Ammonia emissions inventory of different management practices and dairy farm settings
Horacio Aguirre-Villegas, Rebecca Larson, Caleb Besson
Department of Biological Systems Engineering, University of Wisconsin –Madison
Background
Ammonia, or NH3, is a chemical compound naturally found in the environment. It can also be produced by human activities.
Methods
• Define 13 farms
NH3 can: have negative impacts on both human and environmental health be converted into a gas that contributes to climate change
FACT: Livestock manure is responsible for 60% of total ammonia emissions in the U.S. [1]
Objective: Quantify NH3 emissions from different manure management practices and dairy farms. The results will be used to develop a statewide emissions inventory.
• Model emissions from manure collection, storage, and application with the Integrated Farm System Model (IFSM) tool [2]
• Modeling will also utilize emissions factors from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) [3] and equations and emissions factors from other studies [4, 5, 6]
References
For more results!
Key takeaways
Manure storage and application have the highest NH3 emissions NH3 emissions can be lowered with
1. U.S. EPA. (2021). 2017 National Emissions Inventory Data. 2. Rotz, Corson, Chianese, et al. (2018). Integrated Farm System Model V 4.4. 3. IPCC. (2019). 2019 Refinement to the 2006 Guidelines on GHG Inventory. 4. Rotz & Oenema. (2006). Transactions of the ASABE, 49(4), 1139-1150. 5. Aguirre-Villegas, Larson, Sharara (2019). Science of the Total Environment. 6. Jokela, Magdoff, Barlett, et al. (2004). “Nutrient recommendations for field crops in VT”.
Results
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 O1 O2 O3 O4 O5 G1 G2 G3 Conventional Organic Grazing NH3 emission (1,000 lb /ton manure) Collection/barn Storage slurry/liquid Storage solid Application slurry/liquid Application solid Pasture/not collected Processing
Figure 1. NH3 emissions from 13 base line farms
Figure 2. NH3 emissions change under different management practices
different management practices
-60% -50% -40% -30% -20% -10% 0% 10% 20% 30% Compost AD+SLS Reduce Replacement Rate Empty Storage Once per Year Increase Milk Production Increase Feed Efficiency Increased Alfalfa Silage Increased Corn Silage Cover Manure Storage SLS AD+SLS+Injection Reduce Crude Protein Inject Manure SLS+Injection Percent Reduction from Base Case Ammonia Emissions Grazing Farms Organic Farms Conventional Farms
liquid manure under the soil through injection instead of the conventional, on top of soil method is an effective way to reduce ammonia emissions
Applying
Getting to the “root” of stress
Team Members: Anna Euerle, Ashley Gruman, Katherine Petersen, Rafael Larosiliere, and Yihong Deng
PI: Dr. Grace Lewis, Hub-funded faculty
Background
For the 2023 Dairy Management Inc. (DMI) New Product Competition, teams were asked create a new dairy product that is:
• Over 50% dairy ingredients
• Over 10% protein per serving
• Beneficial to mental, emotional wellbeing
Methods
Creating RootCurd:
The product needed to satisfy these objectives:
Reduces stress and promotes calmness
Marketable to Generation Z and other current market trends:
high protein international flavors clean ingredient label portable single servings
Results
The result was RootCurd!
RootCurd is a ginger and dairy-based sweetened pudding based on a dessert from southern China
infused with lavender & ginger
20g of protein per serving fridge shelf-life of 21 days
Milk mixture stirred and heated Juiced ginger root measured into containers Additional flavors, such as lavender, added to milk
Milk mixture continuously stirred and cooled
Milk mixture strained into containers with ginger Heat treated after mixture fully set
The resulting product went through sensory tests for sweetness, ginger flavor, firmness, and grittiness.
**Production of RootCurd is currently protected by a provisional patent (T240003US01) through WiSys
Based on sensory data, the texture and ginger flavor of RootCurd could be improved
Further development is needed
We would like to acknowledge the following individuals and groups for supporting us along the way: Dairy Management Inc., Karalyn Littlefield, the UWRF Animal & Food Science Department, and Idaho Milk Products. We would not have experienced the success we did without your contributions along the way.
