More in Manure Management

University of Illinois researchers Yuanhui Zhang and Lance Schideman, both professors in the Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, have combined their research efforts to develop an innovative system that uses swine manure to produce biocrude oil, grow algal biomass, capture carbon, purify wastewater, and recycle nutrients. Zhang has spent more than a decade researching the conversion of swine manure and biomass into crude oil. Schideman has done significant research in the area of integrated algal systems for wastewater treatment and bioenergy production....More

A new Virginia Tech publication provides tips for successful manure injection in no-till and pasture systems. The publication features a multi-state author team and discusses equipment types and residue, sediment, phosphorus and nitrogen losses, and odors, economics and carbon....More

The Iowa Manure Management Action Group (IMMAG) offers suggestions to help calm producers’ nerves and provide practical information to help prepare for a Department of Natural Resources (DNR) inspection. Ken Hessenius, Iowa Department of Natural Resources, says even though many producers will initially respond to the news that they are about to be visited/inspected by an environmental specialist from the DNR with panic and a strong desire to go into hiding, such inspections need not be something to dread. He suggests that producers look at the inspection as an opportunity to interact with the DNR official and work toward improving the environmental performance of the facility. “Visits or inspections from the DNR can be an important tool for you to use in the overall management of your farm,” Hessenius says....More

A spokesperson for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) told the Brownfield Network that the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) attempt to recall the CAFO (concentrated animal feeding operation) information it provided to environmental groups “is a little too late”....More

  Animal agriculture has become concentrated in many parts of the country with multiple operations in an area; each feeding large numbers of livestock, according to Wendy Powers and associates, Michigan State University Extension. With this consolidation has come concern over human health impacts of exposures to odors and gases associated with livestock production, including manure storage and land application of manure to croplands....More

This week during The Ag Minute, guest host Rep. Ted Yoho, (R-FL) discusses a recent development where the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released sensitive information about livestock and poultry farmers. Reports indicate that the EPA did not review the data to determine if it included confidential business information protected by federal privacy laws or withheld for national security concerns....More

Randy Spronk, newly elected National Pork Producers Council president, says the U.S. Pork Industry believes that Gina McCarthy, President Barack Obama's nominee to be the new administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency could overhaul the organization, resulting in a better relationship with the pork industry....More

Soil nitrogen left behind by Indiana's drought-stricken 2012 corn crop could mean that the state's wheat growers might be able to apply less fertilizer this spring, a group of Purdue Extension agronomists say. Corn plants stressed by extreme heat and too little water yielded less grain and left more nitrogen in soils than in normal years. Wheat has more potential to scavenge the nutrient than a subsequent corn crop....More

Owners and operators of livestock and poultry operations have a new tool to calculate the costs and benefits of installing technologies to treat odors and gases emitted from the facilities: a feedlot air emissions treatment cost calculator. The calculator comes with three how-to videos....More

The “Waste-to-Worth: Spreading Science and Solutions” conference will be held April 1-5 at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Denver, CO. A national network of agricultural professionals will address issues related to air, water, soil and climate. The conference will focus on scientific solutions for manure management issues and strategies for viewing manure as a resource and not a liability. Attendees from across the United States will present manure-related technologies, as well as share educational and regulatory approaches to manure management....More

Weather conditions play a major role when it comes to managing nitrogen fertilizer application in corn. The Iowa Soybean Association’s On-Farm Network has been gathering research via a corn stalk testing method known as guided stalk sampling (GSS) in order to more closely match corn nutrient needs....More