Brief Summary of Minutes of Annual Meeting

The 2019 S1074 Annual Meeting was held at the Big Ten Conference Center, 5440 Park Place, Rosemount, IL, May 21-22, 2019. The annual meeting theme was nutrient imbalance.

• The meeting was chaired by Kevin Janni, S1074 vice-chair. Fifteen project members attended the meeting. Project officers for 2019-2020 will be: Kevin Janni, Chair; Lide Chen, Vice chair; Zong Liu, Secretary; and Zifei Liu, Past chair. Their terms begin October 1, 2019. Plans for the annual report and future webinars and possible locations for 2020 S1074 annual meeting were discussed. Zifei Liu volunteered to lead the effort to develop a conference proposal targeting 2020.
• Wendy Powers provided guidance on the annual report and informed us about plans of relocating USDA headquarters and employees, potential NIFA program matching funds policies, and healthy multi-state hatch projects.
• Attendees introduced their research related to this project.
• Erin Cortus and Kevin Janni led an activity to develop draft scenarios for realizing nutrient balance for a cycle that included a feed source, animal production, manure, and soil. Four groups discussed and described nutrient sources and inputs, losses by leaching, air emissions or erosion, accumulation over time and linkages or rare limiting processes. Four groups reported their discussions back to the meeting attendees. The attendees were asked to identify past or existing technologies, practices and policies that are contributing to nutrient imbalance problems. The attendees were also asked to propose ideas to accomplish nutrient balance throughout the cycle.
• Erin Cortus led the committee as a whole in a discussion to identify next steps and important challenges to address nutrient imbalance. The committee plans are to (1) 2019/2020-Define what the committee means by a nutrient balance considering different scales and identify a threshold for action when an area is out of balance; (2) 2020/2021-Identify solutions to address nutrient imbalances.
• Kevin Janni agreed to organize an online meeting to work on skeletal outlines drafted by Becky Larson and John Classen.
• John Classen led a mini workshop based on INFEWS-ER learning modules. The INFEWS-ER project was funded by NSF and a number of S1074 committee members are on the project. During the mini workshop time, attendees worked on a worksheet entitled “Stakeholder Analysis Matrix Template”, discussed a “Community Capitals Framework Model”, “Communicating Science”, and “Communication plans”. Alison Deviney presented “Graphical Abstracts”.
• S1074 is planning to hold four webinars. The proposed dates are: the 3rd Friday of September, November, February and April. The dates are: September 20, 2019; November 15, 2019, February 21, 2020 and April 17, 2020. The times will be: 11 am Eastern time, 10 am Central time, 9 am Mountain time and 8 am Pacific time.
• Topics and ideas for more investigation and Tasks for 2019-2020 were discussed. The plan is to continue work on Nutrient Imbalance. The group also agreed to support the Livestock in Community INFEWS-ER cohort activity for the 2019-2020. This effort will help identify needs under the Next Generation Livestock Housing Issue Topic in the S1074 project proposal.

S1074 Committee Accomplishments for this reporting period include:

1. An S1074 shared drive was created for sharing information.
2. Nutrient Imbalance was identified as the first topic issue the group will focus on in 2018-2019.
3. S1074 organized a webinar by Dr. April Leytem from USDA ARS in Kimberly Idaho. Dr. Leytem presented her work related to Nutrient Imbalance. Online poll questions asked webinar participants if there were nutrient imbalances at four levels (i.e., individual farms, counties, state, and multi-state region). Poll results indicated that 83%, 77%, 53%, and 69% respondents indicated that there were nutrient imbalances at individual farms level, county level, state level, and multi-state region level, respectively. Webinar participants answered a question about their interest in nutrient imbalance and a nutrient imbalance issue team. The results were: 8% were interested in some leadership of the group; 75% were interested in active participation; 8% wanted to be kept me informed; and 8% had little or no interest.
4. S1074 organized a webinar by Dr. Quirine Ketterings, Cornell University. Dr. Ketterings presented her work on “Cornell’s Experiences with Application of Whole Farm Nutrient Balance Assessments on New York Dairies”.
5. S1074 had a fruitful annual face-to-face meeting. Next steps and challenges related to nutrient imbalances were identified. Topics and ideas for further investigation and tasks for the next year were discussed (refer to summary of 2019 S1074 annual meeting minutes above).

