Digital Commons Network^™

Manure Matters, Volume 8, Number 2, Christopher G. Henry, Dennis D. Schulte

Manure Matters (newsletter)

Assessing Odor Risk

Odors from animal production operations are a major concern in rural communities. Pressure from the public and the potential impact on the rural economy has caused strong emotional conflicts. Currently livestock producers and urban planning officials have few tools to objectively evaluate scientifically based setbacks between livestock operations and residential areas. Conversely, livestock producers have few tools available to them to demonstrate how odor control technologies can reduce the risk potential of odor incidents.

Recognizing this concern in Minnesota, the Minnesota Legislature provided funds to their University to develop a tool to help predict offsite odor movement …

Manure Matters, Volume 8, Number 8, Richard R. Stowell, Christopher G. Henry

Manure Matters (newsletter)

The Economic Potential of Methane Recovery for Swine Operations: Projected Impacts of Various Public-Policy Scenarios

Economic analyses were performed on anaerobic digestion of manure from finishing operations. The main factors considered were herd size (1,000 head; 3,500 head; and 10,000 head) and method of financial support provided (cost-share program, no-interest loans, tax subsidies, and subsidized electrical sales).
Installation of a digester system is a significant investment that is currently very difficult to justify economically to Nebraska producers based upon consideration of readily quantifiable income and expenses, regardless of farm size. Swine finishing operations looking to invest in this technology would …

Nebline, January 2002

NEBLINE Newsletter Archive from Nebraska Extension in Lancaster County

Salt Valley Clean Lakes Project Benefits Area Lakes
Wood For Your Fireplace
Recognizing Living, Hazardous Trees
Needle Diseases of Conifers
New Arsenic Standards Won’t Affect Lancaster Public Water Supplies
Beginning Beekeeping Workshop
Considering Ultrasonic Pest Control Devices? Save Your Money
Keeping Backyard Birds Safe
Check Condition of Stored Grain
Fertilizing Crop Land With Biosolids
Testing Feed and Balancing Rations Saves Money
Farm Management Web Page Added
“Care and Feeding” of Your Septic Tank
Frozen Pipes
Prevent Home Fires
One Diet You Just Can’t Fail
Eating Healthy: Enjoy Nebraska Foods
Seniors Rewarded with Feast
Clean Hands Campaign
Clarice’s Column
Household Hints …

Review And Interpretation: Nitrogen Management Strategies To Reduce Nitrate Leaching In Tile-Drained Midwestern Soils, Dana L. Dinnes, Douglas L. Karlen, Dan B. Jaynes, Thomas C. Kaspar, Jerry L. Hatfield, Thomas S. Colvin, Cynthia A. Cambardella

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

Balancing the amount of N needed for optimum plant growth while minimizing the NO₃ that is transported to ground and surface waters remains a major challenge for everyone attempting to understand and improve agricultural nutrient use efficiency. Our objectives for this review are to examine how changes in agricultural management practices during the past century have affected N in Midwestern soils and to identify the types of research and management practices needed to reduce the potential for nonpoint NO₃ leakage into water resources. Inherent soil characteristics and management practices contributing to nonpoint NO₃ loss from Midwestern soils, …

Forage News [2002-01], Department Of Plant And Soil Sciences, University Of Kentucky

Forage News

• Forages at KCA
• Heart of America Grazing Conference
• 22^ND Kentucky Alfalfa Conference - February 21
• Pasture Aeration: Will It Pay?
• Upcoming Events

Phosphorus Soil Test Change Following The Addition Of Phosphorus Fertilizer To 16 Kentucky Soils, William O. Thom, James E. Dollarhide

Agronomy Notes

When applying phosphorus to soils it is important to know how much the soil test P changes with the addition of various rates. Soils are different in how they respond to varying rates of application, and only limited information is available for Kentucky soils.

Compensation For Herbivory In Wild Sunflower: Response To Simulated Damage By The Head-Clipping Weevil, Diana Pilson, Karin L. Decker

Diana Pilson Publications

Herbivore damage is generally detrimental to plant fitness, and the evolutionary response of plant populations to damage can involve either increased resistance or increased tolerance. While characters that contribute to resistance, such as secondary chemicals and trichomes, are relatively well understood, characters that contribute to a plant’s ability to tolerate damage have received much less attention. Using Helianthus annuus (wild sunflower) and simulated damage of Haplorhynchites aeneus (head-clipping weevil) as a model system, we examined morphological characters and developmental processes that contribute to compensatory ability. We performed a factorial experiment that included three levels of damage (none, the first two, …

