2002 Annual Report
Research
National Center for Manure and Animal Waste Management
Frank Humenik, Director, North Carolina State University
Larry Jacobson, Professor
David Schmidt, Assistant Extension Engineer
Jun Zhu, Assistant Professor, Southern Research and Outreach Center, Waseca,
MN
Neil Hansen, Assistant Professor, West Central Research and Outreach Center,
Morris, MN
Researchers and extension specialists from 15 other U.S. universities
Funding Source
USDA—Fund for Rural America Grant
Objective
The overall objective of this multi-state (14 states and 16 universities)
project is to develop animal waste management practices that are economically,
environmentally, and socially sustainable by identifying knowledge and
technology gaps in four general areas: research and development, technology
evaluation and demonstration, education and training, and social policy
activities.
Project Description
The Center takes an interdisciplinary, multi-state approach to collating
and disseminating existing information on the long-term development and
implementation of animal waste management practices that are economically,
environmentally, and socially sustainable. The materials produced will
identify knowledge and technology gaps and facilitates the research, development,
and education needed to fill those gaps. Using a systems approach that
integrates technologies across species and region, the Center’s efforts
will support sustainable animal production practices that reduce environmental
risk and meet public needs and concerns.
Results
The Center is completing its third year of organizational and programmatic activities. Participants are for the most part working in one of the four focus areas (research and development, technology evaluation and demonstration, education, training, and information dissemination, and social, community, economic and policy issues) to provide a balance of efforts. To provide initial credibility and visibility for the Center, a total of fifteen white papers on various topics of animal waste management have been completed. The University of Minnesota took the lead on the paper entitled “Site Selection of Animal Facilities Based on Air Quality Criteria” and also contributed to two others: “Odor Mitigation for Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations” and “Air Quality and Emissions from Livestock and Poultry Production/Waste Management Systems.” Funds were awarded on a competitive basis for research projects on air and water quality, nutrition, and community issues. One of these funded projects will be the evaluation of Minnesota’s OFFSET setback estimation tool on a monitored pig production site that will collect data in 2003. Another funded project is supporting the collection of total suspendable solids (TSP) dust using two gravimetric methods that will enhance the results of the ongoing six-state Aerial Pollutant Emissions from Animal Confinement Buildings emission project.