention lagoon at the open corral dairy and the two retention lagoons at the freestall facility. These platforms are instrumented to measure lagoon surface temperature, deep lagoon temperature and lagoon depth, to enhance our capability to infer evaporation and seepage losses. Four, one week campaigns to measure greenhouse gas emissions from the manure pack in feedyard pens were conducted during October, November and December 2012 at Feedyard C (3 x 1 week) and Feedyard A (1 x 1 week). In each campaign, a recently emptied pen was obtained, the bases for ten NFT-NSS chambers were installed in two rows from the front to the back of the pen on the Friday afternoon. Measurements were undertaken once per day (12:00 CST) from the Monday following base installation for five days. There was considerable spatial variability in emission rates within each pen. Nitrous oxide emissions tended to be higher at sampling positions near the feed bunk, the water trough and on the edges of manure mounds. Whereas, CH4 emission rates were higher from areas where the manure pack was deeper and/or moister including manure mounds and wet patches. The N2O emission data indicate a large variation between the two feedyards. The variation could be the result of different manure management practices at the feedyards with Feedyard-A harvesting manure from the pens twice per year whereas manure removal was performed annually at Feedyard-C. The CH4 emission rate from the manure pack at Feedyard- A was 5.3 mg/m2/hr while at Feedyard-C emission rates averaged 4.6 mg/m2/hr over the three study periods. Nitrous oxide emission rates were much more variable with the average emission rate at Feedyard-A being 14.56 mg/m2/hr while it at Feedyard-C, it averaged 0.21 mg/m2/hr. Both CH4 and N2O emissions were generally temperature dependent and decreased with decrease in manure pack temperature. Two identical bi-static OP-FTIR units were operated throughout 2012 on the northern and southern edges of Feedyard C covering the predominant wind directions measuring overall facility emissions. The reliability and percentage of good data from the southern edge unit has been high while the results from the northern edge unit has not being as good. PARTICIPANTS: W.B. Faulkner TARGET AUDIENCES: Federal and State Environmental Regulatory Agencies Dairy, Pork and Poultry Industry Associations Dairy, Pork and Poultry Producers Environmental Advocacy Groups Community Members PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.

Impacts
Baseline greenhouse gas emissions data collected from beef cattle feedyards will ultimately be integrated into emissions reporting workbooks and procedures providing more accurate inventories. Insight gained into the mechanisms of emission can be used to guide management practices to reduce emissions. A better quantitative understanding of the water balance of the dairies on the High Plains will provide more accurate data for regional water planning activities and allow producers to focus on making the most efficient use of water resources.

Publications

  • Casey, K. D., E. L. Cortus, A. J. Heber, A. P. Caramanica. 2012. Ammonia emissions from a pig breeder facility in the Oklahoma Panhandle. In Proc. Ninth International Livestock Environment Symposium. ASABE Paper No. ILES12-2245. St Joseph, Mich.: ASABE.
  • Mukhtar, S., S.B. Jerez, W.B. Faulkner, K.D. Casey. 2012. Use of Biocurtains and the EPI system to control dust and odors from poultry housing. In: Proceedings of the 2012 National Poultry Waste Symposium. October 23-25, Shreveport, LA [Paper]
  • Sama, M. P., L. Pepple, G.B. Day, D. G. Overhults, G. M. Morello, I. M. Lopes, J. Earnest, K. D. Casey, R. S. Gates. 2012. Calibration Drift Assessment and Upgrades to the Fan Assessment Numeration System (FANS). ASABE Paper No. 12-1337770, St. Joseph, Mich.: ASABE. [Abstract & Paper]
  • Casey, K. D., R. W. Todd, W. B. Faulkner, A. P. Caramanica. 2012. Nitrous oxide and methane emissions from beef cattle feedlot surfaces in Texas. ASABE Paper No. 12-1337597, St. Joseph, Mich.: ASABE. [Abstract & Poster]
  • Preece, S. L. P., K. D. Casey, and B. W. Auvermann. 2012. Hydrogen Sulfide Emissions from Open/Dry-Lot Cattle-Feeding Operations. Bulletin No E-620, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, College Station, TX.
  • Sakirkin, S. L. P., K. D. Casey, and B. W. Auvermann. 2012. Hydrogen Sulfide Emissions from Open/Dry-Lot Cattle-Feeding Operations. LPELC Information Sheet.