Effects Of Management Practices On Grassland Birds: Eastern Meadowlark, Scott D. Hull

United States Geological Survey: Effects of Management Practices on Grassland Birds

Information on the habitat requirements and effects of habitat management on grassland birds were summarized from information in more than 4,000 published and unpublished papers. A range map is provided to indicate the relative densities of the species in North America, based on Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) data. Although birds frequently are observed outside the breeding range indicated, the maps are intended to show areas where managers might concentrate their attention. It may be ineffectual to manage habitat at a site for a species that rarely occurs in an area. The species account begins with a brief capsule statement, which …

Effects Of Management Practices On Grassland Birds: Wilson’S Phalarope, Jill A. Dechant, Douglas H. Johnson, Lawrence D. Igl, Christopher M. Goldade, Amy L. Zimmerman, Betty R. Euliss

United States Geological Survey: Effects of Management Practices on Grassland Birds

Information on the habitat requirements and effects of habitat management on grassland birds were summarized from information in more than 4,000 published and unpublished papers. A range map is provided to indicate the relative densities of the species in North America, based on Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) data. Although birds frequently are observed outside the breeding range indicated, the maps are intended to show areas where managers might concentrate their attention. It may be ineffectual to manage habitat at a site for a species that rarely occurs in an area. The species account begins with a brief capsule statement, which …

Effects Of Management Practices On Grassland Birds: Savannah Sparrow, David A. Swanson

United States Geological Survey: Effects of Management Practices on Grassland Birds

Information on the habitat requirements and effects of habitat management on grassland birds were summarized from information in more than 4,000 published and unpublished papers. A range map is provided to indicate the relative densities of the species in North America, based on Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) data. Although birds frequently are observed outside the breeding range indicated, the maps are intended to show areas where managers might concentrate their attention. It may be ineffectual to manage habitat at a site for a species that rarely occurs in an area. The species account begins with a brief capsule statement, which …

Effects Of Management Practices On Grassland Birds: Lesser Prairie-Chicken, Brent E. Jamison, Jill A. Dechant, Douglas H. Johnson, Lawrence D. Igl, Christopher M. Goldade, Betty R. Euliss

United States Geological Survey: Effects of Management Practices on Grassland Birds

Information on the habitat requirements and effects of habitat management on grassland birds were summarized from information in more than 4,000 published and unpublished papers. A range map is provided to indicate the breeding distribution of Lesser Prairie-Chicken in the United States and southern Canada. Although birds frequently are observed outside the breeding range indicated, the maps are intended to show areas where managers might concentrate their attention. It may be ineffectual to manage habitat at a site for a species that rarely occurs in an area. The species account begins with a brief capsule statement, which provides the fundamental …

Effects Of Management Practices On Grassland Birds: Henslow’S Sparrow, James R. Herkert

United States Geological Survey: Effects of Management Practices on Grassland Birds

were summarized from information in more than 4,000 published and unpublished papers. A range map is provided to indicate the relative densities of the species in North America, based on Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) data. Although birds frequently are observed outside the breeding range indicated, the maps are intended to show areas where managers might concentrate their attention. It may be ineffectual to manage habitat at a site for a species that rarely occurs in an area. The species account begins with a brief capsule statement, which provides the fundamental components or keys to management for the species. A section …

Letter From The Dean, Gregory J. Weidemann

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

No abstract provided.

Strategies For Controlling House Fly Populations Resistant To Cyromazine, Diana C. Crespo, Roberto E. Lecuona, Jerome Hogsette

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

The objectives of this study were to compare, from both biological and economic viewpoints, the impact of various control strategies and evaluate their effect on cyromazine-resistant Musca domestica L., and beneficial house fly pupal parasitoids on caged-layer farms (240,000 hens) in Argentina. The strategies evaluated were: chemical, chemical + cultural, and chemical + cultural + biological (integrated management). The products used were: cyromazine 1% and 50%, DDVP, azamethiphos with and without z-9-tricosene, lime, and the parasitoids Spalangia endius Walker and Muscidifurax raptor Girault & Sanders. In the absence of control measures, fly density increased quickly and the average parasitism rate …

An Innovative Soil Test For Predicting Nitrogen Mineralization, F. M. Hons, R. L. Haney, A J. Franzluebbers

