Assessing Influence Factors on Daily Ammonia and Greenhouse Gas Concentrations from an Open-Sided Cubicle Barn in Hot Mediterranean Climate

Implications of seasonal and daily variation on methane and ammonia emissions from naturally ventilated dairy cattle barns in a Mediterranean climate: A two-year study

Seasonal and daily variations of gaseous emissions from naturally ventilated dairy cattle barns are important figures for the establishment of effective and specific mitigation plans. The present study aimed to measure methane (CH4) and ammonia (NH3) emissions in three naturally ventilated dairy cattle barns covering the four seasons for two consecutive years. In each barn, air samples from five indoor locations were drawn by a multipoint sampler to a photoacoustic infrared multigas monitor, along with temperature and relative humidity. Milk production data were also recorded. Results showed seasonal differences for CH4 and NH3 emissions in the three barns with no clear trends within years. Globally, diel CH4 emissions increased in the daytime with high intra-hour variability. The average hourly CH4 emissions (g h-1 livestock unit-1 (LU)) varied from 8.1 to 11.2 and 6.2 to 20.3 in the dairy barn 1, from 10.1 to 31.4 and 10.9 to 22.8 in the dairy barn 2, and from 1.5 to 8.2 and 13.1 to 22.1 in the dairy barn 3, respectively, in years 1 and 2. Diel NH3 emissions highly varied within hours and increased in the daytime. The average hourly NH3 emissions (g h-1 LU-1) varied from 0.78 to 1.56 and 0.50 to 1.38 in the dairy barn 1, from 1.04 to 3.40 and 0.93 to 1.98 in the dairy barn 2, and from 0.66 to 1.32 and 1.67 to 1.73 in the dairy barn 3, respectively, in years 1 and 2. Moreover, the emission factors of CH4 and NH3 were 309.5 and 30.6 (g day-1 LU-1), respectively, for naturally ventilated dairy cattle barns. Overall, this study provided a detailed characterization of seasonal and daily gaseous emissions variations highlighting the need for future longitudinal emission studies and identifying an opportunity to better adequate the existing mitigation strategies according to season and daytime.

Assessment of a UWB Real Time Location System for Dairy Cows' Monitoring

In the field of precision livestock farming, many systems have been developed to identify the position of each cow of the herd individually in a specific environment. Challenges still exist in assessing the adequacy of the available systems to monitor individual animals in specific environments, and in the design of new systems. The main purpose of this research was to evaluate the performance of the SEWIO ultrawide-band (UWB) real time location system for the identification and localisation of cows during their activity in the barn through preliminary analyses in laboratory conditions. The objectives included the quantification of the errors performed by the system in laboratory conditions, and the assessment of the suitability of the system for real time monitoring of cows in dairy barns. The position of static and dynamic points was monitored in different experimental set-ups in the laboratory by the use of six anchors. Then, the errors related to a specific movement of the points were computed and statistical analyses were carried out. In detail, the one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was applied in order to assess the equality of the errors for each group of points in relation to their positions or typology, i.e., static or dynamic. In the post-hoc analysis, the errors were separated by Tukey's honestly significant difference at p > 0.05. The results of the research quantify the errors related to a specific movement (i.e., static and dynamic points) and the position of the points (i.e., central area, perimeter of the investigated area). Based on the results, specific information is provided for the installation of the SEWIO in dairy barns as well as the monitoring of the animal behaviour in the resting area and the feeding area of the breeding environment. The SEWIO system could be a valuable support for farmers in herd management and for researchers in the analysis of animal behavioural activities.

Analysis of the Horizontal Distribution of Sampling Points for Gas Concentrations Monitoring in an Open-Sided Dairy Barn

In the livestock sector, the monitoring of gas concentrations plays a relevant role in the implementation of mitigation strategies, as well as the improvement in the indoor air quality for both workers and animals in barns. In the present study, measurements of gas concentrations (NH3, CH4, and CO2) at different locations were carried out in an open dairy barn using a commercial photo-acoustic spectroscopy system. Measurement variability for different datasets was computed to contribute to the evaluation of the sampling strategy in the measurement campaign. The results showed that the position of sampling locations (SLs) significantly influenced (p < 0.001) the variability in the gas distribution. Specifically, the SLs located on the perimeter of the building had the highest variability. The number of SLs utilised for determining the mean value of gas concentration in the barn had a significant influence on NH3 (p < 0.001), CO2 (p < 0.001), and CH4 (p < 0.001) in both the central zone and the perimeter one. At least three SLs were necessary to obtain a mean value of gas concentration that reduced the variability to under the 10% in the central zone and 16% in the perimeter one. Moreover, the NH3 concentrations obtained as the mean value of the gas measurements at two SLs with a 10 m distance had a lower variability compared to those recorded at two SLs located at 5 m.

Effect of a High Welfare Floor and a Concrete Slatted Floor on the Growth Performance, Behavior and Cleanliness of Charolais and Limousin Heifers: A Case Study

Simple Summary

The barn floor needs to provide a confident and comfortable walking surface while retaining durability and affordability. The floor of the barn is also important in order to achieve the best performance, health and welfare of the animals. Therefore, we compared a high welfare floor (HWF), which should offer higher comfort, to a concrete slatted floor (CSF), which is a standard housing system for cattle rearing. In the trials, Charolais and Limousin heifers were used testing the latter systems. We observed that heifers housed on an HWF tended to exhibit more species-specific behaviors, namely rubbing, grooming and aggression, and seemed to be cleaner than those housed on a CSF.

Abstract

Various floor systems are used in cattle housing with different characteristics in terms of roughness, abrasion, wetness, bedding material, ease of cleaning, etc. Thus, the activity and welfare of the animals are greatly influenced by the type of floor. The floor of the barn can influence the development of health diseases, technopathies and the production and quality of animal products. Therefore, in the present case study, we studied the effects of two different flooring systems on the performance and on some behavioral and cleanliness parameters in heifers. Two floor systems (concrete slatted flooring (CSF) and high welfare flooring (HWF)) and two breeds (Charolais and Limousin) were used in the experiment. Heifers on HWF tended to show a higher frequency of grooming, rubbing and aggression than those on CSF, but not of standing, lying, eating, drinking, rumination, resting, stereotypies and covering of the animals. In addition, animals housed on HWF also appeared to show higher cleanliness than those housed on CSF. Results indicated that animals housed on HWF exhibited more social and self-care behaviors, suggesting that animals housed on such floors show more species-specific behaviors and have higher welfare.