Progress 01/01/11 to 12/31/11

Outputs
OUTPUTS: Research efforts in this project during this year have focused on measuring baseline greenhouse gas emissions from feedyards and understanding the water balance of dairies. However, work has also continued on processing and analyzing data collected on baseline emissions of NH3 and H2S from feedyards and dairies. Three, one week campaigns were conducted during June and July 2011 at Feedyard A (two, one week campaigns) and Feedyard C (one, one week campaign). In each measurement campaign, a recently emptied pen was obtained, the bases for ten chambers were installed in two rows from the front to the back of the pen on the Friday afternoon. Flux measurements were undertaken four times per day (9:00, 11:00, 13:00 and 15:00) from the Monday following base installation for five days. Very dry conditions prevailed during 2011 in the Texas high plains and this was true for all measurement periods except the first at feedyard A during which a 37 mm of rainfall was received on the Monday night. During the dry campaign weeks, average N2O flux ranged from 0.3 to 1.2 mg/m2/hr which are comparable with those recorded by O. Aguilar et al.. Nitrous oxide flux rate was observed to increase by a factor of 5 - 10 between 09:00 and 15:00 in response to the diurnal increase (28 - 35C) in manure pack temperature which was measured 50 mm below the surface adjacent to the NFT-NSS chambers. Following the rainfall event at the first campaign at feedyard A, the peak N2O flux measured on Tuesday was 200 - 600 times what is had been for the same chamber on the Monday. The N2O flux rates declined rapidly over the rest of the week and were close to pre-rainfall event levels by Friday. This rapid increase in N2O flux following a rainfall event and subsequent quick decline back to event levels confirms what had been seen in the greenhouse core studies. It also reinforces the observation that measurement must be frequent to capture the impact of environmental events as infrequent, non- targeted measurements would completely miss the emission pulses observed. A second OP-FTIR unit has been installed at Feedyard C. This gives two identical bi-static units on the northern and southern edges of the feedyard covering the predominant wind directions. Installation of the second unit observed lessons learned from operation of the first unit and its performance has proven more consistent. Ultra-sonic water meters are now installed on the inflow and outflow lines at two dairies on the High Plains, the first is a 3,400 milking cow open corral design while the second is a 4,500 milking cow freestall facility. The data from each of these water meters is recorded by a directly connected datalogger, this data is downloaded at 15 minute intervals by a server running Loggernet. Communications from the server occur via an internet VPN and cellular modems to the meteorological stations on each site and from there via spread-spectrum radios to each individual datalogger. Using the data from the water meters, manual observations of treatment lagoon levels and producer supplied production data, water balances are being constructed for each site. PARTICIPANTS: K.D. Casey, W.B. Faulkner. TARGET AUDIENCES: Federal and State Environmental Regulatory Agencies Dairy, Pork and Poultry Industry Associations Dairy, Pork and Poultry Producers Environmental Advocacy Groups Community Members PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.

Impacts
Baseline greenhouse gas emissions data collected from beef cattle feedyards will ultimately be integrated into emissions reporting workbooks and procedures providing more accurate inventories. Insight gained into the mechanisms of emission can be used to guide management practices to reduce emissions. A better quantitative understanding of the water balance of the dairies on the High Plains will provide more accurate data for regional water planning activities and allow producers to focus on making the most efficient use of water resources.

Publications

  • Casey, K. D., E. L. Cortus, A. P. Caramanica, and A. J. Heber. 2011. Air emissions from a pig breeder facility in the Oklahoma Panhandle. In Book of Abstracts of the Biennial Conference of the Australian Society for Engineering in Agriculture (SEAg). Sept, 29-30, 2011, Surfers Paradise, Queensland, Australia.: SEAg. p 25. [Abstract].
  • Jerez, S. B., S. Mukhtar, W. Faulkner, K. D. Casey, M. S. Borhan, R. A. Smith. 2011. Evaluation of Electrostatic Particle Ionization and BioCurtain Technologies to Reduce Air Pollutants from Broiler Houses. ASABE Paper No. 1110550, St. Joseph, Mich.: ASABE. [Abstract & Poster].
  • Casey, K. D., L. A. McDonald, R. G. Hagevoort, D.B. Parker. 2011. Water use at an open-corral dairy in the Texas high plains. ASABE Paper No. 1111715, St. Joseph, Mich.: ASABE. [Abstract & Poster]. Hamilton, K. M., W. B. Faulkner, K. D. Casey, M. S. Borhan. 2011. Comparison of methods to measure greenhouse gas emissions from large area sources. ASABE Paper No. 1111529, St. Joseph, Mich.: ASABE. [Abstract & Poster].
  • Todd, R. W., N. A. Cole, D. B. Parker, M. B. Rhoades, and K. D. Casey. 2011. Daily, monthly, seasonal and annual ammonia emissions from southern High Plains cattle feedyards. Journal of Environmental Quality 40(4): 1090-1095.
  • Todd, R. W., N. A. Cole, K. D. Casey, R. Hagevoort, and B. W. Auvermann. 2011. Methane emissions from southern High Plains dairy wastewater lagoons in summer. Animal Feed Science and Technology 166-167: 575-580.
  • Casey, K.D., E.L. Cortus, A.P. Caramanica, and A.J. Heber. 2011. Air emissions from a pig breeder facility in the Oklahoma Panhandle. In Proceedings of the Biennial Conference of the Australian Society for Engineering in Agriculture (SEAg), Sept, 29-30, 2011, CD-ROM 100-107, Surfers Paradise, Queensland, Australia.: SEAg.
  • Jerez, S. B., S. Mukhtar, W. Faulkner, K. D. Casey, M. S. Borhan, R. A. Smith. 2011. Evaluation of Electrostatic Particle Ionization and BioCurtain Technologies to Reduce Air Pollutants from Broiler Houses. ASABE Paper No. 1110550, St. Joseph, Mich.: ASABE.