NCCC9: MWPS: Research and Extension Educational Materials

(Multistate Research Coordinating Committee and Information Exchange Group)

Status: Active

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SAES-422 Reports

Annual/Termination Reports:

[09/10/2019] [08/13/2020] [09/24/2021] [09/14/2022]

Date of Annual Report: 09/10/2019

Report Information

Annual Meeting Dates: 05/23/2019 - 05/23/2019
Period the Report Covers: 05/01/2018 - 04/30/2019

Participants

2018-19 Officers
Past Chair – Erin Cortus, South Dakota State University
Chair – Morgan Hayes, University of Kentucky
Vice Chair – Teng Lim, University of Missouri-Columbia
Secretary – Daniel Andersen, Iowa State University
Administrative Advisor – John Lawrence, Iowa State University
NIFA Representative – Steven Thomson, National Program Leader for Agricultural/Biosystems Engineering
Official Participants
Richard Cooke, University of Illinois
Erin Cortus, University of Minnesota
Jay Harmon, Iowa State University
Morgan Hayes, University of Kentucky
Kenneth Hellevang, North Dakota State University
Steven Hoff, Iowa State University
Kevin Janni, University of Minnesota
Rebecca Larson, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Teng Lim, University of Missouri-Columbia
Jiqin Ni, Purdue University
Tom Scherer, North Dakota State University
Amy Millmier Schmidt, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Lingying Zhao, Ohio State University
Zifei Liu, Kansas State University
Dana Kirk, Michigan State University
Steven Safferman, Michigan State University
Unofficial Participants
Daniel Andersen, Iowa State University
Kevin Erb, University of Wisconsin
Joseph Harner, Kansas State University
Shafiqur Rahman, North Dakota State University
Richard Stowell, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Joe Zulovich, University of Missouri-Columbia

Brief Summary of Minutes

Business Meeting

The accomplishments of NCCC9 committee this year:

MWPS, with the collaborative efforts of authors from Iowa State University, University of Kentucky, North Dakota State University, Purdue University, and Oklahoma State University, has released the new edition of Grain Drying, Handling, and Storage Handbook: MWPS-13, 2017. This book was professionally edited, illustrated, designed, and distributed through MWPS. The publication was recognized as an outstanding educational aid by the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers with an ASABE Educational Aids Blue Ribbon Award. Sales have been strong with an additional 1,000 copies ordered in 2019.

The 5^th edition of Wiring Handbook under review, with specific revisions related to code updates.

MWPS has been working to market on Facebook, advertised in ASABE Resources, and improving the MWPS.org website.

A MWPS committee has put together a draft for the new publication, “Manure Processing and Utilization” (MWPS 18-4 1st Edition), which is a collaboration among extension engineers from Wisconsin, Minnesota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Missouri, North Dakota, Indiana, Texas, and Kansas.

The University of Minnesota produced a two-page factsheet on practices to identify biosecurity hazards that could lead to potential disease transmission between poultry facilities. A biosecurity trailer is being used to demonstrate concepts and is very active with 4-H groups.

Manure and Soil Health Program (MaSH) Working Group focused on understanding and promoting the role of manure in improving soil health. The team includes University and USDA personnel from Nebraska, Iowa, South Dakota, North Dakota, Michigan, Indiana, Kansas, Missouri, Minnesota and Wisconsin. Farmers are increasingly aware of the importance of soil quality.

The new project proposal was developed and emphasize the importance of “collaboration”, and includes feed, fiber, and energy. Objectives from the proposal were discussed.

Neslihan Akdeniz was elected to be the next secretary, which starts October 1.

Members discussed options for a face-to-face meeting in 2020. ASABE (Omaha, July) was selected to encourage higher participation.

Members discussed that there are many webinars nowadays, and there have been low attendance issue. A resolution was suggested that three webinars on topics of interest will be held quarterly throughout the year

Ongoing projects from the various states were discussed with areas of emphasis including biosecurity (African Swine Fever) and disease transmission. The concept of a demonstration trailer which is being used in Minnesota to demonstrate Danish entries was discussed as a potential model to follow.

Grain bin storage and in particular failure was discussed. What can states do to work together on this issue. How can we provide expertise on evaluating the bins after material is removed, safety hazards related to removing the grain, and what to do with the composted grain? A discussion on failure of livestock buildings due to heavy winter snow loads was also held.

Ohio and Iowa have ongoing projects on gas and dust removal from air streams coming from livestock facilities.

Potential collaboration on ASF and biosecurity and preparedness was discussed as an area of need.

New Facilities and Equipment

Iowa State University is planning construction of a new feed mill and grain center, a new poultry teaching and research farm, and a new swine teaching farm.

South Dakota confirmed approval of state appropriation (funds) for a new Precision Ag building. The building project also received private donations from the South Dakota Corn Utilization Council, Raven Industries and others. Construction is expected to commence in Fall of 2019.

Accomplishments

<h1><a name="_Toc18941299"></a>Unique Project-Related Findings</h1> The recently distributed white paper demonstrated some agricultural engineering extension topics with critically low personnel. There is also a shortage of faculty providing education and technical assistance on the high-demand engineering topic of machinery and precision agriculture. Some additional unmet needs across the region include engineering related to livestock facilities, irrigation, structures both agricultural and residential, disaster preparation and response, and agricultural safety. Many topic areas are covered by engineers with only a small fraction (less than 30%) of their time allocated to the topic. It is unlikely that an extension engineer can conduct an appropriate extension program with such a small percentage of time allocated to the topic. Exacerbating these concerns is the fact that about 20% of the tenured extension engineering FTEs in the North Central Region will be retiring in less than five years. A Missouri team correlation soil health variables and land application of manure and found no significant difference between the fields with and without manure application for carbons, bulk density, and water stable aggregates; while a significant difference was found only for phosphorus. However, the manure applications increased active carbon contents, phosphorus, potentially mineralizable nitrogen, and water stable aggregate values of certain counties. When comparing data of controlled experimental field plots, the effects of the manure land application clearly resulted in higher soil organic carbon, active carbon, phosphorus, and water stable aggregates, and lower bulk density. These findings confirm that the benefits of manure application in increasing soil organic materials and improving soil aggregate ability.   <h1><a name="_Toc18941300"></a>Accomplishment Summaries</h1>   Members of NCCC-09 continue to participate in numerous collaborative efforts within the region. Current projects by NCCC-09 active work teams cover the topic areas of manure management, grain drying and energy efficiency, soil and water, and animal agriculture and facilities. Teams of NCCC-09 participants contributing to each of the projects in these topic areas met regularly over the past year and continue to meet monthly by conference call to work on developing extension materials that are applicable throughout the region, increasing collaboration and productivity, strengthening unified messages, and reducing the resource demand on extension personnel. Specific collaborations within the NCCC-09 group include the endeavors described in the following pages. The efforts of all involved with MWPS-13 (Grain Drying, Handling, and Storage Handbook: MWPS-13, 2017) were awarded the ASABE Educational Aids Blue Ribbon Award for Excellence, 2018. A MWPS committee has put together a draft for the new publication, “Manure Processing and Utilization” (MWPS 18-4 1st Edition), which is a collaboration among extension engineers from Wisconsin, Minnesota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Missouri, North Dakota, Indiana, Texas, and Kansas. <h2>NCCC-09 Conference Calls</h2> NCCC-09 plans to host conference calls on September 5th, December 5th, and May 14th. In 2019 and 2020. Prior to the group teleconference, the officers and invited members participated in an executive conference to plan for a survey to determine potential meeting date and location, and prepare for the group teleconference. Teleconferences will opportunities for members to provide project updates, discuss MWPS ideas, announce new RFPs, and initiate potential collaborations for extension activities, publications, and proposals, and encourage more collaboration and foster communication. <h2>MWPS Publications</h2> The MWPS-13 Handbook entitled “Grain Drying, Handling and Storage Handbook”, was published in July 2017. A grant from NC-213 was awarded to aid in this effort. The publication received an American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers Educational Aids Blue Ribbon. The book has been a success and an additional 1000 copies have been ordered. The leadership author group included Dirk Maier (ISU), Sam McNeill (University of Kentucky), and Kenneth Hellevang (NDSU). Others engaged were Carol Jones (OSU), Klein Ileleji (Purdue), Kingsly Ambrose (Purdue) and Mark Purschwitz (University of Kentucky). A broad network of Extension service personnel and Ag Program Leaders; grain drying and storage companies and dealers; grain engineers across the U.S.; national and local commodity groups and associations; and selected regional and national media aided in the national distribution of grain drying and storage information originating from NDSU. MWPS publications are used extensively in extension programs and college courses including, but not limited to: <ul> <li>Comprehensive Nutrient Management Plan materials are used for technical service provider training in Illinois.</li> <li>MWPS-1 and MWPS-13 are both used as textbooks for a course at the University of Nebraska.</li> <li>MWPS-18 is used as a text at the University of Minnesota and South Dakota State University</li> <li>MWPS-18-S1, S2, S3 used at South Dakota State University</li> <li>MWPS-16 is the textbook for a course at the University of Illinois.</li> <li>MWPS-66: Cow-Calf Production is used as a textbook at Iowa State University and Purdue University</li> <li>MWPS-13: Grain Drying is used at North Dakota State University</li> <li>MWPS-6: Beef Housing is used at North Dakota State University</li> <li>MWPS-7: Dairy Freestall is used at University of Wisconsin</li> </ul> NCCC-09 members coordinate the review and revision of existing Midwest Plan Service (MWPS) publications and the writing of new materials. The “Manure Group” within the NCCC-09 committee continues to work on a new publication about manure handling and application practices to compliment the MWPS-18 series. Existing MWPS publications warranting revisions were prioritized at the annual meeting and select new publications were identified for development. <h2>Ventilation of Swine Production Housing</h2> Extension engineers and animal scientists in Iowa and Ohio continue to deliver workshops for barn managers and pig caretakers to address the need for improved understanding and management of mechanical ventilation systems in swine buildings. A mobile ventilation laboratory was used to demonstrate mechanical ventilation principles, fan interactions, inlet behaviors and controller performance.  Funds for the mobile lab were provided by the pork producer organizations. The team conducted seven ventilation workshops in Iowa and Ohio. Ongoing research in each state is looking at ways to mitigate air emissions of dust, ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, and odor from these facilities with farmers looking for new technologies for mitigation of these air emissions, including wet scrubbers, electrostatic precipitation, and ammonia emission modeling. <h2>Minnkota Builders Conference</h2> The Minnkota Agri-Builders and Suppliers Association brings together regional university and Extension personnel, builders and suppliers in the livestock and grain processing industries, and government personnel who want to network and learn about advancements in the agricultural building and related fields. The Association allows the sharing of ideas and concerns in a non-competitive environment that helps the industry learn from one another, and informs Extension and research needs moving forward. This collaborative effort among University of Minnesota, South Dakota State University and University of Nebraska-Lincoln includes annual one to two-day meetings for the association members to come together, take tours and share technical content. Annual meeting attendance for 2019 was 19 participants. A post-event survey showed that the majority to all participants found the various technical presentations and tour stops useful to very useful in the work they do. Many participants use this meeting for professional engineering professional development hours (PDHs). <h2>Waste to Worth</h2> Waste to Worth is a biennial conference that brings together the nation's best science with innovative outreach on animal agriculture and the environment. The 2019 conference took place in Minneapolis, MN April 22 to 26, 2019. The conference is associated with the Livestock and Poultry Environmental Learning Center, and University of Minnesota was the local host. There were 140 registrations and 10 invited guests from all over the United States and a few Canadian provinces. Participants represented University and/or Extension (40%), USDA agency staff (24%), Regulatory agency staff (9%), Farmers/Ranchers (6%), Agribusiness (6%) and others. Three tours showcased Minnesota agriculture and there were over 60 technical oral and poster presentations. <h2>Biosecurity Education</h2> The University of Minnesota Biosecure Entry Education Trailer (BEET) was at the Minnesota Pork Congress, Midwest Poultry Federation Convention, Minnesota FarmFest and the Minnesota State Fair where people had opportunities to learn about biosecurity. BEET was also used with veterinary students, swine system employees, horse enthusiasts and Minnesota 4-H Livestock Project participants. Although its primary function is demonstrating Danish Entry protocols used in swine and poultry production, people with other animal species such as beef cattle, goats and rabbits learned about appropriate biosecurity practices, too. Members of the Biosecurity Team made a presentation, Understanding Biosecurity When Working on Livestock Farms, at the 56th Annual Rural Energy Conference in La Crosse, WI. Missouri faculty collaborated with multiple agency and commodity groups, to apply and receive extension grants to offer five workshops covering topics in detection, quarantine, mass mortality management, regulations, biosecurity, and economics. The workshops averaged 40+ attendees and received very good review and feedback. <h2>Moo University Winter Workshops</h2> Barn Benchmarks for Success were held in Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska and South Dakota. The multidisciplinary program covered ventilation, bedding, stall design for animal comfort and health and pen layouts. Attendees included dairy producers, calf growers, consultants and industry representatives. Dairy producers that attended handled herds ranging in size from 120 to 4,560 cows. <h2>Pig Production Environmental Footprint</h2> Faculty from University of Minnesota and University of Nebraska-Lincoln are collaborating on a project to encourage the use of the National Pork Board Pig Production Environmental Footprint Calculator on swine operations in Minnesota and Nebraska, and promoting Extension faculty and staff resources to help with these calculations. This project helps build baseline information on resource utilization on Midwest swine farms, assess opportunities to improve resource efficiency and swine farm profitability, and gather producer feedback on the tool.  The goal is to engage 65 farms in the two states, and the work is funded by the National Pork Board. The project experiences provide guidance for future Extension work with the calculator. Initial discussions with producers indicate a strong desire to continue to improve environmental protection. <h2>Energy Education and Outreach</h2> Iowa, North Dakota, Wisconsin, South Dakota and Minnesota have contributed to various renewable energy and farm energy conservation extension programs underway in the Midwest. Members from WI, IA and MN participate as ex-officio members on the board of directors of the Midwest Rural Energy Council (MREC), which holds an annual educational conference. <h2>CERCLA and EPCRA Reporting Requirements for Air Releases from Animal Waste at Farms</h2> In April 2017, an appeals court ruling reversed a stay requiring livestock and poultry farms that emit more than 100 pounds of either ammonia or hydrogen sulfide in a 24-hour period to report air emissions as part of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act. EPA considers animal production facilities as continuous emitters, which means they do not require a separate report for each day but instead a single report covering the whole year. The act was to be enforced immediately, but was then delayed multiple times as reporting deadlines approached. This development led to much confusion for farmers, which required outreach efforts. On March 23, 2018, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018 (Omnibus Bill), was signed into law. When the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals issues its mandate vacating the 2008 final rule (expected as soon as May 1, 2018), farms will remain exempt from the CERCLA reporting requirements as a result of the FARM Act. Many states were involved in conference calls and discussions to clarify internal understanding and to assist with how to extend this information to farmers. Nebraska’s worksheet for calculating emissions was in fact published by EPA as a method for determining and calculating reportable emissions.  Illinois also provided interactive online worksheets using EPA published values. As well, Illinois and Kentucky created websites to summarize information and materials.  <h2>Marketing and Delivery of Quality Grains and Bioprocess Products</h2> Purdue University is leading a project (Klein E. Ileleji and Rose Prabin Kingsly Ambrose) to assess factors, which affect the quality and safety attributes of grain, improve stored grain management and systems efficiency, especially for large facilities, and implement increased Extension programming to cover these areas. This effort will be conducted through collaboration with other land-grant university Extension Specialists and Educators under the multistate project, NC-213. <h2>Livestock Mortality Management</h2> Illinois and Michigan delivered a large animal non-emergency carcass composting workshop in Northern IL with assistance from Michigan State, IL NRCS, and Illinois State University.  The workshop included both presentations and hands-on demonstrations with an on-farm active mortality composting site. Nebraska Extension continues to focus efforts on promoting composting as a biosecure and environmentally responsible carcass disposal method and encouraging development of Emergency Livestock Mortality Management Plans. Research led by a Nebraska NCCC-09 member generated recommendations for biosecure disposal of swine carcasses infected with the porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDv) that have been distributed throughout the U.S. and Canada via National Pork Board publications, journal articles, media outputs, and webinars. Three Livestock Emergency Mortality Management Training events were delivered in Nebraska through funding provided by the Department of Homeland Security to improve the capabilities of regional emergency management associations and law enforcement officers to respond to non-routine livestock mortality events. <h2>Review of Life Cycle Assessment on Carbon Footprint of Beef Production in the U.S. </h2> Kansas researchers conducted a systematic and comprehensive review of life cycle assessment on carbon footprint of beef and pork productions in the US.  The study offered (1) an initial critical review on types of LCA methodology and allocation method used, the scope, scale and system boundary defined in the LCA applications in beef production; (2) an LCA comparison of different beef systems; (3) a ranging of results on carbon footprint of beef production based on conditions of the US beef production, trends in various indicators and the current data gap. Results provided a better understanding of the whole-farm greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from the productions. <h2>Manure and Soil Health Program</h2> NCCC-09 members from the North Central Region formed a working group in 2016 focused on understanding and promoting the role of manure in improving soil health. Represented in this working group are university and USDA personnel from Nebraska, Iowa, South Dakota, North Dakota, Michigan, Indiana, Kansas, Missouri, Minnesota and Wisconsin. Farmers are increasingly aware of the importance of soil quality. Research has demonstrated that carefully managed manure applications can contribute to improved soil quality. However, a comprehensive assemblage of current knowledge has not occurred. The Manure & Soil Health (MaSH) initiative assembled current knowledge on this topic, improved its accessibility to those influencing manure management decisions, and used it to facilitate future research and educational activities. Specific accomplishments include: <ul> <li>Development of three MaSH related white papers on the topics of 1) Analysis of Missouri Soil Health Data; 2) Winter Manure Application: Management Practices and Environmental Impact; and 3) Synthesis of studies reporting soil quality metrics.</li> <li>A monthly blog was published to encourage on-going conversations about MaSH. A blog platform based upon WordPress for author development and the Soil Health Nexus web resource (http://soilhealthnexus.org/category/manure) was developed in collaboration with the North Central Regional Water Network, and blog articles are published monthly since February 2017. A total of 15 published blog articles is available at the web resource.</li> <li>Articles were distributed to an email listserv maintained for the MaSH blog. 216 individuals received these newsletters as of March 2018. The March 2018 blog article was opened by 57 individuals within the first 4 days following its release.  Articles are also distributed to 10 individuals who serve as editors for regional, state and national Extension and agency newsletters such as Nebraska Extension CropWatch, Livestock and Poultry Environmental Learning Center (LPELC) newsletter, South Dakota State’s iGrow e-news, Michigan State University Extension’s News, NRCS Twitter Feeds and Soil Health Web resources, Purdue Extension’s Conservation Cropping Systems initiative news releases, etc. Re-purposing our articles through other Extension media appears to greatly increase exposure of Extension clientele to our blog content.  Three of the 10 editor shared that their media product reached 3,900 additional email addresses.</li> <li>The project delivered three Mash related white papers. The final products were published and distributed through two sources: 1) Soil Health Nexus web site, http://soilhealthnexus.org/resources/ and 2) Soil Health Institute has published these into their library of soil health research https://www.soilhealthinstituteresearch.org/Home/Search )</li> </ul>

