Bioresource and Agricultural Engineering Commons^™

Validation Of A Lameness Model In Sows Using Physiological And Mechanical Measurements, Locke A. Karriker, Caitlyn E. Abell, Monique D. Pairis-Garcia, Whitney A. Holt, Gang Sun, Johann F. Coetzee, Anna K. Johnson, Steven J. Hoff, Kenneth J. Stalder

Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering Publications and Papers

The objective of this study was to develop a validated, transient, chemically induced lameness model in sows using subjective and objective lameness detection tools. Experiment 1 determined an effective joint injection technique based on volume and placement of dye using feet collected from 9 finisher pigs and 10 multiparity cull sow carcasses. Experiment 2 confirmed the injection technique in live animals and produced a transient clinical lameness in 4 anesthetized sows injected with amphotericin B (15 mg/mL) in the distal interphalangeal joints of the claw. Clinical lameness was assessed by a categorical lameness scoring system, and a postmortem visual ...

Impact Of Water And Nitrogen Management On Maize Actual Evapotranspiration, Soil Water Extraction And Crop Water Productivity In South Central Nebraska, Usa, Daran Rudnick

Biological Systems Engineering--Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Maize actual evapotranspiration (ETa), soil water extraction and crop water productivity was assessed for five nitrogen (N) levels 0, 84, 140, 196 and 252 kg ha^-1 under fully-irrigated (FIT), limited irrigation (75% FIT) and rainfed conditions. Field experiments were conducted at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln South Central Agricultural Laboratory near Clay Center, Nebraska, USA, in 2011 and 2012. The study site was irrigated using a GPS-guided seven-span variable rate linear-move irrigation system (Valmont Industries, Valley, NE).

Seasonal cumulative ETa ranged from 426 (rainfed-196 kg ha^-1) to 550 mm (FIT-196 kg ha^-1) in 2011 and from 401 (rainfed-0 ...

Subclinical Mastitis Inline Detection System, Chanci Nicole King, Ryan Hodges, Brittani Perez, Brandon Massengill

EURēCA: Exhibition of Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement

Exhibition of Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement

Design Of An Underwater Video And Gps Mapping System For The Exploration Of Streambed Aquatic Populations, William Barbour

EURēCA: Exhibition of Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement

This design project was initiated due to the need for an underwater video mapping system optimized for exploration along the streambed or riverbed and under rocks. Such a system would be used for population mapping of fish and other aquatic species. The system also needed to incorporate global positioning system data with the visual data. The current prototype successfully fulfills the requirements for underwater practicality and visual and GPS data collection. It incorporates a compact waterproof camera with Sony lens, two Fenix high-intensity waterproof flashlights for illumination, a handheld DVR for recording video, and a Garmin 60CSx GPS unit. The ...

Biomass Gasification: An Alternative Solution To Animal Waste Management, Hanjing Wu

Biological Systems Engineering--Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The overall goal of this research was to evaluate gasification of animal waste as an alternative manure management strategy, from the standpoints of syngas production and biochar application.

To meet the overall objective, the thermogravimetric characteristics of dairy manure, as a thermochemical conversion feedstock, were studied firstly. Then, gasification technology was applied to dairy manure and feedlot manure using a fluidized-bed laboratory-scale gasifier. In addition, biochar derived from the feedlot manure was examined for its effects on nutrient leaching as a soil amendment. Finally, a life cycle assessment was conducted to evaluate greenhouse gas emissions of two feedlot manure management ...

Variable Stage Humidity Control System For Poultry Hatcheries, Joseph `L. Purswell, Berry D. Lott, Matthew J. Darr

Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering Patents

The automated humidity control system controls the humidity within a setter hall. The system continuously monitors the existing setter hall thermal conditions and electronically compares the existing conditions to computerized data describing the targeted conditions. The system then takes action to conform the existing condition to the targeted condition.

Large Square Bale Biomass Transportation Analysis, Slobodan Gutesa, Matthew J. Darr, Ajay Shah

Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering Presentations, Posters and Proceedings

Transportation logistics are a critical factor in the optimization of biomass supply chains. A single 25 million gallon per year cellulosic ethanol biorefinery will require 18,500 semi loads of bales to be delivered to the plant. For a typical corn stover biomass supply chain, baled corn stover must be transported in two phases. The first phase is from the field to a storage site while the second is from the storage site to the biorefinery. All activities in-between these two points are connected and together they form the biomass supply chain. The goal of supply chain optimization is to ...

