Measuring methane emissions from two dairy farms: Seasonal and manure-management effects

• DOI: 10.1016/j.agrformet.2014.02.003
• Publication Date: 2014-04-08T14:54:31Z
• Authors: A.C. VanderZaag; T.K. Flesch; R.L. Desjardins; H. Baldé; T. Wright
• Keywords: Manure management; Barn; Methane Emissions; Cow dung

a b s t r a c t There is a need to improve the understanding of methane (CH4) emissions on multiple spatial and tempo- ral scales, and on a sector basis. Livestock are significant contributors to the CH4 budget, with emissions coming from enteric fermentation by ruminants and management of liquid manure. Inventory estimates for methane emissions are based on methodology that needs to be verified with actual on-farm measure- ments. Responding to these needs, the objectives of this study were to apply the backward Lagrangian Stochastic (bLS) technique on small dairy farms (50-100 lactating cows) and to examine its suitability to determine CH4 emissions from whole farms and partition emissions from cattle and manure. Measure- ment campaigns were selected to characterize the emission response to farm management activities and seasonal changes. At both farms the whole-farm emission rate was measured when the liquid manure storages were either full or emptied. Emissions from manure were substantial, and in the fall when the manure storage was full, 60% of the whole farm emissions came from the manure storage. Substantial seasonal differences in whole-farm emissions were observed, with fall season emissions being ∼40% higher than in the spring due to much higher manure emissions in the fall (673 g lactating-cow −1 d