Publications

<h1><a name="_Toc18941302"></a>NCCC-09 Publications</h1> NCCC-09 members are developing a new product for publication in the coming year(s) by MWPS. <ul> <li>Manure Processing and Utilization (MWPS 18-4 1st Edition), In development, R. Larson, E. Cortus, A. Schmidt, D. Andersen, T. Lim, K. Erb, S. Rahmen, Z. Liu, and J. Ni.</li> </ul> Additional publications from the 2018-19 reporting year include: <ul> <li>Janni, K., & Cortus, E. Common livestock production systems and manure storage methods. Animal Manure: Production, Characteristics, Environmental Concerns and Management. Madison, WI: ASA-SSSA-CSSA.</li> <li>Wilson, M. L., Niraula, S., & Cortus, E. L. Characteristics of swine manure and wastewater. Animal Manure: Production, Characteristics, Environmental Concerns and Management. Madison, WI: ASA-SSSA-CSSA.</li> <li>Janni, K.A., Salfer, J.A., Cortus, E.L. and Knorr, J. (2018). Thermal environmental performance of a dairy barn cross-ventilated in warm weather and naturally ventilated in cool weather. In: 10th International Livestock Environment Sym Conf Proc, Paper No. ILES18-057 ASABE, St. Joseph, MI</li> <li>Janni, K. 2018. Remodel or retire? Hoard’s Dairyman. 25 May 2018. 163(10):337.</li> <li>Janni, K. and E. Cortus. 2018. Manure talk at upcoming expo. 14 July 2018. Dairy Star 20(10):28.</li> <li>Janni, K & E. Cortus. 2019. Are your sand lanes freezing? 26 January 2019. Dairy Star 20(23):28.</li> <li>Jaynes, D., B. Reinhart, C. Hay, T. Isenhart, S. Jacquemin, J. Kjaersgaard, K. Nelson, N. Utt. 2018. Questions and Answers about Saturated Buffers for the Midwest. Purdue Extension ABE-160.</li> <li>Cortus, E. L., B. Kasu, J. Jacquet, N. Embertson, A. M. Schmidt, T. T. Lim, and J. Heemstra. 2018. Relevant information sources in the vast and complex manure nutrient management network. Journal of Extension. 56(3):Feature 3FEA6</li> <li>Nogueira, R. G. S., Lim, T. T., Perna Junior, F., & Rodrigues, P. H. M. (In-press). Performance, microbial community analysis and fertilizer value of anaerobic co-digestion of cattle manure with waste kitchen oil. Transactions of ASABE.</li> <li>Brown, J. T., T.-T. Lim, J. M. Zulovich, and C. Costello. 2018. Evaluation of Mechanical Scraper System Finishing Barn for Solid-Liquid Separation. In ASABE Annual International Meeting. ASABE Paper No. 1801273. St. Joseph, Mich.: ASABE. DOI: <a href="https://doi.org/10.13031/aim.201801273">https://doi.org/10.13031/aim.201801273</a>.</li> <li>Duong, C. M., T.-T. Lim, and A. H. Wang. 2018. Evaluation of Biological-Based Additive for Pollution Abatement. In ASABE Annual International Meeting. ASABE Paper No. 1801615. St. Joseph, Mich.: ASABE. DOI: <a href="https://doi.org/10.13031/aim.201801615">https://doi.org/10.13031/aim.201801615</a>.</li> <li>Hosseini Taleghani, A., T.-T. Lim, and C.-H. Lin. 2018. Degradation of Veterinary Antibiotics in Swine Manure via Anaerobic Digestion. In ASABE Annual International Meeting. ASABE Paper No. 1801460. St. Joseph, Mich.: ASABE. DOI: <a href="https://doi.org/10.13031/aim.201801460">https://doi.org/10.13031/aim.201801460</a>.</li> <li>Wang, H. A., T. Lim, D. Brandt, S. Norkaew, R. Miles. 2017. Manure Land Application and Soil Health Indicators. Manure and Soil Health Working Group Data Brief. http://soilhealthnexus.org/files/2018/02/ncrwn-manure-land-application-and-soil-health-indicators-data-brief-FINAL.pdf 8 pages.</li> <li>Manure and Soil Health Blog. 2017. 15 articles summarizing science related to manure impact on soil health. http://soilhealthnexus.org/category/manure/.</li> </ul>   <h1><a name="_Toc18941303"></a>Scientific and Outreach Oral Presentations</h1> Cortus, E. L., Hetchler, B., Spiehs, M., Rusche, W. "Seasonal and spatial variations in aerial ammonia concentrations in deep pit beef cattle barns", Waste to Worth 2019, Livestock and Poultry Environmental Learning Community, Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. (April 25, 2019). Felton, R., Cortus, E. L. "Quantitative analysis of words in popular press articles about livestock and environment", Waste to Worth 2019, Livestock and Poultry Environmental Learning Community, Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. (April 24, 2019). Cortus, E. L. "Lessons learned from environmental footprints of Midwest farms", 2018 Allen D. Leman Swine Conference, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States. (September 18, 2018). Cortus, E. L., Watkins, M. "Freezing point depression of sand-laden manure", North American Manure Expo, Brookings, South Dakota, United States. (August 15, 2018).   Janni, K.A., M. M. Torremorell, L.D. Jacobson, C. Alonso, B.P. Hetchler. 2018. Modeling airborne virus concentrations in filtered swine barns with negative-pressure ventilating systems. Trans of ASABE 61(3):1089-1099 doi.org/10.13031/trans.12561.   Sharpe, K.T., M.H. Reese, E.S. Buchanaan, J.E. Tallaksen, K.A. Janni, L.J. Johnston. 2018. Electrical and thermal energy consumption in Midwest commercial swine facilities. Applied Eng. Agriculture. 34(5): 857-864. (doi: 10.13031/aea.12771)   Janni, K.A. and Neu, A. Biosecurity: Understanding its importance when working on livestock farms. Feb 15, 2018. Midwest Rural Energy Council 56th Annual Rural Energy Conference, La Crosse, WI.   Janni, K.A. and M. Torremorell. Model to Assess Risk of Virus Introduction in Filtered Farms. Sep 9, 2018. Allen D. Leman Swine Conference, RiverCentre, St. Paul, MN.   Steinweg, E., Sands, G., Wilson, B. and Dalzell, B. (2019). Watershed Responses to Climate Change Conditions. Paper presented at the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers International Meeting, Boston, MA.   Utt, N., G. Sands, D. Jaynes, and D. Canelon. Aug-2018. A review of saturated buffer performance across the upper midwest.  Presented at the 2018 ASABE Annual International Meeting, Detroit, MI.   Utt, N. 2019. The Science Behind Saturated Buffers for Nutrient Removal. N Champaign, IL.   Utt, N. 2018. Frequently Asked Questions about Saturated Buffer Design. MN Drainage Management Team Meeting, St Paul, MN.   Utt, N. 2018. Saturated Buffer Performance. 2018 Center for Excellence Field Day, Clayton, MI.   Teng-Teeh Lim, Allen Haipeng Wang, Donna Brandt, Saranya Norkaew, and Randy Miles. Can Manure Affect Soil Health? Part of Manure, Water, and Soil Health Webinar. 02/14/2018. North Central Region Water Network Webcast, for Soil Health Nexus. Blog article: T.-T. Lim, Wang, A. H., D. Brandt, S. Norkaew, and R. Miles. 2018. Manure land application and soil health indicators. In Soil Health Nexus Web Resources, in collaboration with the North Central Region Water Network. https://soilhealthnexus.org/can-manure-improve-soil-health/ Special Video: “An Animal Feeding Operation. What should I know?” 2018. Featured on Youtube “CAFO Central” channel. This video introduces the topic of what people need to know about animal feeding operations and points the viewers to other short videos to answer specific questions. Collaboration with three other faculty, a total of 5 videos produced. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asU7_JdLF8E <h1><a name="_Toc18941304"></a>Fund Leveraging, Specifically, Collaborative Grants Between Stations and Members</h1>   <ol> <li>Facilitating “Win-Win” Manure Utilization for Sustained Soil Health, Economic and Environmental Benefits. North Central Region Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education – Professional Development Grant Program. 10/01/18 – 09/30/21. PI: M. Schmidt; Co-PI: R. Koelsch (University of Nebraska); Sub-awards: D. Andersen (Iowa State) and E. Cortus (University of Minnesota). $74,905</li> </ol> This project will support SARE’s sustainability goals of long term profitability (better utilization of manure’s nutrient value), stewardship of natural resources (improved water and soil quality), and quality of life for rural communities (limit risk of manure’s negative qualities, such as odor). An existing multi-state working group will deliver a professional development program for those advising crop farmers intended to: build awareness of manure’s value; demonstrate benefits locally via on-farm research; and teach crop farmers to confidently identify "win-win" opportunities for manure use on cropland. <ol start="2"> <li>Environmental Footprints for Regional Swine Production Systems Now and in the Future – A Demonstration Pilot Project. National Pork Board. 06/01/18 – 05/31/19. PI: E. Cortus; Co-PI: R. Stowell and A.M. Schmidt. $55,126.</li> </ol> The specific objectives are to (1) engage 65 producers in Environmental Footprint calculations of current production practices; (2) measure the change in knowledge, interest and trust in environmental sustainability and related metrics following engagement with local educators; and (3) identify and evaluate strategies that have potential to help local producers reach sustainability metric goals using Life Cycle Analysis. <ol start="3"> <li>Water and Nutrient Recycling: A decision tool and synergistic innovative technology. USDA-NIFA. 10/01/18 – 9/30/23. L. Greenlee, R. Stowell; A.M. Schmidt, T. Lim, J. Zulovich, etc. $4,342,280.</li> </ol> A collaborative effort between Nebraska, Missouri, Ohio, Arkansas, and Montana.  Development of a decision tool allowing scientific assessment of individual farm manure management and energy needs, and subsequent recommendation for technologies to implement, is proposed. Collection of on-farm data, integration of data into the decision-making tool, economic analysis of the proposed technology, and outreach programming to influence utilization of the tool are primary roles of the UNL faculty on this project.     <h1><a name="_Toc18941305"></a>Other relevant accomplishments and activities</h1>   <ul> <li>MWPS is in the process of revising Wiring Handbook for Rural Facilities, with a projected release date of Spring 2019. Greg Stark, Texas A&M will update the NEC codes, and Scott Sanford, University of Wisconsin-Madison, will update the lighting portion through the addition of a new chapter. Illustrations and editing have been arranged.</li> </ul>