Single-Pass Baling Productivity And Grain Logistics Analysis, Keith E. Webster, Matthew J. Darr, Kevin S. Peyton

Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering Presentations, Posters and Proceedings

Corn stover harvest in Iowa was studied using a single-pass combine and baler configuration over the last three years. The combine experienced a productivity loss from pulling a baler through the field of 6-10% depending on field conditions and speed. The additional biomass harvested by the combine lowered productivity depending upon the harvest rate and yield of the biomass. At the 1.4 ton rate in 2011 fall harvest the average maximum productivity loss was 25-30%. The loss was experienced in experiments without factoring in grain logistics. A model was developed to look at the field logistics of the grain ...

Water Vapor Adsorption On Torrefied Corn Stover, Dorde Medic, Matthew J. Darr, Ajay Shah, Sarah J. Rahn

Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering Presentations, Posters and Proceedings

The equilibrium moisture content (EMC) of biomass affects transportation, storage, downstream feedstock processing, and the overall economy of biorenewables production. Torrefaction is a thermochemical process conducted in the temperature regime between 200 and 300°C under an inert atmosphere that, among other benefits, aims to reduce the innate hydrophilicity and susceptibility to microbial degradation of biomass. The EMC of raw corn stover, along with corn stover thermally pretreated at three temperatures, was measured using the static gravimetric method at equilibrium relative humidity (ERH) and temperatures ranging from 10 to 98% and from 10 to 40°C, respectively. Microbial degradation of ...

Effects Of Torrefaction On Particle Size Distribution Of Corn Stover, Jeremy Brue, Matthew J. Darr, Dorde Medic

Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering Presentations, Posters and Proceedings

Mild pyrolysis, or torrefaction, is a thermochemical pretreatment for biomass used to address these issues. In this process, biomass is heated in an oxygen-free environment at temperatures of 200-300°C. Torrefaction of biomass increases the brittleness of the material, thus reducing the energy requirements for grinding it. Grinding of biomass is important for applications such as pyrolysis and gasification, where particle size is critical for efficiency. In this study, torrefied corn stover and untreated corn stover were ground using a ball mill reactor. The ground material was then sieved to determine the particle size distribution of the respective materials. The ...

Can Bus Technology Enables Advanced Machinery Management, Matthew J. Darr

Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering Publications and Papers

A controller area network (CAN) provides the central communication link on virtually every modern agricultural machine. Tractors, combines, and other powered vehicles use CAN Bus technology to connect multiple individual electronic control units (ECUs) and exchange sensor and control data. The advent of CAN technology has improved vehicle diagnostics, simplified electronic control design, and enabled advanced implement management through standards such as ISOBUS.

Trust, Safety, And Employee Decision-Making: A Review Of Research And Discussion Of Future Directions, Gretchen A. Mosher

Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering Publications and Papers

Managing workplace safety in the technology work environment has traditionally focused on factors such as physical design, machinery operations and other hardware counter-measures. Cognitive-based human factors have not seen a strong emphasis by safety and technology researchers. This is beginning to change as investigators have begun to examine how the management of human factors could impact safety in the workplace. One of these factors is trust.

A second factor, safety climate, measures the perception employees have of the relative importance of safety within an organization. Although limited research has examined the association between trust and safety climate, little empirical data ...

Sediment Removal By Prairie Filter Strips In Row-Cropped Ephemeral Watersheds, Matthew J. Helmers, Xiaobo Zhou, Heidi Asbjornsen, Randy Kolka, Mark D. Tomer, Richard M. Cruse

Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering Publications and Papers

Twelve small watersheds in central Iowa were used to evaluate the effectiveness of prairie filter strips (PFS) in trapping sediment from agricultural runoff. Four treatments with PFS of different size and location (100% rowcrop, 10% PFS of total watershed area at footslope, 10% PFS at footslope and in contour strips, 20% PFS at footslope and in contour strips) arranged in a balanced incomplete block design were seeded in July 2007. All watersheds were in bromegrass ( L.) for at least 10 yr before treatment establishment. Cropped areas were managed under a no-till, 2-yr corn ( L.)-soybean [ (L.) Merr.] rotation beginning in ...

Modeling Cadmium Transport In Neutral And Alkaline Soil Columns At Various Depths, Zhiming Qi, Shao-Yuan Feng, Matthew J. Helmers

Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering Publications and Papers

Human health has been potentially threatened by cadmium (Cd) contained in sewage irrigation water. Previous studies of Cd transport in soils were mainly conducted using small soil cores with pH values less than 6. The objectives of this study were to determine the parameters of the convection-dispersion equation (CDE) for Cd transport in relatively larger columns with neutral and alkaline soils, and to investigate the parameters' variability with depth. The soil columns were 50 cm in length and 12.5 cm in diameter. Ceramic suction lysimeters were buried at depths of 2.5, 7.5, 17.5, 27.5, and ...

