Use of dairy manure to supply crop nutrients is gaining broader acceptance as the cost of fertilizer rises. However, there are concerns regarding manure's effect on water quality. In 2003 and 2004, we measured sediment, NO3-N, NH4-N, K, dissolved reactive P (DRP), and total P (TP) concentrations in runoff from furrow irrigated field plots (6-7 irrigations yr(-1)) cropped to corn (Zea mays L.) i...

The research evaluated the feasibility of centralised pre-processing and pasteurisation of source-separated domestic food waste followed by transport to farms for anaerobic codigestion with dairy cattle slurry. Data from long-term experiments on the co-digestion of these two substrates was used to predict gross energy yields; net yields were then derived from full system analysis using an energ...

The adsorption of viruses in untreated flushed dairy manure wastewater (FDMW), anaerobically digested flushed dairy manure wastewater (ADFDMW) and groundwater to sandy soil was investigated. Batch adsorption studies showed differential adsorption of viruses in groundwater to soil. Less than 75% of PRD1 and MS2 added to groundwater adsorbed after 1 h, but greater than 95% of phiX174 and poliovir...

Concerns for microbial safety of surface water facilitate development of predictive models that estimate concentrations and total numbers of pathogen and indicator organisms leaving manure-fertilized fields in overland flow during runoff events. Spatial variability of bacterial concentrations in applied manure introduces high uncertainty in the model predictions. The objective of this work was ...

The objectives of this study were to estimate the prevalence of Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP) among deer and rabbits surrounding infected and noninfected Minnesota dairy farms using fecal culture, and to describe the frequency that farm management practices were used that could potentially lead to transmission of infection between these species. Fecal samples from cows and t...

Mixed plug-flow loop reactor (MPFLR) has been widely adopted by the US dairy farms to convert cattle manure to biogas. However, the microbiome in MPFLR digesters remains unexplored. In this study, the microbiome in a MPFLR digester operated on a mega-dairy farm was examined thrice over a 2 month period. Within 23 days of retention time, 55-70% of total manure solid was digested. Except for a fe...

For the long-term sustainability of the dairy industry in the Northeastern USA, manure nutrient application rates should not exceed crop nutrient removal once aboveoptimum soil fertility levels are reached. Dairy producers have shown a growing interest in brown midrib (BMR) forage sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench.) · sudangrass (Sorghum sudanense Piper) hybrids (S · S) as a more environment...

Waste streams such as municipal wastewater and animal manure contain organic materials and nutrients that can be converted and recovered for bioenergy and renewable fertilizer production. In the first part of this thesis, the anaerobic co-digestion of dairy manure with kitchen waste and chicken fat was studied for the purpose of increasing biogas production. The methane yields of co-digestion s...

Ammonia (NH3) is an important trace gas species in the atmosphere that can have negative impacts on human, animal, and ecosystem health. Agriculture has been identified as the largest source of NH3, specifically livestock operations. NH3 emissions from a commercial dairy in California were investigated during June 2008. Cattle were held in open-lot pens, except for young calves in hutches with ...

The effects of granules-inocula on the start-up of anaerobic reactors treating dairy manure were studied in a batch-fed reactor. The effects of start-up period and ratio of granules to feed were analyzed. Results indicated that the effects of start-up period could be described by Langmuir model, while the Extended Freundlich model could be used to model the effects of ratio of granules to feed ...