Impact Statements

Manure and Soil Health MaSH Roundtables were attended by 383 participants. On average each participant influences the decisions of 126 farms (or more than 48,000 farms in total) over a one-year period. Eighty seven percent indicated that they gained new knowledge or knowledge that added value to what they already knew. Forty-one percent will use the information for their own professional development, 27% for recommendations for farmers, 11% for farm management decisions, 22% for future educational programs or curricula, and 9% for policy or regulatory decisions. Fifty six percent of participants indicated that they were likely or very likely to make (or recommend) changes in manure and soil management practices.

Date of Annual Report: 08/13/2020

Report Information

Annual Meeting Dates: 07/15/2020 - 07/15/2020
Period the Report Covers: 07/01/2019 - 06/30/2020

Participants

2019-20 Officers
Past Chair – Morgan Hayes, University of Kentucky
Chair – Teng Lim, University of Missouri-Columbia
Vice Chair – Daniel Andersen, Iowa State University
Secretary – Neslihan Akdeniz, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Administrative Advisor – John Lawrence, Iowa State University
NIFA Representative – Steven Thomson, NPL for Agricultural/Biosystems Engineering
Official Participants
Neslihan Akdeniz, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Erin Cortus, University of Minnesota
Jay Harmon, Iowa State University
Morgan Hayes, University of Kentucky
Kenneth Hellevang, North Dakota State University
Kevin Janni, University of Minnesota
Dana Kirk, Michigan State University
Rebecca Larson, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Teng Lim, University of Missouri-Columbia
Zifei Liu, Kansas State University
Jiqin Ni, Purdue University
Steven Safferman, Michigan State University
Tom Scherer, North Dakota State University
Amy Schmidt, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Lingying Zhao, Ohio State University
Unofficial Participants
Daniel Andersen, Iowa State University
Kapil Arora, Iowa State University
Rich Gates, Iowa State University
Joseph Harner, Kansas State University
Shafiqur Rahman, North Dakota State University
Brett Ramirez, Iowa State University
Richard Stowell, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Joe Zulovich, University of Missouri-Columbia

Brief Summary of Minutes

The Annual Meeting of the NCCC-09 Committee took place online on July 15^th, 2020 from 1:30 to 3:45 pm (recorded)

The meeting started with MWPS updates. 3 top sales in 2019-2020:
- MWPS-13 –Grain Drying
- MWPS-19-s1: Manure Characteristics
- MWPS-1: Structures

Thomson stated there is an increase in the number of programs that are integrated (research, extension, education). NIFA continues to hire in KC.

Zifei Liu was elected to be the next secretary, which starts on October 1.

Members discussed having quarterly calls:
- Nov 3^rd, 2020 Tue at 1 pm (CT)
- Feb 2^nd, 2021 Tue at 1 pm (CT)
- May 4^th, 2021 Tue at 1 pm (CT)

Notes from state reports:

University of Missouri- Teng Lim, Joe Zulovich

ASABE ventilation standards update

Centralized mortality disposal initiated by Missouri Dept. of Agriculture

University of Minnesota- Erin Cortus

A project with Rick Koelsch and others related to manure application and soil health

National survey to outline future education needs

Updating ventilation standards for ASABE

Purdue University- Jiqin Ni

Grain storage, drainage, ag safety, youth education, ventilation, and structure programs

North American Manure Expo with the University of Illinois and Michigan State University received over 1,000 attendees

Iowa State University- Daniel Andersen, Brett Ramirez, Rich Gates, Kapil Arora

MWPS-Regional recommendations can be put together for a possible animal disease outbreak

Grow corn with bluegrass in between rows

12 ventilation workshops

COVID and disease related mass depopulation and disposal

COVID-related egg disposal

Improve refrigeration capacity for food pantries

University of Nebraska–Lincoln- Amy Schmidt, Richard Stowell

Online carbon exchange tool for Pandemic and natural disasters such as heat stress, blizzards

COVID related mortality disposal and land application of milk

Follow-up funding for PEDv studies

Partner with a high school program

IAMResponsible- National outreach project

Water reuse and nutrient recycling program, in collaboration with University of Missouri and three other Universities

The Ohio State University- Lingying Zhao

Demonstrations of manure application

Air emissions and ventilation in animal facilities

Ammonia and dust control in layer operations

Studies related to dairy production

Kansas State University- Zifei Liu, Joe Harner

Life cycle assessment for livestock production

Air emissions from swine facilities- changes after NAEMS project

Non-confined feeding for calve-calf to stay out of AFO-CAFO rules

University of Wisconsin- Rebecca Larson

Agitating pits and H₂S emissions

COVID-related milk dumping

Use optimization models and life cycle assessment for manure/nutrient-related issues

Organic dairy production

North Dakota State University- Tom Scherer

Crop prices and stress-related farm accidents

Grain drying-Zoom webinars

Virtual field days

Sampling water supplies for cattle

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign- Neslihan Akdeniz

ASF and COVID-related mass depopulation and disposal

Update online Certified Livestock Manager Training Program

New Facilities and Equipment

Student Innovation Center (SICTR) at Iowa State University is ready to be opened in August. It is a resource serving the university community with unique facilities and workspaces to foster innovation across all aspects of Iowa State’s land-grant mission

ABE Building at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is going through a demolition during the 2020 summer

A new ABE building at Purdue University has been built and will be used starting in December 2020

Unique Project-Related Findings

COVID-19 affected livestock and poultry producers in many states. Extension Engineers in Missouri, Nebraska, Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois, and others provided guidelines regarding land application of milk and disposal of mass mortalities. Nebraska launched a new web resource, DisasterCARE.unl.edu, to facilitate exchanges of carbon materials and other resources necessary to aid livestock farmers in disposal of carcasses due to COVID-19. Illinois also launched a similar website: https://go.illinois.edu/disposalresources . Gates (Iowa) worked with stakeholders to dispose of eggs and to improve refrigeration capacity for food pantries. Nebraska Extension produced a seven-page, multi-disciplinary guidance document titled, “Meat, Poultry & Livestock Industry COVID-19 Talking Points” for use by extension specialists and educators when answering questions about the impact of COVID-19 on the livestock and food production industries.