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

A routine soil testing procedure for soil N mineralization is needed that is rapid and precise. Not accounting for N mineralization can result in over application of N, especially in soils with a history of manure application. Our objectives were to compare results from a recently proposed rapid lab procedure with i) long-term N mineralization under standard laboratory conditions, ii) actual forage N uptake from soil receiving dairy cattle (Bas taurus) manure in a two-year field study and iii) yields of various crops throughout Texas and Oklahoma. The rapid procedure is based on the quantity of CO_{2 …}

Soil Health And Global Sustainability: Translating Science Into Practice, John W. Doran

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

Interest in the quality and health of soil has been stimulated by recent awareness that soil is vital to both production of food and fiber and global ecosystems function. Soil health, or quality, can be broadly defined as the capacity of a living soil to function, within natural or managed ecosystem boundaries, to sustain plant and animal productivity, maintain or enhance water and air quality, and promote plant and animal health. Soil quality and health change over time due to natural events or human impacts. They are enhanced by management and land-use decisions that weigh the multiple functions of soil …

Soil Health As An Indicator Of Sustainable Management, John W. Doran, Stamatis Stamatiadis, John Haberern

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

Population growth, a widening gap between the rich and poor, environmental degradation, and a re-evaluation of energy use and alternatives will shape life in the 21st century. We will be challenged to increase food supplies for a global population one-and-a-half to two times its current size. But as agricultural systems grow to meet the demands of more people, increased pressure will be placed on our natural resources: competition for land, water and energy resources from both urban and industrial sectors becomes more acute and the available land base remains static or shrinks. Under current practices increased food production will greatly …

Recycled Paper Products As Substitutes For Gelling Agent In Screwworm (Diptera: Calliphoridae) Larval Diet, M. F. Chaudhury, L. Alfredo Alvarez, L. Lopez Velazquez

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

Absorbent recycled paper products were tested and compared with a sodium polyacrylate gelling agent, Aquatain, for solidifying larval diets of the screwworm, Cochliomyia hominivorax (Coquerel). A recycled newsprint product, Terra-Mulch, when mixed with water and dietary ingredients produced a diet medium of homogeneous texture that supported larval growth and development comparable to the standard diet prepared with the gelling agent. Biological yields as calculated from number of pupae per tray from both the diets were similar. Three other types of recycled paper products were tested. Although less homogeneous in texture, these diets were as good as the diet with Terra-Mulch. …

Discovery: The Student Journal Of Dale Bumpers College Of Agricultural, Food And Life Sciences - Volume 3 2002, Several Authors

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

No abstract provided.

Contents, Discovery Editors

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

No abstract provided.

Instructions For Authors, Discovery Editors

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

No abstract provided.

Declared Plant Control Handbook Recommendations For The Control Of Declared Plants In Western Australia, John R. Peirce, Rachael A. Pratt

Biosecurity published reports

Sixth Edition.

Reviewed October 2005.

Plants may be "declared" by the Agriculture Protection Board under the Agriculture and Related Resources Protection Act 1976.If a plant is declared, all landholders are obliged to control that plant on their properties. Declarations specifies a category, or categories, for each plant according to the control strategies or objectives which the Agriculture Protection Board believes are appropriate in a particular place.

Among the factors considered in categorising declared plants are:

* the impact of the plant on individuals, agricultural production and the community in general,

* whether it is already established in the area, and …

Bollworm (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) Ecology On Genetically Engineered Bollgard And Bollgard Ii Cottons, Jeffrey Gore

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The ecology of bollworms, Helicoverpa zea (Boddie), on Bollgard and Bollgard II cottons, Gossypium hirsutum L., was studied in field and laboratory experiments. Neonate bollworm larvae were placed on selected components of cotton squares and flowers from non-Bollgard, Bollgard, and Bollgard II cotton varieties. Larval survival was higher on flower anthers and square anthers than on other floral parts for each cultivar. Bollworm survival was lowest on all Bollgard II floral structures. To evaluate larval behavior on Bollgard cotton, first instar bollworms were placed on terminals of non-flowering and flowering cotton plants. Larvae were recovered lower on Bollgard cotton than …

Delayed Phytotoxicity Syndrome In Louisiana Rice Caused By The Use Of Thiobencarb Herbicide, Chiliang Chen

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Thiobencarb (TB), widely used for the control of broadleaf weeds, grasses, and sedges in rice fields, is considered safe for rice plants when used at recommended rates. TB's reductive dechlorination product, dechlorinated thiobencarb (DTB), is highly toxic to rice. TB is naturally transformed into DTB in field soils in certain areas in Japan and the United States. The resultant syndrome is called delayed phytotoxicity syndrome (DPS). This research was conducted to characterize DPS in Louisiana, to compare the toxicity of TB and DTB to rice, to determine uptake and retention rates of TB and DTB by rice, to confirm that …

