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TECHNICAL REPORTS

Quantifying Ammonia Emissions from a Cattle Feedlot using a Dispersion Model

^a Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, 5403–1 Ave South, Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada T1J 4B1
^b Dep. of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Univ. of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada
^c Thunder Beach Scientific, Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada

^* Corresponding author (mcginns{at}agr.gc.ca).

Received for publication April 3, 2007. Livestock manure is a significant source of ammonia (NH₃) emissions. In the atmosphere, NH₃ is a precursor to the formation of fine aerosols that contribute to poor air quality associated with human health. Other environmental issues result when NH₃ is deposited to land and water. Our study documented the quantity of NH₃ emitted from a feedlot housing growing beef cattle. The study was conducted between June and October 2006 at a feedlot with a one-time capacity of 22,500 cattle located in southern Alberta, Canada. A backward Lagrangian stochastic (bLS) inverse-dispersion technique was used to calculate NH₃ emissions, based on measurements of NH₃ concentration (open-path laser) and wind (sonic anemometer) taken above the interior of the feedlot. There was an average of 3146 kg NH₃ d^–1 lost from the entire feedlot, equivalent to 84 µg NH₃ m^–2 s^–1 or 140 g NH₃ head^–1 d^–1. The NH₃ emissions correlated with sensible heat flux (r² = 0.84) and to a lesser extent the wind speed (r² = 0.56). There was also evidence that rain suppressed the NH₃ emission. Quantifying NH₃ emission and dispersion from farms is essential to show the impact of farm management on reducing NH₃–related environmental issues.

Abbreviations: bLS, backward Lagrangian Stochastic • DM, dry matter