Air Quality and Agricultural Systems

Researchers work to understand and develop new processes, systems and solutions for improving the efficiency, performance and environmental sustainability of animal agricultural systems, including the impacts of air quality and climate change.

Challenges being addressed

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Hydrogen sulfide mitigation for dairy manure storages

Reducing hydrogen sulfide exposure risks with a microbial electrochemical system.

On-farm greenhouse gas sampling approaches

Using manure and other product sampling to anchor greenhouse gas emission estimates to farm practices.

National manure composition database

Providing up-to-date, aggregated information on animal manure composition in user selected tiers: spatially, temporally, and by animal system source.

Beef cattle facilities

Quantifying the range of environmental and air quality conditions in beef cattle housing, with bedded pack and deep pit manure storage.

Turkey housing

Design, operation and evaluation of a slotted floor and manure scraper system in turkey barns.

Biosecurity

Structural and operational biosecurity education and assessments to reduce disease outbreaks on farms.

Barn air disinfection

Develop microwave and non-thermal plasma based techniques to disinfect air contaminated by pathogenic microbes (e.g. avian influenza virus) in barns.