Accomplishments

<h1><a name="_Toc18941300"></a>Accomplishment Summaries</h1>   Members of NCCC-09 continue to participate in numerous collaborative efforts within the region. Current projects by NCCC-09 active work teams cover the topic areas of manure management, grain drying and energy efficiency, soil and water, and animal agriculture and facilities. Teams of NCCC-09 participants contributing to each of the projects in these topic areas met regularly over the past year and continue to meet monthly by conference call to work on developing extension materials that are applicable throughout the region, increasing collaboration and productivity, strengthening unified messages, and reducing the resource demand on extension personnel. Specific collaborations within the NCCC-09 group include the endeavors described in the following pages. The ASABE PAFS 40 Facilities & Systems Sub-Committee revised the Standards, Design of Ventilation Systems for Livestock and Poultry (Standard number 270.6).  The team members will be working to get the revised 270 Standard information into the ASHRAE Handbook. The ASABE NRES‐27 Agricultural Byproduct and Animal Mortality Systems Sub-Committee revised the Standards S292.6, Uniform Terminology for Agricultural Waste and By-Product Management, and was selected for a 2020 ASABE Standards Development Award. <h2>NCCC-09 Conference Calls</h2> NCCC-09 committee held two conference calls. On the first call (Dec 10th, 2019, 10 am CT) we focused on some extension engineering training oppoutunities and questions someone new to this type of position might have. Tim Shepherd joined us to discuss his livestock engineering survey. The second call (May 14th, 2020, 10 am CT) was led by Amy Schmidt and Morgan Hayes. Several undergrad and grad students shared their experience working on Extension projects. The committee discussed how we can learn from them to improve the engagement experience.   <h2>MWPS Publications</h2> MWPS publications are used extensively in extension programs and college courses including, but not limited to: <ul> <li>Comprehensive Nutrient Management Plan materials are used for technical service provider training in Illinois.</li> <li>MWPS-1 and MWPS-13 are both used as textbooks for a course at the University of Nebraska.</li> <li>MWPS-18 is used as a text at the University of Minnesota and South Dakota State University</li> <li>MWPS-18-S1, S2, S3 used at South Dakota State University</li> <li>MWPS-16 is the textbook for a course at the University of Illinois.</li> <li>MWPS-66: Cow-Calf Production is used as a textbook at Iowa State University and Purdue University</li> <li>MWPS-13: Grain Drying is used at North Dakota State University</li> <li>MWPS-6: Beef Housing is used at North Dakota State University</li> <li>MWPS-7: Dairy Freestall is used at University of Wisconsin</li> </ul> NCCC-09 members coordinate the review and revision of existing Midwest Plan Service (MWPS) publications and the writing of new materials. MWPS was closed from March to July due to COVID-19 but starting from August orders are being processed.  <h2>Water and Nutrient Recycling: A Decision Tool and Synergistic Innovative Technology</h2> Lim and Zulovich (Missouri) collaborated with Stowell and Schmidt (Nebraska), and other faculty from Arkansas, Ohio, and Colorado to work on an integrated USDA-NIFA project.  The project focuses on studying innovative technology for liquid manure wastewater treatment and nutrient recovery within the framework of a decision-making tool that allows technology selection based on region-specific needs for water recycling and food production. The decision-making tool will be built upon an economic and life cycle assessment model that guides the user to technology selection based on user-based knowledge of soil chemistry, fertilization needs, crop selection, livestock production, desired level of wastewater treatment, water use, wastewater production, and regulatory requirements. <h2>Air Quality and Ventilation of Animal Production Housing</h2> Extension engineers and animal scientists in Iowa continue to deliver workshops for barn managers and pig caretakers to address the need for improved understanding and management of mechanical ventilation systems in swine buildings. A mobile ventilation laboratory was used to demonstrate mechanical ventilation principles, fan interactions, inlet behaviors and controller performance.  Funds for the mobile lab were provided by the pork producer organizations. The team conducted 12 workshops in 2020. Zulovich (Missouri) collaborated with the ASABE PAFS 40 Facilities & Systems Sub-Committee, revising ASABE Standards.  The group has progressed with the Design of Ventilation Systems for Livestock and Poultry (Standard number 270.6).  Others involved are Cortus (Minnesota) and Hayes (Kentucky) and many others.  The team members will be working to get the revised 270 Standard information into the ASHRAE Handbook. Ongoing research in each state is looking at ways to mitigate air emissions of dust, ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, and odor from these facilities with farmers looking for new technologies for mitigation of these air emissions, including wet scrubbers, electrostatic precipitation, and ammonia emission modeling. <h2>Livestock Mortality Management</h2> Akdeniz (Illinois) delivered two routine and catastrophic livestock mortality composting workshops. The workshops included both presentations and hands-on demonstrations with an on-farm active mortality composting site. Akdeniz is a disposal subject matter expert (SME) in Illinois. She was involved in Illinois Dept. of Agriculture’s African Swine Fever TableTop Exercises and COVID-19 related disposal discussions. Nebraska Extension continues to focus efforts on promoting composting as a biosecure and environmentally responsible carcass disposal method and encouraging development of Emergency Livestock Mortality Management Plans. Research led by a Nebraska NCCC-09 member generated recommendations for biosecure disposal of swine carcasses infected with the porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDv) that have been distributed throughout the U.S. and Canada via National Pork Board publications, journal articles, media outputs, and webinars. Three Livestock Emergency Mortality Management Training events were delivered in Nebraska through funding provided by the Department of Homeland Security to improve the capabilities of regional emergency management associations and law enforcement officers to respond to non-routine livestock mortality events. Schmidt (Nebraska) produced a fact sheet titled, “Emergency Depopulation of Livestock Facilities During COVID-19” to guide producers on practices for livestock depopulation and disposal during packing plant restrictions caused by COVID-19. Lim and Zulovich (Missouri) collaborated with other faculty from in-state and other states including Iowa, Nebraska, and Kansas to address the need for regional coordination and leveraging of existing disaster preparedness and recovery resources. This four-state network is a logical partnership due to the rural nature of the communities, similarities in the type of extreme events being dealt with, natural resource similarities, geographic proximity, socio-economic similarities, and an extensive history of these land grant institutions successfully working together. Lim collaborated with faculty from Oklahoma, Kentucky, Colorado, Maryland, and agency personnel to form a team of expert panel, for producing recommendation and report on “Livestock and Poultry Mortality Management Best Management Practices”. The grant is provided by the U.S Environmental Protection Agency, Chesapeake Bay Program (CBP). <h2>Impact of COVID-19 on Animal Producers</h2> COVID-19 affected livestock and poultry producers in many states. Extension Engineers in Missouri, Nebraska, Iowa, Wisconsin, and Illinois provided guidelines regarding land application of milk and disposal of mass mortalities. Nebraska launched a new web resource, DisasterCARE.unl.edu, to facilitate exchanges of carbon materials and other resources necessary to aid livestock farmers in disposal of carcasses due to COVID-19. Illinois also launched a similar website: <a href="https://go.illinois.edu/disposalresources">https://go.illinois.edu/disposalresources</a> . Gates (Iowa) worked with stakeholders to dispose of eggs and to improve refrigeration capacity for food pantries. Nebraska Extension produced a seven-page, multi-disciplinary guidance document titled, “Meat, Poultry & Livestock Industry COVID-19 Talking Points” for use by extension specialists and educators when answering questions about the impact of COVID-19 on the livestock and food production industries. <h2>North American Manure Expo</h2> The 2019 North American Manure Expo was hosted by Indiana, Illinois, and Michigan. Farm tours (dairy, poultry/beef, and swine workshops) were held on the first day of the Expo. One of the highlights of the first day was the agitation demo. The second day started with educational seminars. The Expo ended with field demonstrations. <h2>Certified Livestock Manager Training</h2> Illinois Extension held 10 workshops. A total of 242 producers, contractors, educators and others were trained this year of which 197 attended the onsite workshops. Of the 197 certified, less than 6% were producers who reported managing facilities with fewer than 300 animal units (AUs) despite the current statutory requirement for certification for producers managing 300 AUs or more. Minnkota Agri-Builders and Suppliers Association The Minnkota Agri-Builders and Suppliers Association brings together regional university and Extension personnel, builders and suppliers in the livestock and grain processing industries, and government personnel who want to network and learn about advancements in the agricultural building and related fields. The Association allows the sharing of ideas and concerns in a non-competitive environment that helps the industry learn from one another, and informs Extension and research needs moving forward. This collaborative effort among University of Minnesota, South Dakota State University and University of Nebraska-Lincoln includes annual one to two-day meetings for the association members to come together, take tours and share technical content. Annual meeting attendance for 2020 was 20 participants. <h2>Win-Win Manure Utilization for Sustained Soil Health, Economic and Environmental Benefits</h2> The multi-state project “Facilitating “Win-Win” Manure Utilization for Sustained Soil Health, Economic and Environmental Benefits”, with Nebraska, Minnesota and Iowa representation, distributed a national survey for crop farmers, animal feeding operation (AFO) managers, public and private sector advisors for cropping decisions, and Extension professionals. <h2>Moo University Winter Workshops</h2> A Nebraska committee member presented a webinar titled, “Improving  Cropland Resilience by Making Manure Part of Fertility Planning” as part of the I-29 Moo University. <h2>Value of Manure in Crop Production</h2> Committee members from Nebraska, Minnesota and Iowa collaborated on a SARE-funded project to improve knowledge and behaviors among livestock farmers, crop farmers, and their advisors about the value of manure in crop production, soil management and farmland resilience. Several outputs and activities resulted from this effort during the reporting period: <ul> <li>A professional development program was delivered via a series of six Zoom discussions coupled with a two-day workshop between January and June 2020 to approximately 56 participants from Nebraska. The program will be repeated in Minnesota and Iowa in the coming year.</li> <li>Six on-farm research sites in Nebraska provided data defining soil and crop responses to various organic soil amendments and inorganic fertilizer. Sites were established in Iowa and Minnesota to replicate this research/demonstration effort in the coming year.</li> <li>A survey was distributed nationwide to solicit input from farmers, educators, and agricultural advisors about benefits and barriers to manure use in cropping systems. Results will be used to design future outreach efforts. The research was presented at the Annual International Meeting of the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers, published by Manure Manager magazine, and high-lighted by a number of regional and national media outlets.</li> </ul> <h2>IAMResponsible</h2> Nebraska continued leadership of a nationwide outreach effort, called The iAMResponsible ProjectTM, to improve knowledge and behaviors among food producers and consumers about antimicrobial resistance. In-person events by team members produced over 1,000 individual contacts with audience members in agriculture, scientific research, academic programs, and communities throughout the U.S. Social media outputs distributed through the project’s Twitter and Facebook profiles reached over 3,000 followers, with strong representation by medical professionals, educators and academic researchers worldwide. Engagement events for social media content total just over 9,500 during the reporting period <h2>High School Agriculture Students</h2> UNL engaged high school agriculture students near six on-farm research sites statewide in experiential learning activities to improve student understanding of how and why on-farm research helps develop and disseminate new knowledge, nutrient management principle, the value of manure to soil health, and sharing research-based information through outreach activities. Over 50 students at six Nebraska high schools participated and cooperating teachers have committed to working with the team during the 2020-21 academic year. <h2>AirTables</h2> UNL led development of “AirTables” (online resource databases) to share content about manure value, antimicrobial resistance, and responsible manure management with colleagues who can re-purpose social media content, articles, etc. for use in their states. These AirTables are publicly available through the Livestock and Poultry Environmental Learning Community (LPELC) website at <a href="http://www.lpelc.org">www.lpelc.org</a>.

