Agri-News

Reduction of ammonia losses from confined feeding operations may be economically significant for improving nitrogen utilization, increasing the crop yield and fertilizer cost saving.

“When reducing ammonia losses, the cost saving value increases as the cost of commercial inorganic fertilizer increases,” says Atta Atia, livestock air quality specialist with Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development, Edmonton. “Reducing ammonia volatilization also has environmental and health benefits to society. Ammonia emission is receiving more scrutiny from both animal and human health perspectives.”

Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development has developed a calculator using fact sheet information that was developed by University of Nebraska to estimate ammonia emissions from livestock facilities. The information from U. S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Agricultural Waste Management Field Handbook and LPES Lesson 21: Manure Storage Structures was then modified to suit Alberta conditions and used to develop the calculator.

“The online Ammonia Estimator calculator provides an approximation of ammonia emission based upon currently available information,” says Atia. “The calculator also provides producers with the estimate of the money that they will save by reducing the ammonia emitted to the atmosphere.”

To view and use the Ammonia Estimator, visit www.agric.gov.ab.ca/app19/ammoniaEstimator.