Estimating Soil Solution Nitrate Concentration From Dielectric Spectra Using Partial Least Squares Analysis, Giorgi Chighladze, Amy L. Kaleita, Stuart J. Birrell, Sally D. Logsdon

Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering Publications and Papers

Fast and reliable methods for in situ monitoring of soil NO₃–N concentration could help guide efforts to reduce NO₃–N losses to ground and surface waters from agricultural systems. While several studies have been done to indirectly estimate NO₃–N concentrations from time domain spectra, no research has been conducted using a frequency domain technique. Hence, the goal of this laboratory study was to estimate NO₃–N concentrations from frequency-response data obtained in a frequency range of 5 Hz to 13 MHz. Dielectric spectra of soil samples wetted to five different volumetric water contents (VWC ...

Developing A Restorable Wetland Index For Rainwater Basin Wetlands In South-Central Nebraska: A Multi-Criteria Spatial Analysis, Zhenghong Tang, Xu Li, Nan Zhao, Ruopu Li, F. Edwin Harvey

Community and Regional Planning Program: Faculty Scholarly and Creative Activity

It is always challenging for decision makers to prioritize wetland conservation programs at the landscape scale. This study employed a GIS-based multi-criteria spatial decision support tool that identified locations with the highest restoration potential for wetland conservation programs in the Rainwater Basin in south-central Nebraska. Five indicators were considered to assess wetland restoration potential: (1) Vegetation characteristics; (2) Soil characteristics; (3) Water volume released from hydrological modification of agricultural irrigation pits; (4) Topographical depression status; and (5) Habitat condition. The results suggested 192 (1.6% of the total) hydric soil footprints as the highest prioritized locations for future wetland restoration ...

Twin-Screw Extrusion Processing Of Distillers Dried Grains With Solubles (Ddgs)-Based Yellow Perch (Perca Flavescens) Feeds, Ferouz Y. Ayadi, Kurt A. Rosentrater, Kasiviswanathan Muthukumarappan, Michael L. Brown

Kurt A. Rosentrater

Increases in global aquaculture production, compounded with limited availabilities of fish meal for fish feed, has created the need for alternative protein sources. Twin-screw extrusion studies were performed to investigate the production of nutritionally balanced feeds for juvenile yellow perch (Perca flavescens). Five isocaloric (~3.06 kcal/g) ingredient blends, adjusted to a target protein content of 36.7% db, were formulated with 0%, 10%, 20%, 30%, and 40% distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS) at an initial moisture content of 5–7% db, with appropriate amounts of fish meal, fish oil, whole wheat flour, corn gluten meal, and vitamin ...

Environmentally Friendly Sizing Agent From Corn Distillers Dried Grains, Yue Zhang

Open Access Theses and Dissertations from the College of Education and Human Sciences

Distillers dried grains (DDGS), the coproducts of corn ethanol production, were used as a textile sizing agent on cotton, polyester and polyester/cotton blends in an effort to find inexpensive and biodegradable alternatives to sizing agents such as poly(vinyl alcohol) that are currently used. Although DDGS is an inexpensive, biodegradable and abundant co-product, it has limited industrial applications. DDGS is a mixture of carbohydrates, proteins and oil which are used as sizing agents or as size additives. The effects of DDGS extraction conditions on sizing evaluation parameters such as fiber adhesion, film properties, viscosity and fabric abrasion were studied ...

Evaluation Of Handling Equipment Sound Pressure Levels As Stressors In Beef Cattle, Christina M. Lyvers

Theses and Dissertations--Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering

Sound pressure level (SPL) is known to cause stress in cattle but is often overlooked as a potential source of fear for cattle when designing handling equipment. Current literature does not offer guidelines for the design of equipment with regard to SPL. It is, however, recommended that handling equipment should be designed to minimize the SPL during handling. The purpose of this experiment was to measure stress levels in a group of cattle which were subjected to a series of varying sounds in order to determine a design threshold limit for handling equipment. Treatments included two frequencies, 1 kHz and ...

Aerobic Stability Of Distillers Wet Grains As Influenced By Temperature, R. Michael Lehman, Kurt A. Rosentrater

Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering Publications and Papers

BACKGROUND: The storability of distillers wet grains (DWG) influences the economic, energetic, and carbon balances of fuel ethanol production, yet there are limited published data on the deterioration of DWG following its production. We used biogenic CO₂production to assess the aerobic stability of DWG incubated at three temperatures (12 °C, 22 °C, 32 °C) and compared CO₂production over time to the appearance of mold and changes in DWG color parameters.

RESULTS: CO₂ production and mold colonization indicate that at temperatures near 12 °C, the aerobic stability of DWG was high and that it can be ...