To What Extent does the Gross Water Requirement for Feeding Beef Cattle Contribute to a Cattle Feedyard\u27s Ecological Footprint?

Ecological footprint analysis (EFA) has been defined succinctly (Rees, 1997) as estimating the total area of productive land and water required to produce on a continuous basis all the resources consumed and to assimilate all the wastes produced by [a] population, wherever on Earth the land may be located. EFA assumes that (a) all stocks of material resources, including water, air, nutrients and energy, are finite; (b) where a local deficiency in any of those stocks is overcome by commerce, the transaction merely displaces the ecological stress associated with harvesting and using that stock but does not eliminate it; and (c) humans are integral rather than external to the ecosystems in which they operate. EFA may be an intuitive means by which to monitor progress toward sustainability; to compare the ecological impacts of cities, life-styles, or technologies; or to weigh aggregate human demand against available supply. General EFA distills all significant ecological costs of an enterprise to a single unit of currency: ecologically productive land area per capita. Applied to a single industry, such as cattle feeding, a more practical currency would be land area per unit of annual throughput or productivity (e. g., ha hd-1). In this paper, we present a preliminary calculation of the ecological footprint of the cattle-feeding industry in the Texas Panhandle, with particular focus on the overt contributions of water-resource consumption to that footprint, as well as the more obscure contributions related to appropriation of water resources beyond the Texas Panhandle

Solid-Liquid Separation of Animal Manure and Wastewater

6 pp., 3 photosSolid-liquid separation is an alternative treatment for animal manure and process-generated wastewater. This publication explains the techniques, equipment, performance and economics of separators

Auditing and Assessing Air Quality in Concentrated Feeding Operations

The potential adverse effects of concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFO) on the environment are a growing concern. The air quality issues of most concern to CAFO vary but generally include ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, particulate matter, volatile organic compounds, greenhouse gases, and odors. Air pollutants may be regulated by federal and state laws or by nuisance complaints. The United States Environmental Protection Agency, and poultry, swine, and dairy industries recently agreed to the National Air Emissions Monitoring System to fund research on atmospheric emissions from production farms in the United States. Air quality regulations may be based on actual emissions, atmospheric concentrations, or human perception, or via limiting the size or location of CAFO. Measuring the concentrations or emissions of most air pollutants is expensive and complex. Because of spatial and temporal variability, concentrations and emissions must be measured continuously over an extended period of time. Because different methods or models can give different results with the same data set, a multitude of methods should be used simultaneously to assure emissions are reasonable. The “best” method to measure concentrations and emissions will depend upon atmospheric concentrations, cost, facility characteristics, objectives, and other factors. In the future, requirements for monitoring of air emissions from CAFO will probably increase. Reliable processbased models need to be developed so that emissions of air pollutants can be estimated from readily obtained diet, animal, facility, and environmental variables. Auditors will need to be trained in a variety of disciplines including animal sciences, chemistry, engineering, micrometeorology, instrumentation, modeling, and logic

Energy and Nutrient Recovery fromCattle Feedlots

Selective harvesting of manure can benefit cattle producers by creating a product of value. A tool that identifies locations of manure accumulation has been developed using a subsurface sensor (Dualem-1S, Milton, ON) and software designed for salt mapping (ESAP, Riverside, CA). The combination allowed the development of models to estimate higher heating value (HHV) of feedlot manure across a feedlot pen. Soil sample data from cattle feedlots in Texas and Nebraska were analyzed for volatile solids (VSs) then combined with the Dualem-1S apparent soil conductivity (ECa) data to produce models having correlations between associated ECa values and VS (r2 = 0.869, VS). A corresponding model is under development to estimate the moisture content of the collectable solids. The combined models allow real-time spatial estimates of HHV within a feedlot pen. These methods will allow direct harvesting of VS for use as a recoverable energy source through direct combustion or cocombustion

Energy and Nutrient Recovery fromCattle Feedlots

Selective harvesting of manure can benefit cattle producers by creating a product of value. A tool that identifies locations of manure accumulation has been developed using a subsurface sensor (Dualem-1S, Milton, ON) and software designed for salt mapping (ESAP, Riverside, CA). The combination allowed the development of models to estimate higher heating value (HHV) of feedlot manure across a feedlot pen. Soil sample data from cattle feedlots in Texas and Nebraska were analyzed for volatile solids (VSs) then combined with the Dualem-1S apparent soil conductivity (ECa) data to produce models having correlations between associated ECa values and VS (r2 = 0.869, VS). A corresponding model is under development to estimate the moisture content of the collectable solids. The combined models allow real-time spatial estimates of HHV within a feedlot pen. These methods will allow direct harvesting of VS for use as a recoverable energy source through direct combustion or cocombustion

Energy and Nutrient Recovery fromCattle Feedlots

Selective harvesting of manure can benefit cattle producers by creating a product of value. A tool that identifies locations of manure accumulation has been developed using a subsurface sensor (Dualem-1S, Milton, ON) and software designed for salt mapping (ESAP, Riverside, CA). The combination allowed the development of models to estimate higher heating value (HHV) of feedlot manure across a feedlot pen. Soil sample data from cattle feedlots in Texas and Nebraska were analyzed for volatile solids (VSs) then combined with the Dualem-1S apparent soil conductivity (ECa) data to produce models having correlations between associated ECa values and VS (r2 = 0.869, VS). A corresponding model is under development to estimate the moisture content of the collectable solids. The combined models allow real-time spatial estimates of HHV within a feedlot pen. These methods will allow direct harvesting of VS for use as a recoverable energy source through direct combustion or cocombustion

Solid-Liquid Separation of Animal Manure and Wastewater

6 pp., 3 photosSolid-liquid separation is an alternative treatment for animal manure and process-generated wastewater. This publication explains the techniques, equipment, performance and economics of separators

Composting Horse Manure

8 pp., 4 photos, 1 figureUncontrolled stockpiles of horse manure can be an unsightly, smelly and fly-infested mess. However, composting manure can eliminate the messy problems and provide a modest additional income for horse enthusiasts, operators of equine facilities and large-animal veterinary clinics. This publication explains what composting is and how to make compost from horse manure. It also provides a case study of a successful composting operation

Manure Harvesting Frequency: The Key to Feedyard Dust Control in a Summer Drought

4 pp., 4 photosSummer drought can make dust control in feedyards more challenging than usual. Supplemental water may not keep pace with daily evaporation. The key to dust control is managing the depth of dry manure in the pens by harvesting manure more frequently, and planning ahead when a drought is projected

The Association between Proximity to Animal Feeding Operations and Community Health: A Systematic Review

Background: A systematic review was conducted for the association between animal feeding operations (AFOs) and the health of individuals living near AFOs. Methodology/Principal Findings: The review was restricted to studies reporting respiratory, gastrointestinal and mental health outcomes in individuals living near AFOs in North America, European Union, United Kingdom, and Scandinavia. From June to September 2008 searches were conducted in PUBMED, CAB, Web-of-Science, and Agricola with no restrictions. Hand searching of narrative reviews was also used. Two reviewers independently evaluated the role of chance, confounding, information, selection and analytic bias on the study outcome. Nine relevant studies were identified. The studies were heterogeneous with respect to outcomes and exposures assessed. Few studies reported an association between surrogate clinical outcomes and AFO proximity. A negative association was reported when odor was the measure of exposure to AFOs and self-reported disease, the measure of outcome. There was evidence of an association between selfreported disease and proximity to AFO in individuals annoyed by AFO odor. Conclusions/Significance: There was inconsistent evidence of a weak association between self-reported disease in people with allergies or familial history of allergies. No consistent dose response relationship between exposure and disease was observable