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College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences

CFAES

Livestock Industry: May 2 Workshop in Columbus Tackles Ammonia, Nitrogen

April 14, 2011

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- This year’s Ohio State University agricultural air quality workshop will focus on the challenges and opportunities facing livestock and poultry producers when it comes to ammonia emissions and their connection with nitrogen fertilizer. It will take place Monday, May 2, at the Nationwide and Ohio Farm Bureau 4-H Center in Columbus.

Aimed at farmers, allied animal agriculture industries, agency professionals and regulators, the workshop will provide a fundamental understanding of ammonia emissions, air regulations, and the best management practices and innovative technologies available for the abatement and recovery of these emissions -- both to protect the environment and to create an alternative solution for fertilizer needs in farming.

Registration for the event, which will run from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., costs $35 before April 25 and includes lunch. Registration after April 25 costs $45. To register, download a form at http://go.osu.edu/Cn3, fill out and mail with payment to the address indicated on the form. You can also contact Amanda Meddles, OSU Extension, at 614-292-6625.

Ammonia emissions have become a significant concern as they impact public health, air quality and ecosystem acidity. Most ammonia emissions into the atmosphere in the United States (81 percent, or 2.4 million tons) are generated by animal production, and air quality regulations make producers vulnerable to lawsuits enforcing emission rules.

Despite these environmental and regulatory challenges, ammonia -- which contains nitrogen -- can also become a source of fertilizer to enhance the profitability and sustainability of animal-feeding operations. Workshop participants will learn about a variety of research-based strategies to reduce ammonia emissions and capture nitrogen for fertilizer use.

Topics include ammonia reporting requirements and procedures in Ohio, tools to estimate ammonia emissions, an overview of ammonia mitigation best management practices, impacts of various diets on animal excretion of ammonia, field tests of bio-filters at swine facilities, manure covers and management of manure land application to reduce air emissions, and use of wet scrubbers to recover ammonia emissions. Check out http://go.osu.edu/Cn3 for a complete list of topics.

Presenters at the workshop include air quality, livestock housing systems, animal nutrition and composting experts from Iowa State University, the University of Illinois, the University of Missouri, Ohio State and the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Certified livestock managers can earn three continuing education credits at the event.

Workshop sponsors include Ohio EPA, the Ohio Livestock Coalition, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service.

The 4-H Center is located at 2201 Fred Taylor Dr. on Ohio State’s Columbus campus. Directions are available at: http://www.osu.edu/map/building.php?building=191.

OSU Extension is the outreach arm of Ohio State’s College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences.

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Author(s): 
Mauricio Espinoza