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Methane (CH4) emissions from manure management on livestock farms are a key source of greenhouse gas emissions in some regions and for some production systems, and the opportunities for mitigation may be significant if emissions can be adequately documented. We investigated a method for estimating CH4 emissions from liquid manure (slurry) that is based on anaerobic incubation of slurry collected from commercial farms. Methane production rates were used to derive a parameter of the Arrhenius temperature response function, lnA', representing the CH4 production potential of the slurry at the time of sampling. Results were used for parameterization of an empirical model to estimate annual emissions with daily time steps, where CH4 emissions from individual sources (barns, outside storage tanks) can be calculated separately. A monitoring program was conducted in four countries, i.e., Denmark, Sweden, Germany and the Netherlands, during a 12-month period where slurry was sampled to represent barn and outside storage on finishing pig and dairy farms. Across the four countries, lnA' was higher in pig slurry compared to cattle slurry (p < 0.01), and higher in slurry from barns compared to outside storage (p < 0.01). In a separate evaluation of the incubation method, in-vitro CH4 production rates were comparable with in-situ emissions. The results indicate that lnA' in barns increases with slurry age, probably due to growth or adaptation of the methanogenic microbial community. Using lnA' values determined experimentally, empirical models with daily time steps were constructed for finishing pig and dairy farms and used for scenario analyses. Annual emissions from pig slurry were predicted to be 2.5 times higher than those from cattle slurry. Changing the frequency of slurry export from the barn on the model pig farm from 40 to 7 d intervals reduced total annual CH4 emissions by 46 %; this effect would be much less on cattle farms with natural ventilation. In a scenario with c

This research studied the usability of the ratio of nitrogen to phosphate in manure before and after storage, in order to interpret the difference between N losses from low-emission housing compared to that from the reference housing without low-emission equipment. Airscrubbers were not included in this research. The analysis was performed using national data, in addition for dairy, farm-specific data were used, allowing correction for farm-specific factors. The analyses showed that differences between N losses from low-emission- and reference housing could be well interpreted. The results showed that the studied low-emission housing systems (until 2021) for dairy did not have verifiable lower N losses than the reference A1.100 barn, even after correction for farm-specific characteristics. Low-emission houses for fattening pigs and poultry did show lower N losses than from the reference housing systems, but not as much as might be expected. Further research is needed to get a grip on the factors that reduce the effect of low-emission systems to ensure efficacy., Dit onderzoek bestudeerde de bruikbaarheid van de verhouding tussen stikstof en fosfaat in de mest voor en na opslag, om het verschil te kunnen duiden tussen N-verliezen uit emissie-arme stallen vergeleken met die uit de referentiestal zonder emissie-arme inrichting. Luchtwassers waren geen onderdeel van deze studie. De analyse werd uitgevoerd met landelijke data, daarnaast werden voor melkvee ook bedrijfsspecifieke data gebruikt, waardoor gecorrigeerd kon worden voor bedrijfsspecifieke factoren. De analyses toonden aan dat verschillen tussen N-verliezen uit emissie-arme en referente stallen goed geduid konden worden. Hierbij bleek dat de onderzochte emissiearme stalsystemen (tot 2021) voor melkvee geen aantoonbaar lagere N-verliezen hadden dan de referente A1.100 stal, ook niet na correctie voor bedrijfsspecifieke kenmerken. Emissie-arme stallen voor vleesvarkens en pluimvee lieten wel lagere N-verliezen zien dan uit de referente stalsystemen, maar niet zo veel als verwacht mocht worden. Nader onderzoek is nodig om grip te krijgen op de factoren die het effect van emissie-arme systemen verminderen om de werking te borgen.

Because methane emissions are important for the dairy sector, a reconstruction of annual methane emissions back to 1950 and an exploration of the mitigation potential up to 2050 have been carried out. To show the long term effect of reduced annual methane emissions, the development of the methane amount in the atmosphere has been calculated up to 2090., Vanwege het grote belang van methaanemissies in de melkveehouderij is een reconstructie uitgevoerd van de methaanemissies sinds 1950 en is een verkenning uitgevoerd van de potentiële jaarlijkse emissiereductie in de periode tot 2050. Omdat de vermindering van methaanemissies op de lange termijn leidt tot lagere methaanhoeveelheid in de atmosfeer, is de ontwikkeling van die hoeveelheid berekend tot 2090.

Nederland zal de komende jaren, aanvullend op de stikstofaanpak, ook forse stappen moeten zetten op de terreinen van waterkwaliteit (Kaderrichtlijn Water; Nitraatrichtlijn) en klimaat (EU Green Deal). Daarom heeft het ministerie van LNV, samen met Directoraat Generaal Stikstof (DGS) en het ministerie van Financiën, PBL, RIVM en WUR verzocht om twee varianten van een toekomstige stikstofaanpak nader te analyseren. Daarbij gaat het om een variant die primair gericht is op stikstofreductie, de ‘stikstofvariant’, en een ‘integrale variant’, waarbij ook de samenhang met andere opgaves, in het bijzonder die voor klimaat en water in beeld wordt gebracht. WUR heeft in dit rapport een kwalitatieve analyse uitgevoerd van effecten van maatregelen uit de dossiers stikstof, waterkwaliteit en klimaat op de emissies van ammoniak, methaan, lachgas en CO2 en op de uit- en afspoeling van stikstof en fosfaat. Daarnaast heeft WUR de betekenis van een integrale gebiedsgerichte aanpak nader in beeld gebracht aan de hand van drie voorbeeldgebieden: melkveehouderij in het veenweidegebied, intensieve landbouw op zandgronden en grondgebonden landbouw op zandgronden.

This report describes design of and management in animal housings common in 2013 for the main livestock categories. These serve as reference to quantify the effect of measures to reduce ammonia emissions within the framework of the Dutch national program PAS (Programmatische Aanpak Stikstof) to reduce nitrogen deposition in The Netherlands, Dit rapport beschrijft uitvoering van- en management in stallen zoals dat in 2013 gangbaar was voor de belangrijkste categorieën landbouwhuisdieren. Deze dienen als referentie om het effect van maatregelen om ammoniakemissie te reduceren te kunnen kwantificeren in het kader van de Programmatische Aanpak Stikstof (PAS)

Animal manure is a key component that links crop and livestock production as it contains valuable nutrients for the soil and crop. Manure is also a source of environmental pollution through losses of nutrients, such as nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P), and losses of carbon (C). These losses are largely determined by the way manure is managed. Technologies to reduce nutrient and C losses from manure mainly focused on reducing a single emission while unwillingly increasing another emission at the same time; a phenomenon called pollution swapping. To prevent pollution swapping, we need to gain insight into the integral environmental consequences of technologies and use these insights to (re)design the manure management chain. The aim of this thesis, therefore, was to provide knowledge and insight into the environmental consequences of current and future strategies for manure management. The environmental consequences of the following technologies were assessed: mono- and co-digestion of liquid manure; high-tech separation of liquid manure with further dewatering of the liquid fraction; and segregating fattening pig urine and feces inside the housing system. Following, we designed new strategies for integrated manure management that prevent pollution swapping, and assessed the environmental consequences of these strategies. Life cycle assessment was used to calculate the environmental impacts of current and future strategies. For the design, we adapted and used a structured approach to engineering design to create new strategies for integrated manure management. It was concluded that mono-digestion of liquid manure reduced the environmental impact compared to conventional manure management, but has a low potential to produce bio-energy. Co-digestion with waste and residues, such as roadside grass, increased bio-energy production and further reduced the environmental impact. Co-digestion with substrates that compete with animal feed increased bio-energy production, but al