Key takeaways
RootCurd is a unique snack created for a competition
More product development is needed to improve grittiness and ginger flavor
A plan for larger scale production is in development
Figure 1. Secondary sensory survey (n=15) Just About Right (JAR) scores for the sweetness, ginger flavor, firmness, and grittiness of RootCurd. A score of 3 is ideal.
Figure 3. Sweetness scores for RootCurd on Just About Right (JAR) scale with a score of 3 being considered ideal.
Figure 5. Secondary sensory survey (n=15) ginger flavor scores for RootCurd on Just About Right (JAR) scale with a score of 3 being considered ideal.
Figure 2. Secondary sensory survey (n=15) firmness scores for RootCurd on Just About Right (JAR) scale with a score of 3 being considered ideal.
Figure 4. Secondary sensory survey (n=15) grittiness scores for RootCurd on Just About Right (JAR) scale with a score of 3 being considered ideal.
Acknowledgments
(left to right) Anna Euerle, Katherine Petersen, Yihong Deng, Ashley Gruman, Rafael Larosiliere, and Coach Dr. Grace Lewis
Lactose-free ice cream: Evaluation of the economic feasibility and physiochemical properties
Nevaeh Bolinger*, Danielle Stroinski, Anna Euerle, Ashley Gruman
PIs: Dr. Grace Lewis (UWRF), Dr. Scott Rankin (UW–Madison), Dr. Charles Nicholson (UW–Madison)
Background
Many people avoid the nutritional benefits of dairy products because they can’t digest the milk sugar lactose
The enzyme lactase is created by the small intestine and is needed to properly digest lactose
Lactase hydrolyzes, or breaks apart lactose using water, into the sugars glucose and galactose
Methods
Monitored the breaking of lactose using lactase in ice cream mix at six different temperatures
Without lactase, people can experience a variety of uncomfortable gastrointestinal symptoms
Ice cream mix varied in the amount of sucrose, or sugar, to see if sucrose interfered with lactose hydrolysis
This doesn’t mean that lactose intolerance people can’t eat dairy products!
Lactose-free dairy products can be produced by adding lactase during manufacturing
Results
Objective
Find the best way to make lactose-free ice cream!
KEY:
0% sucrose
6% sucrose
12% sucrose
Figure A-F
Ice cream mix preparation
• Three mixes were prepared and portioned into bottles
Adding lactase
• Lactase is added to the mixes, which are separated by temperature
Glucose is a sugar that is made when lactase breaks apart lactose
The amount of glucose reflects how well lactase is working
A blood glucose monitor was used to test the mixes
Ice cream with lactase was made at Babcock Dairy Plant in Madison, Wis. Over 250 halfgallon tubs were filled for testing
Key takeaways
Lactose intolerant people can eat dairy products manufactured with lactase
Acknowledgements:
Temperature and sucrose concentration impact how effective lactase is on lactose
The mix shown in graph E had the most glucose, which means the least amount of lactose
Glucose concentration of ice cream mixes following lactase addition and held at varying temperatures.
Error bars represent ± StDev (n = 3)
A batch of this ice cream has been made and will be evaluated against traditional, lactosecontaining ice cream
This project was funded by University of Wisconsin Consortium for Extension and Research in Agriculture and Natural Resources (CERANR) program. Grace Lewis is Hub-funded faculty at UW–River Falls.
D-Galactose D-Glucose Lactose
5°C 15°C 25°C 35°C 45°C 55°C 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 0 40 80 120 160 200 240 [glucose] (mg.dL1 ) Time (min) 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 0 40 80 120 160 200 240 [glucose] (mg.dL1 ) Time (min) 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 0 40 80 120 160 200 240 [glucose] (mg.dL1 ) Time (min) 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 0 40 80 120 160 200 240 [glucose] (mg.dL1 ) Time (min) 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 0 40 80 120 160 200 240 [glucose] (mg.dL1 ) Time (min) 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 0 40 80 120 160 200 240 [glucose] (mg.dL1 ) Time (min)
C
F
A B
D E
0% 6% 12%
5°C 15°C
25°C 35°C 45°C
55°C
Photos from: Scott Rankin/UW–Madison
Dairy residue fermentation into designer (D)-lactic acid
Grace Enzien1,2,3, Timothy J. Donohue1,2,3, Daniel R. Noguera2,3,4, Victor C. Ujor2,5
1University of Wisconsin, Department of Bacteriology, 2Wisconsin Energy Institute, 3Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center, 4 University of Wisconsin, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 5 University of Wisconsin, Department of Food Science
Microbes can turn this waste into value -added products
Specific Aim:
Production of designer (D)-lactic acid (D-LA) from genetically engineered Lactiplantibacillus plantarum WCFS1 using dairy co-products.