Collective and multi-state accomplishments by project objectives:

Objective 1. Create networks and engage network participants

1. Several S1074 members participate in a multi-institutional National Science Foundation project to develop the Innovations at the Nexus of Food Energy and Water Systems – Educational Resources (INFEWS-ER): A Virtual Resource Center for Transdisciplinary Graduate Student Training at the Nexus of Food, Energy, and Water. The Virtual Resource Center for INFEWS-ER has developed unique learning resources for graduate students wanting to develop their transdisciplinary skill set.
   1. The project produced learning experiences to develop critical soft skills supporting transdisciplinary competencies. The INFEWS-ER “Toolbox Modules” enhance the performance of transdisciplinary collaborators.
   2. Two graduate student cohorts of approximately 5–10 graduate students were recruited from different disciplines and institutions to complete a 3 credit hour course in a semester based system for 1 to 2 semesters. The cohorts under the guidance of mentors work collaboratively on “wicked problems (Levin et al., 2012). Each cohort identified a specific challenge and student product that would result from their experience. The students’ products resulting from the first two cohort challenges were presented at the spring 2019 INFEWS-ER Symposium.
2. Several S1074 members are active in the Livestock and Poultry Environmental Learning Community (LPELC), an eXtension learning network. LPELC includes Extension specialists and professionals across multiple universities that maintain and develop new materials for the LPELC website and their programs.
3. Several S1074 members lead and participate in i(AM)Responsible: A Nationwide Network for Engaging Consumers and Agricultural Producers in Addressing Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) The nationwide multi-disciplinary team of research and extension professionals with expertise in livestock production, veterinary medicine, food safety, communication strategies and environmental management has the capacity to design and deliver nationwide extension programming focused on antimicrobial resistance (AMR). The principal activities of the project to date have involved curating, translating and disseminating agricultural, environmental, and food safety-related AMR research outcomes via social media and short extension articles for blog and print outlets.
4. Several S1074 members organized and participated in Waste to Worth 2019 which was held in Minneapolis, MN, April 22-26, 2019. Waste to Worth is a biennial conference that highlights science and innovative outreach geared toward animal agriculture and the environment. The 150 participants represented University and/or Extension (40%), USDA agency staff (24%), Regulatory agency staff (9%), Farmers/Ranchers (6%), Agribusiness (6%) and others. Conference participants came from a broad set of backgrounds in animal science, soil science, agricultural engineering, microbiology and agronomy. The conference’s opening session focused on animal livestock sustainability.
5. Some S1074 members have collaborated with colleagues at Washington State University, USDA ARS, Utah State University, Oregon State University, Montana State University to organize a regional conference focusing on Nutrient Recycling and Food Safety in the Pacific and Mountain Northwest which will be held in October 2020 in Boise, Idaho.

Objective 2. Collate metrics and tools to evaluate sustainable animal systems

1. Some S1074 members are leading and participating in a pilot-project underway to evaluate “Environmental Footprints for Regional Swine Production Systems Now and in the Future”. Faculty at the University of Minnesota and University of Nebraska are: 1) Engaging regional producers in Environmental Footprint calculations; 2) Measuring the change in knowledge, interest and trust in environmental sustainability and related metrics following engagement with local educators; and 3) Evaluating strategies that have potential to help local producers reach sustainability metric goals.
2. Some S1074 members are leading and participating in a multi-state collaborative effort between University of Minnesota, South Dakota State University, North Dakota State University and several USDA-ARS stations to examine the linkages between beef cattle production and corn production in the Northern Great Plains. The team is comparing and integrating the barn and land application data to the Integrated Farm System Model (Rotz et al. 2016), to provide a broader platform for decision making that incorporates nutrient cycling, economics and crop and animal production.

Objective 3. Address knowledge gaps and potential solutions

Several S1074 members and their colleagues are conducting research to address knowledge gaps or potential solutions that will inform the committee’s work on nutrient imbalances for diverse animal agricultural systems and situations that can impact nutrient management.

