Agriculture Commons^™

Methane Production By A Packed-Bed Anaerobic Digester Fed Dairy Barn Flush Water, Sean Richard Thomson

Master's Theses

Packed-bed digesters are an alternative to covered lagoon digesters for methane production and anaerobic treatment of dilute wastewaters such as dairy barn flush water. The physical media of packed-beds retain biofilms, often allowing increased treatment rates. Previous studies have evaluated several types of media for digestion of dilute wastewaters, but cost and media fouling have setback commercial development. A major operational cost has been effluent recirculation pumping.

In the present effort, a novel approach to anaerobic digestion of flush dairy water was developed at pilot-scale: broken walnut shells were used as a low-cost packed-bed medium and effluent recirculation was replaced …

Physiological Impacts And Lactational Performance Of Dairy Cows Fed Brown Midrib Corn Silage During Dry Period Through Early To Midlactation, Alexandra Windley Kelley

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Developing solutions to the metabolic stress experienced by cows during the transition period is very important because it can negatively influence lactational performance. The objectives were to: 1) compare physiological changes through body weight (BW) and concentrations of non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA) and β-hydroxybutyric acid (BHBA) and 2) evaluate feed intake, milk production, and energy balance (EB) of cows fed brown midrib corn silage (BMRCS)-based diets when compared with conventional corn silage (CCS)-based diets during the transition. At 4 wk prior to parturition, 40 dry multiparous Holstein cows …

The Effects Of Implementing Cow Cooling For Oostdam Dairy: Benefits From Milk Production, Feed Intake, And Reproduction, Mark Oostdam

Dairy Science

Heat stress has a major effect on management decisions for a dairy operation because of the decrease in the cows productivity. Dairy cattle loose efficiency of economic production due to lower milk yields and decreased pregnancy rates. Milk loss due to heat stressed cows in California averages a loss of 293 kg of milk/cow/year(St.-Pierre et al., 2003), and with milk prices reaching record highs, dairies are losing out on increased revenue opportunity. Increases in reproductive infertility from heat stress also affect revenue for a dairy operation by reducing conception rates (Hansen 1997) and pregnancy rates, which causes the average days …

Compost Bedded Pack Barns For Dairy Cattle: Bedding Performance And Mastitis As Compared To Sand Freestalls, Elizabeth A. Eckelkamp

Theses and Dissertations--Animal and Food Sciences

Lameness and mastitis are the two most costly diseases in the dairy industry. Reduction of these diseases through housing and management is beneficial. Compost bedded pack (CBP) and sand freestall barns were compared in a long-term, on-farm study to assess the effect of housing on each disease. Another research objective was to evaluate the effects of ambient weather conditions on moisture and 20 cm internal temperature of CBP. Compost bedded pack moisture, C:N ratio, and internal temperature effects on cleanliness, mastitis, and bedding bacterial counts were also considered. The last research objective was to evaluate the economics of bedding material …

The Effects That Liquid And Solid Cattle Manure Have On The Water Quality Of Drainage Ditches In Putnam County, Ohio, Janelle Horstman

Honors Projects

Lake Erie has experienced harmful algal blooms with increased frequency since the mid-1990s due to excess nutrients from Rivers, such as the Maumee River, and largely agricultural watersheds. Nonpoint source pollution from agriculture contributes to eutrophication, algal blooms, and the degradation of water quality. This creates stress on aquatic fauna, reduced aesthetic quality, odor, and limits of the water for usage of drinking, recreation, and industry. This research paper asks what the contributions of having access to manure application records, soil records, and information about antibiotics have on what is known about manure management and antibiotic resistance, which has been …