Importance of D-LA:
D-LA is an important precursor to polylactic acid (PLA), a biodegradable biopolymer.
Why dairy coproducts?
.
Provides cheap source of the disaccharide lactose and other essential nutrients that benefit microbial fermentation. Benefits dairy industry as dairy coproducts need a sustainable and economically feasible solution for their disposal
Research team
UW
Current disposal practice of dairy co-products
Environmental impact:
• Dairy co-products are high in chemical oxygen demand (COD). Disposal in water effect aquatic life, while disposal on land will affect crop yield.
Economic impact:
• Due to being high in COD, disposal through waster water treatment is one of the only available options but is expensive.
Acknowledgements
Wisconsin
• Can also dispose of dairy-coproducts as animal feed, but not feasible in long run.
Batch culture experiments in Cottage Cheese Acid whey (CAW)
Batch culture experiment:
• Grew our wild type (WT) and mutant strain of L. plantarum WCFS1 in Cottage cheese acid whey (CAW) supplemented with MES buffer to control the pH
• Figure 5 above describes the experimental setup
• Analyzed growth, pH, fermentation products, and Lactose consumed
Future Directions
We are beginning experiments to grow our mutant in fermenters to test yield under industrially relevant conditions and to develop systems to purify the lactic acid from culture media.
Figure 1: Economy and waste correspondence. Adapted from DIH (Created with BioRender.com)
Figure 5: Experimental design of batch culture experiments of L. plantarum-∆ldhL1 and WT strains grown in CAW supplemented with MES buffer (Created with BioRender.com)
We acknowledge funding from the Dairy Innovation Hub, at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. We also thank Promoting Industry Collaborative Initiative (PICI) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, along with our industrial partners in the dairy industry; Agropur, Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin, Foremost Foods, Grande Custom Ingredients, Schreiber Foods and Wisconsin Cheesemakers Association. We also thank our collaborator J. P. van Pijkeren in the department of Food Science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. GE also thanks the Microbiology Doctoral Training Program.
Figure 4: Conversion of lactic acid (LA) into polylactic acid (PLA) (Created in ChemDraw/BioRender.com)
Figure 3: Conversion of pyruvate into each enantiomer of lactic acid (LA) (Created in ChemDraw/BioRender.com)
Figure 2: Disposal methods of dairy co-products (Created with BioRender.com)
Dr. Timothy J. Donohue WEI & GLBRC Director, Ira L. Baldwin Professor of Bacteriology
Foundation FetzerBascom Professor College of Agricultural & Life Sciences
Dr. Daniel Noguera
Distinguished Professor of Civil & Environmental Engineering College of Engineering
Grace Enzien Microbiology Doctoral Training Program student
Modifiers of ruminal fermentation and their potential to reduce methane emissions
Alice Peres Assumpção¹, Hilario Mantovani
Department of Animal and Dairy Sciences
Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions
¹
Methane is 25x stronger than CO2
• Modifiers of ruminal fermentation can be used to establish non-methanogenic hydrogen sinks within the rumen.
• Experiments were designed to evaluate the activity of potential methane inhibitors such as phytochemicals, direct-fed microbials, and oligosaccharides
How can we decrease Greenhouse Gas Emission from dairy farms?
• Evaluate the effects of selected inhibitors on rumen fermentation
• Emphasis on ruminal methane production, dry matter digestibility, and short-chain fatty acids (SCFA).
Results
• Methane production increased ▲ when GML, naringin, and quercetin were added compared to the negative control.
• Methane production decreased ▼ up to 25% when carvacrol, glycine, tannic acid, and methylene blue were added compared to the negative control.