Fire Effects On Three Trophic Levels In A Central Arkansas Grassland, Laura Skelton, Amy Polk, Brenna C. Fitzgerald, Matthew D. Moran

Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science

We studied the effect of a late growing-season fire on the plant and foliar arthropod communities in a naturally occurring grassland. In central Arkansas, these grasslands are common on south-facing slopes where shallow soils and hot/dry weather conditions during the summer cannot support the growth of a forest community. Patches of grassland were burned in the autumn (4 November, late growing season), often the time of natural fires in Arkansas, and compared to unburned areas. Fire increased the biomass of forbs and decreased the biomass of grasses, although overall biomass was not different between treatments. Among the foliar arthropods, herbivores …

Growing Rice Grain With Controlled Cadmium Concentrations, Urszula Kukier, Rufus L. Chaney

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

Two solution studies were conducted a) to investigate the uptake of zinc (Zn) and cadmium (Cd) by rice plants (Oryza sativa L.) and interaction between these elements, and b) to determine experimental conditions for growing rice grain with desired Cd concentration for an animal feeding study. In both studies, free metal activities of cadmium and cationic microelements were buffered by an excess of chelating agents. The first study was a factorial design with two Zn levels (1.0 and 3.89 μM) and four Cd levels (0.81, 1.44, 2.56 and 4.55 μM) in the solution. In the second study, rice was …

Use Of Nonsettable Eggs To Evaluate Turkey Hen Fertility, M. R. Bakst, S. Mcgary, I. Estevez, T. Knapp

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

The use of nonsettable eggs (checked, cracked) to perform fresh egg breakouts to estimate true fertility and to assess the rate of sperm penetration of the perivitelline layer overlying the germinal disc was evaluated. Germinal discs and the perivitelline layer overlying the germinal disc were accessible for assessments. The stage of blastodermal development positively correlated (r = 0.65, P < 0.0001) with eggshell thickness. It was also determined that the perivitelline layer of nonsettable eggs could be isolated and stained to determine the presence or absence of sperm holes. True fertility of nonsettable eggs (checked and cracked only) and settable eggs was 90 and 95%, respectively. It was concluded that checked and cracked eggs could be used to estimate the true fertility of a flock.

Phenotypic Traits As Reliable Indicators Of Fertility In Male Broiler Breeders, S. Mcgary, I. Estevez, M. R. Bakst, D. L. Pollock

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

Genetic selection procedures applied to improve broiler performance may negatively impact the subsequent reproductive efficiency of breeders, particularly in males. Identification of traits that reliably indicate individual male fertility would facilitate selection for reproduction. We hypothesized that physical traits, such as comb area, relative testicular weight, and testicular weight asymmetry, may correlate with fertility in two male-selected primary broiler breeder strains (A and B). Thirty males per strain, individually housed with an average of 10 females, were evaluated at five age periods within the 30-to-50-wk breeding cycle. Flock fertility by candling eggs at Day 19 of incubation and sample fertility …

Mineralization Of N In Swine Manure Amended Soils As A Function Of Soil Temperature, Moisture, And Texture, Brian J. Wienhold, Bahman Eghball

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

Manure can serve as an effective fertilizer source if used properly or can lead to environmental contamination if used improperly. Proper use of manure requires some know ledge of the availability of nutrients contained in the manure. To better understand how soil and environmental variables effect N mineralization in manure amended soils a laboratory study was conducted to measure N-mineralization rates as a function of soil texture, water regime, and temperature. This study is part of a national effort to develop a model to predict nutrient availability from various manure sources across a range of soil and environmental conditions. There …

A Personal Account Of Creating The Sterile Insect Technique To Eradicate The Screwworm From Curacao, Florida And The Southeastern United States, Alfred H. Baumhover

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

The history is recounted of developing the sterile insect technique to eradicate the screwworm, Cochliomyia hominivorax (Coquerel), from the Caribbean island of Curacao, Florida and the southeastern U.S. Observations of screwworm biology and challenges faced in conducting these eradication projects are described by the author who worked on all aspects of the research and field operations. Eradication was first demonstrated on Curacao, essentially a 170 mi² outdoor laboratory. The population dynamics of the wild screwworm was determined and overflooding ratios and dispersal patterns essential for population suppression were defined. Eradication was achieved with minimal resources by attacking the pest …