Ammonia Emission, Manure Nutrients and Egg Production of Laying Hens Fed Distiller Dried Grain Diets

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2010-09-01
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Patterson, P.
Xin, Hongwei
Gregory, C.
Pekel, A.
Burley, H.
Adrizal, Adrizal
Topper, P.
Adviento-Borbe, M.
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Xin, Hongwei
Distinguished Professor Emeritus
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Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering

Since 1905, the Department of Agricultural Engineering, now the Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering (ABE), has been a leader in providing engineering solutions to agricultural problems in the United States and the world. The department’s original mission was to mechanize agriculture. That mission has evolved to encompass a global view of the entire food production system–the wise management of natural resources in the production, processing, storage, handling, and use of food fiber and other biological products.

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In 1905 Agricultural Engineering was recognized as a subdivision of the Department of Agronomy, and in 1907 it was recognized as a unique department. It was renamed the Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering in 1990. The department merged with the Department of Industrial Education and Technology in 2004.

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1905–present

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  • Department of Agricultural Engineering (1907–1990)

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Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering
Abstract

A USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, Conservation Innovation Grant project coordinated by the United Egg Producers (UEP) conducted concurrent demonstrations in Iowa and Pennsylvania (PA) at commercial laying hen facilities. The goal was to document manure nutrient and gas emission improvements through the use of dried distiller’s grain with solubles (DDGS) diets and/or other dietary modifications while maintaining or improving hen productivity. Results of the PA trial are presented here. Diets containing 10% corn DDGS with (D+P) or without (D) the probiotic Provalen™ were compared to a corn-soybean based control diet (CON). The isocaloric, amino acid balanced diets were fed to three groups of 39,800 Lohmann hens in one house. Hens were 20-65 wk of age with each diet provided to 2 of 6 rows of stacked cages with manure belts (six decks high). Feed intake, water consumption, hen body weight (BW), egg production (EP,) egg case weight, mortality, feed cost (FC), and egg income (EI) were provided weekly by the cooperating egg company. Replicated monthly data, including egg weight (EW), albumen height (AH), Haugh units (HU), yolk color (YC), shell strength (SS) and shell thickness (ST), were determined from eggs collected from six 4-cage sections of hens on each diet. Replicated monthly samples of hen manure (fresh and from storage) were analyzed for moisture and major nutrients. Ammonia (NH3) gas measurements utilized a non-steady state flux chamber method coupled with photoacoustic infrared gas analyzer. There was no clear trend in the magnitude of NH3 emissions relative to the diets within the hen house as measured on the manure belt. At 32 and 36 wks of age, NH3 emissions were significantly (P < 0.10) higher in D while D+P and CON were lower and similar. At 48 and 52 wks, NH3 emissions from D were similar to D+P and significantly lower than CON. Emission rate from belt manure averaged 0.42 ±0.025 g bird-1 d-1 for all treatments and dates. There was no significant impact of diet on BW, EW, HU, SS, or ST (P =0.10 to 0.66), however, CON hens had lower EP, AH, and YC compared to D and D+P hens (P=0.05). Fresh manure total phosphorus (P2O5) was higher for CON samples (P < 0.05) while other major agronomic nutrients and moisture were not significantly different among treatments. Stored CON manure samples had increased moisture and NH4-N compared to those of D and D+P treatments (P < 0.10). Weekly EI minus FC averaged $6,146, $6,215, and $6,209 for the CON, D, and D+P diets, respectively.

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This proceeding is from International Symposium on Air Quality and Manure Management for Agriculture Conference Proceedings, 13-16 September 2010, Dallas, Texas. Paper No. 711P0510cd.

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Fri Jan 01 00:00:00 UTC 2010