Presented at the SDSU Monoslope Beef Barn Open House; August 30, 2001; Goodwin, South Dakota.

Researchers at the USDA-ARS Meat Animal Research Center in Clay Center, Nebraska, studied the environmental conditions in and around the deep bed-pack in two commercial monoslope facilities. The results show how climatic conditions and bed-pack management impact air quality, manure quality and cattle comfort.

The study found:

• Higher ammonia release from the pack occurred during warmer months than colder months.  Therefore, strategies to mitigate emissions specific to the summer will have greater impact. Frequent cleaning around the bed pack area should improve overall air quality.
• Frequent removal of the bed pack (i.e. every 3 weeks) may reduce ammonia emissions, but maintaining a bed-pack with a high concentration of manure relative to bedding material may increase overall odor.
• The collected manure did not show significant differences in N-P-K-S nutrient value, compared to reported values for an open lot. However, the bed pack manure did have significantly higher volatile solids. This indicated higher organic matter content as a result of the bedding added.

More information and results of this study are available from the US Meat Animal Research Center. This project was funded in part by the Iowa Beef Center.

For more information, contact Dr. Erin Cortus, Air Quality and Waste Management Specialist (605-688-5144).