Publications

<h1><a name="_Toc18941302"></a>NCCC-09 Publications</h1> Akdeniz, N. 2019. A systematic review of biochar use in animal waste composting. Waste Management, 88: 291-300. Akdeniz, N., S. Yi. 2020. The feasibility of alkaline hydrolysis of swine mortalities at ambient conditions and using the hydrolysates to hydroponically grow lettuce. Transactions of the ASABE, revisions submitted. Armstrong, J. & K. Janni. 2020. Heat stress in dairy cattle. UM Extension Article. Accessed online at: <a href="https://extension.umn.edu/dairy-milking-cows/heat-stress-dairy-cattle">https://extension.umn.edu/dairy-milking-cows/heat-stress-dairy-cattle</a> Barrios, R., H. Khuntia, S. Bartelt-Hunt, J. Gilley, D. Snow, A. Schmidt and X. Li. 2020. Fate and transport of antibiotics and antibiotic resistance genes in runoff and soil as affected by the timing of swine manure slurry application. Science of the Total Environment (712):1-10. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.136505">https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.136505</a> Cortus, E., Neu, A.E., Janni, K.A., Noll, S.L., Clanton, C.J. 2019. Simulating risk reduction using biosecurity practices on farm. ASABE Paper No. 1900870. St. Joseph, MI. ASABE. Cortus, E., Hetchler, B., Spiehs, M., & Rusche, W. 2020. Deep pit beef cattle barn ammonia and carbon dioxide concentrations. Paper 2000840, ASABE, St. Joseph, MI. <a href="https://doi.org/10.13031/aim.2000840">https://doi.org/10.13031/aim.2000840</a> Cortus, E. 2020. By Design: Retrofitting buildings for sick pens or doctoring facilities. Angus Beef Bulletin February 2020 ed. Cortus, E. L., Hetchler, B., Spiehs, M. J., & Rusche, W. Environmental conditions in deep pit finishing cattle facilities: A descriptive study. Transactions of the ASABE. [Submitted]. Costa, T., N. Akdeniz. 2019. A review of the animal disease outbreaks and biosecure animal mortality composting systems. Waste Management, 90: 121-131. Ding, T., Fang, L., Ni, J.-Q., Shi, Z., Li, B., Zhao, Y., 2019. Optimization design of agricultural fans based on skewed-swept blade technology. Applied Engineering in Agriculture. 35 (2), 249-258. Duong, C. M., T.-T. Lim, and A. H. Wang. 2019. Evaluation of biological-based additive for pollution abatement. In ASABE Annual International Meeting. ASABE Paper No. 1900927. St. Joseph, Mich.: ASABE. DOI: <a href="https://doi.org/10.13031/aim.201900927">https://doi.org/10.13031/aim.201900927</a>. Gilley,J.E., S.L. Bartelt-Hunt, J. Duerschner, X. Li, K. Eskridge, A.M. Schmidt and D.D. Snow. 2020. Swine slurry characteristics as affected by selected additives and disinfectants. Environmental Pollution. 260(2020). <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2020.114058">https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2020.114058</a> Janni, K.J. and E.L. Cortus. 2019. Common animal production systems and manure storage methods. In: Animal Manure: Production, Characteristics, Environmental Concerns and Management. Eds. Heidi M. Waldrip, Paulo H. Pagliari, and Zhongqi He. ASA and SSSA. Madison, WI. pp. 27-44. (doi:10.2134/asaspecpub67.c3) Janni, K.J. 2020. Reflections on odor management for animal feeding operations. Atmosphere 2020, 11, 453; doi:10.3390/atmos11050453 Janni, K., Wilson, M., Cortus, E., & Modderman, C. 2020. What do we do now? Dairy Star, 6th ed., vol. 22, pp. 28. Janni, K.A. 2019. Modeling lactating cow respiration rates during heat stress based on dry-bulb and dew-point temperatures, daily milk production and air velocity. ASABE Paper No. 1900297. St. Joseph, MI. ASABE. Janni, K. 2019. Air velocity and production level impact heat stress in dairy cattle. 13 July 2019. Dairy Star 21(10):29. Janni, K. 2020. Does your herd fit your facilities? 11 January 2020 Dairy Star 21(22):29. Janni, K., M. Wilson, E. Cortus, C. Modderman. What do we do now? 9 May 2010 Dairy Star 22(6):28. Koelsch, R., Andersen, D., Cortus, E., Johnson, L., Schmidt, A. M., Siek, S. A., & Wilson, M. 2020. Perceptions of barriers and benefits of manure use in cropping systems. Paper 2000753, ASABE, St. Joseph, MI. <a href="https://doi.org/10.13031/aim.202000753">https://doi.org/10.13031/aim.202000753</a> Lim, T.-T., C. B. Bromfield, C. Payne, L. Delaney, R. E. Massey, and J. A. Zulovich. 2019. Recommendations for effective biosecurity management. In International Symposium on Animal Environment and Welfare. Rongchang, Chongqing, China. Liu, S., Ni, J.-Q., Heber, A.J., Liang, W.-Z., 2019. Modeling dynamic ammonia concentrations in layer houses using a distributed lag non-linear model. Journal of Environmental Informatics. 33 (1), 56-67. Massey, R. E., T.-T. Lim, and J. A. Zulovich. 2019. Economic conditions for implementing solid-liquid separation barn. In International Symposium on Animal Environment and Welfare. Rongchang, Chongqing, China. Maria Cecilia Hall, Noelle A. Mware, John E. Gilley, Shannon Bartelt-Hunt, Daniel D. Snow, Amy M. Schmidt, Kent M. Eskridge, and Xu Li.  2020.  Influence of setback distance on antibiotics and antibiotic resistance genes in runoff and soil following the land application of swine manure slurry.  Environmental Science and Technology, 54 (8): 4800-4809. Meyers, M., L. Durso, J. Gilley, L. Castleberry, H. Waldrip and A. Schmidt. 2020. Antibiotic resistance gene profile changes in cropland soil following manure application and rainfall. Journal of Environmental Quality 2020:1-8. <a href="https://doi.org/10.2134/jeq2019.04.0153">https://doi.org/10.2134/jeq2019.04.0153</a> Ni, J.-Q., Shi, C., Liu, S., Richert, B.T., Vonderohe, C.E., Radcliffe, J.S., 2019. Effects of antibiotic-free pig rearing on ammonia emissions from five pairs of swine rooms in a wean-to-finish experiment. Environment International. 131, 104931. Nogueira, R. G. S., T.-T. Lim, H. Wang, and P. H. M. Rodrigues. 2019. Performance, microbial community analysis and fertilizer value of anaerobic co-digestion of cattle manure with waste kitchen oil. Applied Engineering in Agriculture, 35(2): 239-248. doi: 10.13031/aea.13023   Nour, M., Field, W.E., Ni, J.-Q., Cheng, C., 2019. Development of methodology to document and code farm-related injuries and fatalities involving manure storage, handling, and transport – with summary of 2017 incidents. Journal of Agromedicine. 24 (1), 90-100. Nour, M., Field, W.E., Ni, J.-Q., Cheng, C., 2020. Farm-related injuries and fatalities involving children, youth and young workers during manure storage, handling and transport. Journal of Agromedicine. In press. Perez-Palencia, J. Y., Levesque, C. L., & Cortus, E. 2019. Contributing factors to indoor air quality. National Hog Farmer, 10th ed., vol. 64, pp. 4. Schmidt, A. 2020. iAMResponsibleTM: Educating food producers & consumers about antimicrobial resistance. Scientia. <a href="https://doi.org/10.33548/SCIENTIA460">https://doi.org/10.33548/SCIENTIA460</a>. Schuster, N., J.A. Peterson, J.E. Gilley, L.R. Schott3 and A.M. Schmidt. 2019. Soil arthropod abundance and diversity following land application of swine slurry. Agricultural Sciences 10(2). DOI:<a href="https://doi.org/10.4236/as.2019.102013">10.4236/as.2019.102013</a> Staley, Z., X. Li, B. Woodbury, A. Schmidt, L. Durso, K. Eskridge. 2020. Corn stalk residue may add antibiotic resistant bacteria to manure composting piles. Journal of Environmental Quality, 49 (3):745-753. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/jeq2.20017">https://doi.org/10.1002/jeq2.20017</a> Tong, X., Zhao, L., Heber, A., Ni, J.-Q., 2020. Mechanistic modelling of ammonia emission from laying hen manure at laboratory scale. Biosyst. Eng. 192 (April), 24-41. Tong, X., Zhao, L., Heber, A.J., Ni, J.-Q., 2020. Development of a farm-scale, quasi-mechanistic model to estimate ammonia emissions from commercial manure-belt layer houses. Biosyst. Eng. 196, 67-87. Xie, Q., Ni, J.-Q., Su, Z., Bao, J., 2019. A thermal environmental model for indoor air temperature prediction and energy consumption in pig building. Building and Environment. 161, 106238. Yang, Y., Ni, J.-Q., Bao, W., Zhao, L., Xie, G.H., 2019. Potential reductions in greenhouse gas and fine particulate matter emissions using corn stover for ethanol production in China. Energies. 12 (3700), 1-13. Yang, Y., Ni, J.-Q., Xie, G.H., 2020. Comparison of energy performance and environmental impacts of three corn stover-based bioenergy pathways. Journal of Cleaner Production. In press. Yang, Y., Ni, J.-Q., Zhu, W., Xie, G.H., 2019. Life Cycle Assessment of large-scale compressed bio-natural gas production in China: A case study on manure co-digestion with corn stover. Energies. 12 (429), 1-16. Wang, A. H., A. Yang, L. Yan, T.-T. Lim, and W. Wang. 2020. Long-term mesophilic anaerobic co-digestion swine manure with corn stover and microbial community analysis. Microorganisms 8(2):188. https://doi.org/110.3390/microorganisms8020188 Wang, Y., M.B. Villamil, P.C. Davidson, N. Akdeniz. 2019. A quantitative understanding of the role of co-composted biochar in plant growth using meta-analysis. Science of the Total Environment, 685: 741-752. <h1><a name="_Toc18941303"></a>Scientific and Outreach Oral Presentations</h1> Akdeniz, N. 2019. Are you traveling abroad? Prevent the spread of African swine fever (<a href="https://indd.adobe.com/view/b7b98eec-5ac1-499b-9e2c-e60b76076503">click here</a>). Akdeniz, N. 2019. Diseased animal mortality management: why are animal diseases keep coming back? North American Manure Expo, IN. Akdeniz, N, Yi, S. 2020. Alkaline hydrolysis of swine mortalities and using hydrolysates to hydroponically grow lettuce. ASABE Annual International Meeting, virtual, ASABE, St Joseph, MI. Cortus, E. 2019. Farm level carbon footprints of Midwest swine farms. 2019 Allen D. Leman Swine Conference, St. Paul, MN. Cortus, E. 2020. Carbon footprints for Midwest swine systems. 58th Annual Rural Energy Conference. La Crosse, WI. Costa, T., Akdeniz, N. 2019. Biosecure animal mortality composting for reducing release risk of pathogens and antibiotic-resistant genes. ASABE Annual International Meeting, Boston, Massachusetts, ASABE, St Joseph, MI. Ehlers, S., 2019. Developing a PREPared Community with the Collaboration of Local, State, and University Resources. . North American Manure Expo. Fair Oaks, Indiana. Field, W., 2019. Enhancing the Safety and Health of Manure Storage and Handling Facilities. . North American Manure Expo. Fair Oaks, Indiana. Funk, T., Akdeniz, N. 2019. Mortality Management Planning, How to Mitigate the Risk of African Swine Fever, Illinois Pork Producers Association (<a href="https://ilpork.com/file/280/ASF%20Resource%20Guide%20ILLINOIS.pdf">click here</a>). Heber, A., 2019. Odor Management: What to Do! North American Manure Expo. Fair Oaks, Indiana. Janni, K.A. 2019. Odor management concepts for animal feeding operations. Conference on the Environment, Minneapolis, MN. November 7, 2019. Janni, K., Chastain, J, Prasad, R, 2020. Litter Nutrients and Management in Poultry Systems. Webinar produced by Livestock Poultry and Environmental Learning Community. June 19, 2020 Ni, J.-Q., 2019. What We Need to Know about Additive Products for Manure Treatment. North American Manure Expo. Fair Oaks, Indiana. Ni, J.-Q., 2019. Manure Management, Treatment & Utilization. Noble County and Whitley County, Indiana. Noelle Mware, Marissa Golgosky, Amy Schmidt, Galen Erickson, Shannon Bartelt-Hunt, Xu Li.  2020.  The effectiveness of alkaline stabilization on the reduction of antimicrobial resistance in beef cattle manure.  ASABE Annual International Conference, Omaha, NE, July 12-15. Sabo, R., Sharara, M. & Cortus, E. 2019. Watershed Nutrient Inventories - Opportunities and Needs. Webinar produced by Livestock Poultry and Environmental Learning Community. Schmidt, A.M and Zelt, M. The iAMResponsible project: Building a communication network to motivate broad action on antimicrobial resistance. Midwest AMR Consortium. May 26-29, 2020. Des Moines, IA Wang, Y., Yi, S., Akdeniz, N. 2020. Biochar-amended poultry mortality composting to increase compost temperatures, reduce ammonia emissions, and decrease leachate’s chemical oxygen demand. ASABE Annual International Meeting, virtual, ASABE, St Joseph, MI. West, B., Hamilton, D., Smith, B., & Cortus, E. 2020. Managing Manure Beyond the Farmyard: Manure Management for Less-Typical Species and Settings. Webinar produced by Livestock Poultry and Environmental Learning Community. Zelt, M., A.M. Schmidt, N. Mware, X. Li, Z. Staley, H. Wilson and G. Erickson. Antimicrobial resistance in beef feedlot manure as impacted by forage concentration and essential oil in finishing cattle diets. 2019 ASABE International Meeting. July 9, 2019. Boston, MA     <h1><a name="_Toc18941304"></a>Fund Leveraging, Specifically, Collaborative Grants Between Stations and Members</h1>   <ol> <li>Facilitating “Win-Win” Manure Utilization for Sustained Soil Health, Economic and Environmental Benefits. North Central Region Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education – Professional Development Grant Program. 10/01/18 – 09/30/21. PI: M. Schmidt; Co-PI: R. Koelsch (University of Nebraska); Sub-awards: D. Andersen (Iowa State) and E. Cortus (University of Minnesota). $74,905</li> </ol> This project will support SARE’s sustainability goals of long term profitability (better utilization of manure’s nutrient value), stewardship of natural resources (improved water and soil quality), and quality of life for rural communities (limit risk of manure’s negative qualities, such as odor). An existing multi-state working group will deliver a professional development program for those advising crop farmers intended to: build awareness of manure’s value; demonstrate benefits locally via on-farm research; and teach crop farmers to confidently identify "win-win" opportunities for manure use on cropland. <ol start="2"> <li>Regional Map Gaming Pilot for Teaching Preferred Land Application Locations. WBS. 09/01/189– 08/31/20. PI: R. Koelsch; Co-PI: A.M. Schmidt. $2,000 | $0 | $2,000 | $1,000.</li> </ol> Nebraska Extension, are creating and pilot testing a collaborative land applicator educational experiences for identifying preferred manure application sites. These educational experiences utilize table top-sized regional map game boards, pre-planned scenarios, and collective knowledge/experience shared among a group of farmers, AFO managers, and manure applicators to select preferred application sites. <ol start="3"> <li>Water and Nutrient Recycling: A decision tool and synergistic innovative technology. USDA-NIFA. 10/01/18 – 9/30/23. L. Greenlee, R. Stowell; A.M. Schmidt, T. Lim, J. Zulovich, etc. $4,342,280.</li> </ol> A collaborative effort between Nebraska, Missouri, Ohio, Arkansas, and Montana.  Development of a decision tool allowing scientific assessment of individual farm manure management and energy needs, and subsequent recommendation for technologies to implement, is proposed. Collection of on-farm data, integration of data into the decision-making tool, economic analysis of the proposed technology, and outreach programming to influence utilization of the tool are primary roles of the UNL faculty on this project.     <h1><a name="_Toc18941305"></a>Other relevant accomplishments and activities</h1>   <ul> <li>PAFS 40 Facilities & Systems Sub-Committee revised the Design of Ventilation Systems for Livestock and Poultry (Standard number 270.6). The team members will be working to get the revised 270 Standard information into the ASHRAE Handbook.</li> </ul>

