Animal Waste Management
-
"Animal Manure And Waste Utilization, Treatment And Nuisance Avoidance For A Sustainable Agriculture." Project leader: R. Zhang, Biological and Agricultural Engineering, University of California, Davis, California 95616. CRIS.¹
Summary: Effective wastewater treatment processes will help livestock producers manage and utilize animal manure as resources for energy and fertilizer production and enable water reclamation and recycling, leading to better economics of animal production, improved animal herd health and food safety and prevention of environmental pollution. The research findings will have significant impact on agricultural sustainability and environmental protection. Start Date: October 2001.
-
"Effect of Cattle Stocking Rate on Water Quality." J.C. Capece & M. Mozaffari, University of Florida, Archbold Biological Station, South Florida Water Management District.
Summary: Florida is the second largest cattle producer in the Eastern U.S., and runoff water from cow-calf operations have a significant impact on surrounding ecosystems, especially the Everglades. This project will measure and sample surface water runoff from plots stocked at different rates. Water quality analysis will focus on establishing nitrogen and phosphorus loading rates for each cattle stocking rate.
See also, Steinman, A.D., J. Conklin, P.J. Bohlen, and D.G. Uzarski. 2003. Influence of cattle grazing and pasture land use on macroinvertebrate communities in freshwater wetlands. Wetlands 23:877-889.
-
"Grassland Ecology For Productive, Profitable, And Sustainable Forage-Livestock Systems In The Northeast." Project Leaders: M A Sanderson ; D L Gustine ; R H Skinner; W L Stout. 1996 - 2001.
Summary: Grassland agriculture may be the best use of temperate, humid lands in the NE US because it appeals to certain perceptions of agriculture and offers an "environmentally friendly" agricultural solution to erosion, nonpoint source pollution, and other environmental problems. Grassland agriculture offers an opportunity for new farmers to start up with a smaller investment of capital, which could lead to revitalized rural communities. Basic ecology, plant physiology, molecular biology, and agronomy was used in analyzing the role of species and genetic diversity in grassland agriculture. Our approach: 1) Survey and quantify the botanical composition on indigenous and sown pastures at several sites representing a range of edaphic, climatic, and management variables. Conduct an experiment comparing species diversity in pastures established by conventional techniques versus reversion from abandoned cropland. 2) Use controlled environment and field research methods to quantify plant responses to abiotic and biotic stresses in grazed ecosystems. Molecular biology techniques will be used to determine the genetic variability of white clover populations. 3) Greenhouse, field, and pasture studies to determine how neighbors of different grass species and varieties compete with white clover and how temperature, moisture, day length, and grazing affect growth of pasture herbs. 4) On-farm studies to quantify seasonal productivity and animal utilization of forage from grazed pastures. 5) Survey paddocks on PA, NY, and VT farms by season and year for insect populations, clover virus infestations, and paddock characteristics.
Tracy, B.F., Sanderson, M.A. Productivity and stability relationships in clipped pasture communities of varying diversity. Ecological Society of America. 2001. Abstract p. 310.
|
|
Table of Contents
This online document is organized in three groupings:
|