1. Researchers in Missouri, Nebraska, Arkansas, Ohio, and Colorado collaborated on an integrated USDA-NIFA project: Water and Nutrient Recycling: A Decision Tool and Synergistic Innovative Technology.
2. Faculty from Missouri, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Colorado, Maryland, and agency personnel collaborated to form an expert panel, for producing recommendation and report on “Livestock and Poultry Mortality Management Best Management Practices”. The project was funded by the U.S Environmental Protection Agency, Chesapeake Bay Program (CBP).
3. Research has been done to develop advanced liquid anaerobic digestion systems for dry poultry litter treatment with valorization. New information on the optimal total solids level for digestion was obtained.
4. Liquid manure solid/nutrient separation is an important manure management process and. Tests on flushing liquid dairy manure solid and nutrient distributions were conducted. The data was incorporated to extension materials and presented at several conferences and producer workshops.
5. Research on the transport of soluble phosphorus was done to produce an index that provides guidance on the use of manure and fertilizers that maximizes beneficial plant uptake and minimizes environmental risk. The research included examining the extent and impact of macropores in different soil types, soluble phosphorus leaching from the freeze/thaw of cover crops, impact of manure application timing on soluble phosphorus release, and computational modeling of the fate of nutrients applied to crop soil.
6. Research was done using nanoparticles (nZnO and nAg) to determine their effectiveness in mitigating gaseous emissions and total gas production. The nanoparticles tested in this study reduced the cumulative gas volume by 16 to 79% compared to the control. Only nZnO consistently reduced GHG concentrations by 37 to 97%. Reductions in H2S concentrations ranged from 87 to 97%.
7. Research was done that demonstrated that manure pellets could provide nutrients to crops as a slow-release fertilizer. This strategy could improve the flexibility in applying animal manure where needed, restoring the animal-crop production integration while improving crop productivity, environmental stewardship, and farm profitability.
8. Research was done on emissions of greenhouse gases, particularly nitrous oxide, from manure management systems at beef cattle feed yards. The results are being incorporated into analytical tools that produce a better inventory of total and seasonal emissions together and identification of potential mitigation approaches.
9. Work was done with county based dairy extension agents to identify education topics of interest to stakeholders around the dairy community centered on management of manure and other agricultural waste.
10. Research was done to monitor and collect environmental (local weather) data that impacts management of manure nitrogen on farms to better inform recommendations made to producers to manage to manage manure efficiently.
11. Research is being done to decipher producer perceptions on manure technology use and adoption on farms with a use improved and efficient manure management practices that conserve or minimizes manure nitrogen loss post excretion before use as fertilizer.

Lin, H., S. Wu, J. Zhu. 2018. Modeling power generation and energy efficiencies in air-cathode microbial fuel cells based on Freter equations. Applied Science 8(10):1983.

Shen, J., J. Zhu. 2018. Kinetics of poultry litter in a leach bed reactor with agitation based on two mechanisms: enzymatic hydrolysis and direct solubilization. Biochemical Engineering Journal 135 (15): 115-122.

Wu, S., L. Chen, J. Zhu, M. Walquist, D. Christian. 2018. Pre-digestion to enhance volatile fatty acids (VFAs) concentration as a carbon source for denitrification in treatment of liquid swine manure. J. Environ. Sci. Health Part A 53(10): 891-898.

Lin, X, Z. Han, H. Yu, Z. Ye, S. Zhu, J. Zhu. 2018. Struvite precipitation from biogas digestion slurry using a two-chamber electrolysis cell with a magnesium anode. Journal of Cleaner Production 174: 1598-1607.

Niraula, S., Rahman, S., Chatterjee, A., Cortus, E. L., Mehata, M.*, & Spiehs, M. J. (2019). Beef Manure and Urea Applied to Corn Show Variable Effects on Nitrous Oxide, Methane, Carbon Dioxide, and Ammonia. Agronomy Journal, 111(3), 1448. doi: 10.2134/agronj2018.08.0547 doi: 10.2134/agronj2018.08.0547

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

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.

Powers, C., R. Stowell, J. Heemstra, J. Harrison, E. Whitefield, D. Smith, S. Mukhtar, J. Risse, P. Knox, G. Hawkins, C. Gooch, J. Pronto, D. Schmidt, and L, Jacobson.  2018.  Building capacity to address animal agriculture in a changing climate.  J. of Extension 56(1): Article # 1FEA8.