Impact Statements

Certified Livestock Manager Training: The Certified Livestock Manager Training (CLMT) program of Illinois Extension will celebrate its 25th anniversary in 2021. The impact of this almost a quarter-century old program has been significant. When the program first started, only a small portion of the livestock producers was aware of the importance of having a nutrient management plan (NMP). Currently, a majority of the producers (81%) have a nutrient management plan. 43% of the producers update their plans regularly. While 32% of the producers are using their NMP plans to meet the regulations, 29% of them use their plans to better utilize manure nutrients as fertilizer.

Date of Annual Report: 09/24/2021

Report Information

Annual Meeting Dates: 07/27/2021 - 07/27/2021
Period the Report Covers: 07/01/2020 - 06/30/2021

Participants

2020-21 Officers
Past Chair – Teng Lim, University of Missouri-Columbia
Chair – Daniel Andersen, Iowa State University
Vice Chair – Neslihan Akdeniz, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Secretary – Zifei Liu, Kansas State University
Administrative Advisor – John Lawrence, Iowa State University
NIFA Representative – Steven Thomson and Erin Riley, NPL for Agricultural/Biosystems Engineering
Official Participants
Neslihan Akdeniz, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Erin Cortus, University of Minnesota
Rich Gates, Iowa State University
Jay Harmon, Iowa State University
Morgan Hayes, University of Kentucky
Kenneth Hellevang, North Dakota State University
Kevin Janni, University of Minnesota
Dana Kirk, Michigan State University
Zifei Liu, Kansas State University
Amy Schmidt, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Brett Ramirez, Iowa State University
John McMaine, South Dakota State University
Unofficial Participants
Daniel Andersen, Iowa State University
Kapil Arora, Iowa State University
Rebecca Larson, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Teng Lim, University of Missouri-Columbia
Jiqin Ni, Purdue University
Steven Safferman, Michigan State University
Tom Scherer, North Dakota State University
Lingying Zhao, Ohio State University
Joseph Harner, Kansas State University
Richard Stowell, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Joe Zulovich, University of Missouri-Columbia
Xufei Yang, South Dakota State University

Brief Summary of Minutes

Business Meeting

The Annual Meeting of the NCCC-09 Committee took place online on July 27^th, 2021 from 1:00 to 3:00 pm

The meeting started with an administrative advisor update from Steve Thompson (USDA):
- NIFA continues hiring (around 170 new employees). Introduce of AFRI RFA, a new climate hubs partnership program, and a brand-new research program called AFRI commodity board co-funding topics.
- Introduce Erin Riley as another USDA representative.

John Lawrence (ISU) continued the administrative advisor update.
- The NCCC-9 is due for the 3-year review in 2022. need to work together to update everything by December 15th, 2021.
- True multi-state collaboration should be highlighted in all reports. Refer to particular guidance in the virtual multistate-handbook.

Bret Ramirez from Iowa State University was elected to be the next secretary, which starts on October 1.

Members agrees to have quarterly calls (The first call could be in October). Erin Cortus suggested webinar through the LPELC network. Jay Harmon updated that, with the retirement of Kathy Walker, most of the MWPS materials have been moved to Iowa extension and outreach store.

Notes from state reports:

University of Missouri- Teng Lim, Joe Zulovich

Revise ASABE Standards (PAFS Sub-Committee) and form Expert committee to improve estimation of animal mortality impact for the Chesapeake Bay Program.

Working with three surrounding states to organize practical resources for regional disaster preparedness and recovery resources.

A multi-state effort is developing a decision-making tool for livestock waste nutrient and water recovery and mitigation technology considerations.

University of Minnesota- Erin Cortus and Kevin Janni

The Minnkota Agri-Builders and Suppliers Association brings together regional university, Extension, and industry personnel, and hosted a series of webinars

The shift to shorter, virtual webinars opened opportunities for new faces to engage with the Minnkota Agri-Builders and Suppliers Association in 2021.

Two on-farm demonstrations occurred in the summer of 2021, as part of the multi-state NC-SARE funded professional development project, “Facilitating “Win-Win” Manure Utilization for Sustained Soil Health”.

Purdue University- Jiqin Ni

New ABE building in Purdue University

Food animal welfare-related air pollution research

Iowa State University- Brett Ramirez, Jay Harmon, Daniel Andersen

Quantified heat and moisture production from cage-free laying hens, which will influence ventilation rate and supplemental heat calculation and design as US rapidly transitions to cage-free egg production.

Research on effects of farrowing stall size/layout and number of heat lamps on sow and piglet productivity will help guide future producer decision.

University of Nebraska–Lincoln- Amy Schmidt, Richard Stowell

Advanced knowledge and behaviors regarding the value of manure to improve resilience of cropping system soils through demonstrations, outreach efforts, and technical publications

Advanced knowledge among food producers and consumers of the risks and mitigation practices associated with antimicrobial resistant bacteria and genes originating from agricultural production systems and potentially impacting food safety and human health

IAMResponsible- National outreach project

Kansas State University- Zifei Liu, Joe Harner

Teamed up with fire sensing and simulation researchers in Kansas University, Georgia State University, and University of Missouri to develop an innovative community sensing, planning, & learning infrastructure to support smart and safe prescribed burning for communities that use prescribed fires for land management.

Air emissions from swine facilities- changes after NAEMS project

Non-confined feeding for calve-calf to stay out of AFO-CAFO rules

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign- Neslihan Akdeniz

Certified Livestock Manager Training.

Nutrient Management Planning workshops were organized with UI Extension Educators to support small and medium Animal Feeding Operations (AFOs) to develop their nutrient management plan.

Animal Mortality and Manure Composting website (go.illinois.edu/ammc) was updated.