The collected data was then analyzed using R Studio to determine what effect they had on methane production
peresmarques@wisc.edu
Source: IPCC (2014) CH4 emissions from the Agriculture Sector
Species Feed degradation ENERGY Microbial Protein Milk production CH4
Predicting forage quality and milk productivity in dairy farms using low-cost multispectral drones
Susanne Wiesner1,2, Paul C. Stoy2, Alison J. Duff3
1Department of Plant and Earth Science, 2University of Wisconsin River Falls, Department of Biological Systems Engineering, University of Wisconsin Madison, 3USDA Dairy Forage Research Center, Madison WI
Introduction
We assessed tradeoffs among soil health, greenhouse gases (GHG),
Milk Production and Yield
Corn yield decreased by ~10% when intercropped with alfalfa (corn + alfalfa).
Forage Quality & UAV data
Micronutrients and neutral detergent fiber (NDF ) are greater in perennial versus corn plots
temperature, the Normalized Red-edge Index (NDRE) using a multispectral UAV (Unmanned aerial vehicle), and forage quality, to predict milk production and soil health.
August NDRE showed the highest correlation with milk productivity. Greater NDRE indicated lower milk production in corn, but greater milk production for alfalfa and pasture.
High NDRE indicated low crude protein (CP ) and micronutrients P , K , Ca and Mg
----
Forage Quality, GHGs,
Health, and Milk
Predict
Soil
Belowground Eddy Covariance Vegetation Indices
Ca
Mg
P & K
NDF CP
&
NDRE
Corn Silage Alfalfa Kernza Pasture
Corn Alfalfa Pasture
Pioneering dairy research and teaching with cannulated cows
Drs. Ryan Pralle, Hub-funded faculty, and Krista Hardyman
School of Agriculture, University of Wisconsin –Platteville
What is a Ruminant?
A ruminant is a hooved mammal with a unique digestive strategy. In their gut, they have microorganisms that help digest their plant plant-based diet.
Rumen
The largest stomach chamber that accounts for 70-80% of a cow’s digestion. Microbial anaerobic fermentation occurs here.
Reticulum
This compartment helps separate large and small feed particles. The larger particles stay in the rumen, while smaller ones move on.
Proposal Progress Update
Objective
Ruminants have evolved a highlyspecialized four-chambered stomach for this relationship.
Omasum
This chamber has many folds, called laminae, that help the cow absorb water and nutrients.
Abomasum
Referred to as the “true stomach” because it acts similarly to a human’s stomach. Stomach acid helps digest remaining feed.
• The goal is to enable transformational research, teaching, and demonstration at UW–Platteville by developing a population of 12 rumen canulated cows at the Pioneer Farm Dairy Enterprise.
Proposal status
• Thanks to UW Research Animal Resources Center veterinarians, Dr. Hardyman has been trained in the rumen cannulation technique. To date, we have cannulated 5 cows.
Leveraging
• The research capacity built with cannulated cows was leveraged in a USDA–NIFA NLGCA proposal that was awarded to Dr. Pralle
This Poster
• As an extension of this project, we are developing educational materials for the public. This is important for Pioneer Farm due to the frequency of self-guided tours. We plan to hang an educational poster at the Dairy Center to inform the public on these cows and their value.
Rumen Cannulated Cows
These cows have a permanent hole, called a fistula, on the left-side of their body that allows for direct access to the cow’s rumen Rumen cannulated cows are a unique and valuable tool for dairy nutrition research
When the plug is removed, researchers can directly sample from a cow's stomach!
From the Barn to the Lab
This enables us to study the complex biology of the rumen, including:
• feed digestion kinetics
• fermentation chemistry
• microbes in the rumen and reticulum
Photos by Andrew McNeill, UW–Platteville
Recently, UW–Platteville acquired a suite of tools to conduct research utilizing the rumen cannulated cows. Faculty in the School of Agriculture will begin using these in 2024 for research and teaching. A future educational poster will show students performing these techniques. Placeholder images demonstrating the equipment are below.
The rubber device on the cow’s side is a cannula, a short rubber tube with a plug