Bulet, E., D. Baral, X. Li, G. Erickson, A. Schmidt, J. Schmidt and B. Wang. 2019. Fate of antibiotic resistance in the environment: From beef cattle production through manure storage and land application. Proceedings of the 2019 Annual Meeting of International Association for Food Protection, Louisville, KY, July 21-24, 2019.

Rodríguez, L., Marshall, A.-M., Cotton, D., Koelsch, R., Koziel, J.A., Meyer, D., Steward, D., Heemstra, J., Padmanabahn, A., Classen, J., Meyer, N.J., Ruddell, B., Ryan, S.M., Cai, X., Habib, E., & Saundry P.D. (2019). The development of the INFEWS-ER: a virtual resource center for transdisciplinary graduate student training at the nexus of food, energy, and water. Frontiers in Environmental Science, doi: 10.3389/fenvs.2019.00038.

Sarker, N. C., Md. Borhan, A. Fortuna, and S. Rahman. 2019. Understanding gaseous reduction mechanisms in swine manure resulting from nanoparticle treatments under anaerobic storage conditions, Journal of Environmental Sciences. 82: 179-191

Sarker, N. C., S. Rahman, Md. Borhan, P. Rajasekaran, S. Santra, and A.Ozcan. 2019. Nanoparticles in mitigating gaseous emissions from liquid dairy manure stored under anaerobic condition, Journal of Environmental Sciences, 76: 26-36.

Sarker, N. C., F. Keomanivong, Md. Borhan, S. Rahman, and K. Swanson. 2018. In vitro evaluation of alfalfa and maize silage with nano zinc oxide (nZnO) in mitigating enteric gaseous emissions, Journal of Animal Science and Technology, 60:27.

Liu, Z. and X. Wang. Manure Treatment and Utilization in Production Systems. Animal Agriculture 1st Edition, Sustainability, Challenges and Innovations. Elsevier, 2019. In press.

Han, S., S.C. Long, T. Runge, C. Dong, and Z. Liu. Impact of Dairy Manure Processing Using Polyacrylamide on Antibiotic-Resistant Bacterial Level. Water, Air, & Soil Pollution, 2019. 230(3): 58.

Han, S., Y. Huang, and Z. Liu. Bacterial indicator reduction in dairy manure using hybrid zero-valent iron (h-ZVI) system. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 2019. 26(11): 10790-10799.

Liu, Z., J. Howe, X. Wang, X. Liang, and T. Runge. Use of dry dairy manure pellets as nutrient source for tomato (Solanum Lycopersicum var. cerasiforme) growth in soilless media. Sustainability, 2019. 11(3): 811.

McDonald, M. D., K. L. Lewis, G. L. Ritchie, P. B. DeLaune, K. D. Casey, and L. C. Slaughter. 2019. Carbon dioxide mitigation potential of conservation agriculture in a semi-arid agriculture region. AIMS Agriculture and Food. 4(1): 206-222. http://dx.doi.org/10.3934/agrfood.2019.1.206

Parker D. B., H. M. Waldrip, K. D. Casey, B. L. Woodbury, M. J. Spiehs, K. Webb and W. M. Willis. 2018. How do temperature and rainfall affect nitrous oxide emissions from open-lot beef cattle feedyard pens? Transactions of the ASABE 61(3): 1049-1061. http://dx.doi.org/10.13031/trans.12788

Parker, D. B., B. Meyer, T. Jennings, J. Jennings, N. A. Cole, and K. D. Casey. 2018. Enteric nitrous oxide emissions from beef cattle. The Professional Animal Scientist 34(6): 594-607. http://dx.doi.org/10.15232/pas.2018-01769

Sharma, S., N., Rajan, S. Cui, S. J. Maas, K. D. Casey, S. Ale, and R. Jessup. 2019. Carbon and evapotranspiration dynamics of a non-native perennial grass with biofuel potential in the Southern U.S. Great Plains. Agricultural and Forestry Meteorology. 269-270: 285-295. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2019.01.037

Wang, L., L. Chen, S. Wu, and J. Ye. 2019. Non-airtight fermentation of sugar beet pulp with anaerobically digested dairy manure to provide acid-rich hydrolysate for mixotrophic microaogae cultivation. Bioresource Technology 278 (2019) 175-179. (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2019.01.075)