Accomplishments

<h1><a name="_Toc18941298"></a>New Facilities and Equipment</h1> <ul> <li>The Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering Department (ABE), Purdue University at West Lafayette, Indiana has moved into one new $80M building since the end of 2020 in the areas of environmental and natural resources engineering, biological engineering, machine systems engineering, agricultural systems management, and food process engineering. The new ABE building’s areas of environmental and natural resources engineering: a. Eighteen environmental labs and lab support rooms with a total area of 9,067 Assignable Square Footage (ASF); b. A metal and wood fabrication shop with a shop technician, and c. High-quality computer servers and laboratories.</li> <li>At Iowa State University, the Robert T. Hamilton Poultry Research and Teaching Farm was completed in last year. A new turkey research farm construction is underway, to be completed in early 2022.</li> <li>South Dakota will have a new ag building by next summer.</li> </ul> <h1><a name="_Toc18941299"></a>Unique Project-Related Findings</h1> A multi-state team representing UNL, Iowa State, and U of Minnesota conducted a nationwide needs assessment which yielded data defining perceptions among crop producers, livestock producers, and their advisors regarding the benefits and barriers for manure use in cropping systems. Manure’s fertility, yield, and soil health benefits were commonly valued. Manure’s effect on water quality was seen as beneficial and harmful with similar frequency despite a commonly shared perception that manure is beneficial to soil physical and soil properties. Top barriers to manure use in cropping systems included transportation costs, odor, logistical issues, and agronomic concerns. Perception exists for the complementary roles of manure and fertilizer in crop fertility. Zifei Liu (Kansas State University) conducted a comprehensive literature review and meta-analysis on air emissions from swine facilities in a National Pork Board study, and estimated the changes in emissions today relative to the National Air Emissions Monitoring Study (NAEMS) results. For the same amount of animal product, the manure amount and air emissions per unit of animal product are likely reduced by 18% from 2010 to 2019, and could further be reduced with further improvement in feed conversion efficiency. The NAEMS ammonia emission rates for finishing swine houses with deep pit may still be representative in today’s condition, but the NAEMS data on ammonia emission rates for gestation houses or for pit recharge systems could overestimate emissions by 2 to 4 times higher. Emission measurement from lagoons/basins at swine operations have high uncertainties due to variety of environmental conditions and measurement technologies. However, the reported highest emission rates of NH3 and H2S from lagoons/basins at swine operations both demonstrate a general decreasing trend from 2001 to now. The NAEMS emission rates for lagoons/basins at swine operations could overestimate NH3 and H2S emissions Scientific research on food animal welfare-related air pollution has advanced significantly in the past nine decades. Researchers in 26 countries have contributed to this emerging area of scientific focus. Many early observational studies contributed to the identification of food animal safety, health, and other issues requiring attention. The majority of the reported investigations (~75%) were experimental, which played an important role in enhancing the existing research. Four major gases (NH3, H2S, CO2, and CO), dust, and bacteria/endotoxin have been the most studied aerial pollutants in animal living environment. Poultry and pigs were the most frequently studied food animals among different species involved in the research. The majority of experimental studies examined the effects of specific air pollutant(s) on animal welfare related outcomes.   <h1><a name="_Toc18941300"></a>Accomplishment Summaries</h1>   <h2>Multi-state Collaborations</h2> Members of NCCC-09 continue to participate in numerous collaborative efforts within the region. Missouri faculty (Teng Lim and Joseph Zulovich) collaborated with other faculty from in-state and other states including Iowa, Nebraska, and Kansas to conduct regional coordination and leveraging of existing disaster preparedness and recovery resources. The grant is USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Smith-Lever Funding, for 2018-2022. Teng Lim collaborated with faculty from Oklahoma, Kentucky, Colorado, Maryland, and agency personnel to form a team of expert panel, for producing recommendation and report on “Livestock and Poultry Mortality Management Best Management Practices”. The grant is provided by the U.S Environmental Protection Agency, Chesapeake Bay Program (CBP). A multi-state team representing UNL, Iowa State, and U of Minnesota conducted a nationwide needs assessment which yielded data defining perceptions among crop producers, livestock producers, and their advisors regarding the benefits and barriers for manure use in cropping systems. The Minnkota Agri-Builders and Suppliers Association lead a collaborative effort among University of Minnesota, South Dakota State University, Iowa State University and University of Nebraska-Lincoln, adapted to the COVID-pandemic and hosted a series of four 1-hr Lunch and Learn webinars. The multi-state project “Facilitating “Win-Win” Manure Utilization for Sustained Soil Health, Economic and Environmental Benefits”, with Nebraska, Minnesota and Iowa representation, distributed a national survey for crop farmers, animal feeding operation (AFO) managers, public and private sector advisors for cropping decisions, and Extension professionals. Rich Gates and Brett Ramirez from Iowa State University are cooperating with Michigan and Nebraska in a new multi-state project on precision livestock farming. Kansas State University faculty Zifei Liu and Walter H. Fick are teamed up with fire sensing and simulation researchers in Kansas University, Georgia State University, and University of Missouri to develop an innovative community sensing, planning, & learning infrastructure to support smart and safe prescribed burning for communities that use prescribed fires for land management. The effort is supported by the NSF Smart and Connected Communities (S&CC) program, which encourages integrative research that addresses fundamental technological and social science dimensions of smart and connected communities and pilots solutions together with communities. The team is working with communities in the Gypsum Hills and Cherokee Strip regions, to develop unique education and outreach programs and learning materials to provide interdisciplinary training to farmers, landowners, firefighters, environmental regulators, and the general public. The interdisciplinary nature of the research team provides great potential for building a smart and connected society for fire management from the local community to a broader society. <h2>ASABE Standards</h2> Joseph Zulovich collaborated with the ASABE PAFS 40 Facilities & Systems Sub-Committee, revising ASABE Standards.  The group has progressed with the Design of Ventilation Systems for Livestock and Poultry (Standard number 270.6).  Others involved are MN (Erin Cortus and Kevin Janni), KY (Morgan Hayes), IA (Brett Ramirez and Rich Gates) and many others.  The team members will be working to get the revised 270 Standard information into the ASHRAE Handbook. Many NCCC-9 members are part of the working group that is revising ASABE Standard EP270 Design of Ventilation Systems for Poultry and Livestock Shelters. <h2>MWPS Publications</h2> MWPS publications are used extensively in extension programs and college courses. Kathy has been with MWPS for 21 years. She maintained the web page, did marketing, shipped books, priced books, kept the accounts, helped with the development of books, and many other things.  With the retirement of Kathy Walker, most of the MWPS materials have been moved to Iowa extension and outreach store. (<a href="https://www-mwps.sws.iastate.edu/catalog/manure-management/circular-concrete-manure-tanks">https://www-mwps.sws.iastate.edu/catalog/manure-management/circular-concrete-manure-tanks</a>, Digital repository: <a href="https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/">https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/</a> ) <h2>NCCC-09 Conference Calls</h2> NCCC-09 committee held a conference calls on June 3rd, 2021. The conference started with congratulations on Kathy Walker’s retirement. The group took the opportunity to thank Kathy for all she has done and was willing to do to make MWPS successful. Kathy shared her thoughts about the retirement and future plans. The group then discussed the planning of the coming annual meeting. <h2>Livestock Mortality Management</h2> The Animal Mortality and Manure Composting website (go.illinois.edu/ammc) was updated. The new website provides information Provide training on Dead Animal Disposal Act, i-compost calculator (video is available in English and Japanese), emergency livestock mortality management, and safety consideration during livestock manure composting. Missouri faculty (Teng Lim and Joseph Zulovich) collaborated with other faculty from in-state and other states including Iowa, Nebraska, and Kansas to conduct regional coordination and leveraging of existing disaster preparedness and recovery resources. Lim collaborated with faculty from Oklahoma, Kentucky, Colorado, Maryland, and agency personnel to form a team of expert panel, for producing recommendation and report on “Livestock and Poultry Mortality Management Best Management Practices”. <h2>Certified Livestock Manager Training</h2> Illinois faculty conducted Certified Livestock Manager Training, which is a required training in Illinois for farmers who have more than 300 animal units was carried to a new platform and delivered online. <h2>Nutrient Management Planning workshops</h2> Nutrient Management Planning workshops were organized with UI Extension Educators to support small and medium Animal Feeding Operations (AFOs) to develop their nutrient management plans as a proactive approach to show legislatures that livestock producers are taking the best management practices into consideration Minnkota Agri-Builders and Suppliers Association The Minnkota Agri-Builders and Suppliers Association brings together regional university and Extension personnel, builders and suppliers in the livestock and grain processing industries, and government personnel who want to network and learn about advancements in the agricultural building and related fields. The Association allows the sharing of ideas and concerns in a non-competitive environment that helps the industry learn from one another, and informs Extension and research needs moving forward. This collaborative effort among University of Minnesota, South Dakota State University, Iowa State University and University of Nebraska-Lincoln adapted to the COVID-pandemic and hosted a series of four 1-hr Lunch and Learn webinars. There were 52 unique attendees, with 22 to 32 participants per session. Based on limited feedback to a survey (n=11), over 70% of participants felt each session was very useful. <h2>Win-Win Manure Utilization for Sustained Soil Health, Economic and Environmental Benefits</h2> As part of the multi-state NC-SARE funded professional development project, “Facilitating “Win-Win” Manure Utilization for Sustained Soil Health”, Minnesota contributed on-farm research and stakeholder conversations. The on-farm research question was whether manure applied on a field with minimal manure history would improve soil health in the short term. Two on-farm demonstrations occurred in the summer of 2021 in adjacent fields: one that was in a soybean-corn rotation (soybean was grown the previous year) and one that was in a continuous corn rotation. Supporting measurements included soil and plant nutrient analysis, corn yield, soil infiltration rate tests and a "soil your undies" trial. The stakeholder conversations were regional web-based discussions, focusing on the opportunities and challenges for moving manure between livestock and crop farmers. These discussions included folks within agencies and organizations that support local producers to identify some longer-term cooperation opportunities between participants. Some differences across regions gleaned from the conversations related to: changes in specific livestock sectors; opportunities with pasture based operations; and geographical aspects that influence manure management decisions. <h2>Air quality and Ventilation Systems in Animal Production Housing</h2> Brett Ramirez (Iowa State University) delivered over 12 workshops for barn managers and pig caretakers to address the need for improved understanding and management of mechanical ventilation systems in swine buildings. This reached over 200 attendees across Iowa. Joseph Zulovich is working with Multi-Committee Task Group (MTG) evaluating minimum ventilation requirements for all types of facilities and assessing how to evaluate ventilation effectiveness, assisting with the development of a white paper addressing air change rate (ACR), and the development of a work statement for a RAC proposal addressing indoor plant environments. He collaborated with the ASABE PAFS 40 Facilities & Systems Sub-Committee, revising ASABE Standards.  The group has progressed with the Design of Ventilation Systems for Livestock and Poultry (Standard number 270.6).  Others involved are MN (Erin Cortus and Kevin Janni), KY (Morgan Hayes), IA (Brett Ramirez and Rich Gates) and many others.  The team members will be working to get the revised 270 Standard information into the ASHRAE Handbook. Many NCCC-9 members are part of the working group that is revising ASABE Standard EP270 Design of Ventilation Systems for Poultry and Livestock Shelters. Zifei Liu (Kansas State University) conducted comprehensive literature review and meta-analysis on air emissions from swine facilities, and estimated the changes in emissions today relative to the NAEMs results. <h2>IAMResponsible for Food Safety</h2> Nebraska continued leadership of a nationwide outreach effort, called The iAMResponsible ProjectTM, to improve knowledge and behaviors among food producers and consumers about antimicrobial resistance. Nebraska faculty engaged a nationwide team of agricultural production, engineering, food safety, and veterinary medicine extension specialists in delivering information and programming content about AMR-related food safety; includes development and deployment of an outreach content database (housed in Air Table) for use by extension educators wishing to deliver local programming on AMR-related food safety <h2>AirTables Online Resource Databases</h2> UNL led development of “AirTables” (online resource databases) to share content about manure value, antimicrobial resistance, and responsible manure management with colleagues who can re-purpose social media content, articles, etc. for use in their states. These AirTables are publicly available through the Livestock and Poultry Environmental Learning Community (LPELC) website at <a href="http://www.lpelc.org">www.lpelc.org</a>.

Publications

<h1><a name="_Toc18941302"></a>NCCC-09 Publications</h1> Akdeniz*, N., S. Yi. 2021. The feasibility of alkaline hydrolysis of swine mortalities at ambient conditions and using the hydrolysates to hydroponically grow lettuce. Transactions of the ASABE 64(1): 73-82. https://doi.org/10.13031/trans.13992   Akinbile Demilade and Zifei Liu. 2021. Identification of meteorological factors affecting the timing of prescribed burning in Flint Hills through regression modeling using machine learning techniques. ASABE paper number 2100194. Akinbile Demilade and Zifei Liu. 2021. Regression models to simulate O3 contributions from prescribed burning in Flint Hills using daily burned-area data. ASABE paper number 2100195. Barrios, R., H. Khuntia, S. Bartelt-Hunt, J. Gilley, D. Snow, A. Schmidt and X. Li. 2020. Fate and transport of antibiotics and antibiotic resistance genes in runoff and soil as affected by the timing of swine manure slurry application. Science of the Total Environment (712):1-10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.136505 Canter, T., T.-T. Lim, and J. Zulovich. 2021. Nutrient recovery system for dairy farms: Dissolved air flotation and multi-disk press. https://extension.missouri.edu/publications/eq303  Canter, T., T.-T. Lim, and T. Chockley. 2021. Considerations of pull-plug sedimentation basin for dairy manure management. https://extension.missouri.edu/eq302  [Received the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers Educational Aids Blue Ribbon Awards (2021)] Cortus, E. L., Hetchler, B., Spiehs, M. J., & Rusche, W. (2021). Environmental conditions and gas concentrations in deep pit finishing cattle facilities: A descriptive study. Transactions of the ASABE, 64(1), 31-48.  https://doi.org/10.13031/trans.14040 Costa, T., N. Akdeniz*, R.S. Gates, J.F. Lowe, Z. Zhang. 2021. Testing the plastic‐wrapped composting system to dispose of swine mortalities during an animal disease outbreak. Journal of Environmental Quality, 1-12.  https://doi.org/10.1002/jeq2.20235  Daly, S., 2020. Biochemical methane potential testing and modelling for insight into anaerobic digester performance. Ph.D. dissertation. Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana. Duong, C. M., T.-T. Lim, and A. H. Wang. 2021. Evaluation of biological-based additive for pollution abatement. Applied Engineering in Agriculture, 37(2): 309-317. doi: 10.13031/aea.14281. Gilley, J.E., S.L. Bartelt-Hunt, J. Duerschner, X. Li, K. Eskridge, A.M. Schmidt and D.D. Snow. 2020. Swine slurry characteristics as affected by selected additives and disinfectants. Environmental Pollution. 260(2020). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2020.114058 Hosseini Taleghani A., T.-T. Lim, C.-H. Lin, A. C. Ericsson, and P. H. Vo. 2020. Degradation of veterinary antibiotics in swine manure via anaerobic digestion. Bioengineering, 7(4): 123. https://doi.org/10.3390/bioengineering7040123 Hall, M.C., J. Duerschner, J. Gilley, A. M. Schmidt, S. Bartelt-Hunt, D.D. Snow, K.M. Eskridge and X. Li. 2020. Antibiotic resistance genes in swine manure slurry as affected by pit additives and facility disinfectants. Science of the Total Environment. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.143287 Hall, M.C., N.A. Mware, J.E. Gilley, S.L. Bartelt-Hunt, D.D. Snow, A.M. Schmidt, K.M. Eskridge and X. Li. 2020. Influence of setback distance on antibiotic resistance genes in runoff and soil following the land application of swine manure slurry. Environmental Science and Technology 54(8):4800-4809. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.9b04834">https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.9b04834</a> Klimesh, S. E. & Ramirez, B. C. (Jun. 2021). The hard choices during tunnel ventilation. Li, J., N. Akdeniz, H.H.M. Kim, R.S. Gates, K. Wang, X. Wang. 2021. Quantification of sustainable animal manure utilization strategies in Hangzhou, China. Agricultural Systems, 191: 103150. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agsy.2021.103150 Li, J., N. Akdeniz, H.H.M. Kim, R.S. Gates, K. Wang, X. Wang. 2021. Optimal manure utilization chain for distributed animal farms: model development and a case study in Hangzhou, China. Agricultural Systems, 187: 102996. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agsy.2020.102996 Liu, Z. and Haque, M.A. 2020. Evaluate the representativeness of the NAEMS air emission data for swine operations in a changing industry. ASABE paper No. 2001437. St. Joseph, MI.: ASABE. Mao, Y., N.Akdeniz, T.H. Nguyen. 2021. Quantification of pathogens and antibiotic resistance genes in backyard and commercial composts. Science of the Total Environment, 797, 149197. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.149197  Meyers, M., L.M. Durso, J.E. Gilley, D.N. Miller, X. Li and A. Millmier Schmidt. 2020. Setback distance impacts on transport of antibiotic resistance phenotypes of fecal indicators. Agrosystems, Geosciences & Environment 2020; 3:e20081. https://doi.org/10.1002/agg2.20081 Meyers, M., L. Durso, J. Gilley, L. Castleberry, H. Waldrip and A. Schmidt. 2020. Antibiotic resistance gene profile changes in cropland soil following manure application and rainfall. Journal of Environmental Quality 2020:1-8. https://doi.org/10.2134/jeq2019.04.0153 Miller, D.M., M.E. Jurgens, L.M. Durso and A.M. Schmidt. 2020. Simulated winter incubation of soil with swine manure differentially affects multiple antimicrobial resistance elements. Frontiers in Microbiology 11:611912. (https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2020.611912) Nour, M., Field, W.E., Ni, J.-Q., Cheng, C., 2020. Farm-related injuries and fatalities involving children, youth and young workers during manure storage, handling and transport. J. Agromedicine (July), 1-11. http://doi.org/10.1080/1059924X.2020.1795034. Pu, S., X. Rong, J. Zhu, Y. Zeng, J. Yue, T. Lim, and D. Long. 2021. Short-term aerial pollutant concentrations in a Southwestern China pig-fattening house. Atmosphere, 12(1):103. doi:10.3390/atmos12010103. Ramirez, B. C. (Mar. 2021). Optimizing ventilation in small scale production. Acreage Living Newsletter – Small Farm Sustainability, Issue No. 37. Ramirez, B. C. (Jan. 2021). Proper ventilation vital for building environment management. Iowa Pork Producer Magazine, pg. 22. Rotz, C. A., Asem-Hiablie, S., Cortus, E. L., Spiehs, M. J., Rahman, S., & Stoner, A. An Environmental Assessment of cattle manure and urea fertilizer treatments for corn production in the Northern Great Plains. Transactions of the ASABE 64(4):1185-1196. https://doi.org/10.13031/trans.14275. Smith, B. C., Ramirez, B. C. & Harmon, J. D. Air filtration sizing worksheet for swine facilities. Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, Ames, IA. AER3541. Staley, Z., X. Li, B. Woodbury, A. Schmidt, L. Durso, K. Eskridge. 2020. Corn stalk residue may add antibiotic resistant bacteria to manure composting piles. Journal of Environmental Quality. (2020):1-9. https://doi.org/10.1002/jeq2.20017 Tong, X., Zhao, L., Heber, A., Ni, J.-Q., 2020. Mechanistic modelling of ammonia emission from laying hen manure at laboratory scale. Biosyst. Eng. 192 (April), 24-41. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.biosystemseng.2020.01.004. Tong, X., Zhao, L., Heber, A.J., Ni, J.-Q., 2020. Development of a farm-scale, quasi-mechanistic model to estimate ammonia emissions from commercial manure-belt layer houses. Biosyst. Eng. 196, 67-87. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.biosystemseng.2020.05.008. Wang, Y., Niu, B., Ni, J.-Q., Xue, W., Zhu, Z., Li, X., Zou, G., 2020. New insights into concentrations, sources and transformations of NH3, NOx, SO2 and PM at a commercial manure-belt layer house. Environ. Pollut. 262 (March), 114355. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2020.114355. Wang, Y., N. Akdeniz*, S. Yi. 2021. Biochar-amended poultry mortality composting to increase compost temperatures, reduce ammonia emissions, and decrease leachate’s chemical oxygen demand. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 315, 107451. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2021.107451   Wang, A. H., A. Yang, L. Yan, T.-T. Lim, and W. Wang. 2020. Long-term mesophilic anaerobic co-digestion swine manure with corn stover and microbial community analysis. Microorganisms, 8(2):188. https://doi.org/110.3390/microorganisms8020188 Wang, A. H., Y. Zhai, A. Yang, L. Yan, T.-T. Lim, H. Zhao, J.-D. Gu, D. Wei and W. Wang. 2020. Anaerobic digestion of dairy manure in a fixed bed CSTR: Methane production performance and microbial diversity. Bioresource, 14(4): 7965-7979. Yang, Y., Ni, J.-Q., Zhou, S., Xie, G.H., 2020. Comparison of energy performance and environmental impacts of three corn stover-based bioenergy pathways. J. Clean Prod. 272 (122631), 1-10. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.122631. Zeamer, K. M., Levesque, C. L., Cortus L., & Thaler, R. C. (2021). Findings from a survey of finishing-barn management benchmarks with South Dakota pork producers. Applied Animal Science, 37, 320-333.  https://doi.org/10.15232/aas.2020-02107 Zou B., Heber A. J., Shi Z. X., Du S. H., Jin Y., Lim T.-T. 2020. Comparison of direct and indirect determinations of dynamic ventilation rate in a modern dairy free stall barn. International Journal of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, 13(6): 41–46. Zulovich, J. M. 2020. “Important Construction Practices for Quality Concrete Slab Floors”.  National Frame Builders Magazine.  Volume 1, Number 6.  October 2020.  (<a href="https://www.nfba.org/resources/newsletters/magazines/2020-10/?page=1">https://www.nfba.org/resources/newsletters/magazines/2020-10/?page=1</a>)     <h1><a name="_Toc18941303"></a>Scientific and Outreach Oral Presentations</h1> Akdeniz, N. 2021. Animal Mortality Composting. Available in English and Japanese. University of Illinois Extension, Animal Manure and Mortality Composting (go.illinois.edu/ammc). Akdeniz, N., S. Solomon. 2021. Online Certified Livestock Manager Training (updated). University of Illinois Extension, CLMT (go.illinois.edu/clmt). Akdeniz, N. 2021. Biosecure Disposal of Livestock and Poultry Mortalities. Animal Health Symposium. Annual Meeting of American Society of Animal Science, St, Louisville, KY 40202. Canter, T., T.-T. Lim, J. Zulovich, R. Stowell, and T. Chockley. Pull-Plug Sedimentation Basin for Solids and Nutrient Removal at Small- and Medium-Scale Flushing Dairies. Pacific and Mountain West Nutrient Cycling, Soil Health and Food Safety Virtual Conference, October 27-29, 2020 (https://extension.wsu.edu/pmwncfsc). Cortus, E. L., “Balancing Air Quality Needs on and off the Farm”, Virtual 2020 ASA, CSSA and SSSA Annual Meeting (Nov 11, 2020). Invited. Cortus, E. L., “Communication and Cooperation Around Sustainability Metrics - Opportunities and Needs”, Virtual 2020 ASA, CSSA and SSSA Annual Meeting (Nov 12, 2020). Invited. Cortus, E. L., Ramirez, B. §, “Ventilation Workshop”, 2020 Swine Educators & Extension Virtual Conference (October 20, 2020). Invited. Cortus, E. L., “Gestation/Lactation Ventilation Do's and Don'ts”, SowBridge (Sept 2, 2020). Invited. Cortus, E. L. (Moderator), West, B. (Presenter), Hamilton, D. (Presenter), Smith, W. B. (Presenter). "Managing Manure Beyond the Farmyard: Manure Management for Less-Typical Species and Settings", Livestock and Poultry Environmental Learning Community. (Jan 17, 2020) Henning, E., A. Schmidt, A. Olivo, and L. Schott. 2020. Degradation of co-mingled cedar wood chips and livestock manure and its impact on soil health. Virtual Annual International Meeting of the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers, July 13 – 15, 2020. Koelsch, R., D. Andersen, E. Cortus, L. Johnson, A.M. Schmidt, S.A. Siek, and M. Wilson. 2020. Perceptions of barriers and benefits of manure use in cropping systems. Proceedings of the 2020 Annual International Meeting of the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers, Paper #2000753, Omaha, Nebraska, July 12-15, 2020. Millmier Schmidt, A., and M. Zelt. 2020. Understand. Adapt. Preserve. Increasing knowledge and motivating behavioral changes among food producers and consumers to preserve the efficacy of antibiotics through the iAMResponsible Project. Virtual World One Health Congress, Edinburgh, Scotland, October 30 – November 3, 2020. Millmier Schmidt, A., and M. Zelt. 2020. Antibiotic resistance profiles in fallow soil receiving raw, composted or stockpiled beef manure, or inorganic fertilizer. Virtual World One Health Congress, Edinburgh, Scotland, October 30 – November 3, 2020. Mware, N., M. Golgosky, A. Schmidt, G. Erickson, S. Bartelt-Hunt and X. Li. 2020. The effectiveness of alkaline stabilization on the reduction of antimicrobial resistance in beef cattle manure. Virtual Annual International Meeting of the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers, July 13 – 15, 2020. Ni, J.-Q., Erasmus, M.A., Li, C., Li, Y., 2020 of Conference. Nine decades of scientific research on air pollution related to food animal health and welfare. Paper Number 2000184. ASABE Annual Int. Meeting. July 12–15, Omaha, Nebraska, USA, p. 10. http://doi.org/10.13031/aim.202000184. Olivo, A., A. Schmidt and R. Koelsch. 2020. Impact of manure and cedar mulch application on agronomic and soil health variables in corn production systems. Virtual Annual International Meeting of the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers, July 13 – 15, 2020. Ramirez, B. C. 2021. Environmental control for swine facilities: Improved biosecurity and production. Presented at American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers Annual Conference, Virtual. Ramirez, B. C. 2021. What is a connected barn and how do we use it? Abstract presented at Midwest Section American Society of Animal Science Meeting, Virtual. doi: 10.1093/jas/skab054.238 Ramirez, B. C. 2021. My pigs are telling me to troubleshoot ventilation: a beginner’s guide. Paper presented at American Society of Swine Veterinarians Annual Meeting 2021, Virtual. Ramirez, B. C. 2021. Applying smart technologies to optimize climate conditions for swine populations. Paper presented at American Society of Swine Veterinarians Annual Meeting, Virtual. Zelt, M. and A.M. Schmidt. 2020. The iAMResponsible ProjectTM: Building a communication network to motivate broad action on antimicrobial resistance. Proceedings of the 2020 Annual International Meeting of the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers, Paper #2001042, Omaha, Nebraska, July 12-15, 2020. Zulovich, J. M. 2020.  “Building Design for AMS – New and Retrofit”.  Presentation as part of DPC Annual Conference Pre-Conference Workshop – Automated Milking Systems; What We Know, Don’t Know & Learned Along the Way.  November 3-6, 2020. Zulovich, J. M.  2021. “Is Air Change per Hour (h-1), cfm/ft2 or Something Else?”.  Debate #1 for ASHRAE Virtual Winter Conference, February 9-11, 2021. Zulovich, J. M. 2021.  “Ventilation Challenges for Animal Environments”.  Oral Presentation for Seminar 12, ASHRAE Virtual Annual Conference, June 28-30, 2021. Zulovich, J. M. 2021. “All Animals Are Not Created Equal”.  Panel member for Panel Session Discussion, ASHRAE Virtual Annual Conference, June 28-30, 2021.   <h1><a name="_Toc18941304"></a>Fund Leveraging, Specifically, Collaborative Grants Between Stations and Members</h1>   <ol> <li>Facilitating “Win-Win” Manure Utilization for Sustained Soil Health, Economic and Environmental Benefits. North Central Region Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education – Professional Development Grant Program. 10/01/18 – 09/30/21. PI: M. Schmidt; Co-PI: R. Koelsch (University of Nebraska); Sub-awards: D. Andersen (Iowa State) and E. Cortus (University of Minnesota). $74,905</li> </ol> This project will support SARE’s sustainability goals of long term profitability (better utilization of manure’s nutrient value), stewardship of natural resources (improved water and soil quality), and quality of life for rural communities (limit risk of manure’s negative qualities, such as odor). An existing multi-state working group will deliver a professional development program for those advising crop farmers intended to: build awareness of manure’s value; demonstrate benefits locally via on-farm research; and teach crop farmers to confidently identify "win-win" opportunities for manure use on cropland.   <ol start="2"> <li>Modern pigs urgently need facilities with modern ventilation: Updating swine ventilation standards/guidelines. C. Ramirez, M. D. Hayes, T. Brown-Brandl, J. D. Harmon, S. J. Hoff, G. A. Rohrer. $300,000. USDA/NIFA AFRI Critical Agricultural Research and Extension. 9/1/20 to 8/31/23 (3 yr).</li> </ol>   <h1><a name="_Toc18941305"></a>Other relevant accomplishments and activities</h1>   Joseph Zulovich is serving as director for Task Force 1 which addresses on-farm dairy production issues through the development of written resources called Guidelines. He also serves as member of Dairy Practices Council (DPC) Executive Board of Directors which includes planning for DPC Annual Conference.

Impact Statements

Outreach Programming Engaged High School Students UNL completed on-farm research at six Nebraska study sites, one Iowa study site, and one Minnesota study site; engaged with high school agriculture program students at three Nebraska schools; and delivered outreach programming to nearly 100 individuals in Nebraska, Iowa and Minnesota regarding the value of manure to cropping systems; includes development and deployment of an outreach content database (housed in Air Table) for use by extension educators wishing to deliver local programming on manure value, soil health, on-farm research, etc.

Date of Annual Report: 09/14/2022

Report Information

Annual Meeting Dates: 07/25/2022 - 07/25/2022
Period the Report Covers: 07/31/2021 - 07/01/2022