Wednesday Nite at the Lab

press release: For the fall semester, WN@TL goes hybrid both with Zoom and with in-person presentations. The zoom registration link is still go.wisc.edu/240r59. You can also watch a live web stream at biotech.wisc.edu/webcams

On February 2 Rebecca Larson of Biological Systems Engineering will speak on “Climate Change and Agriculture:  Mitigation Strategies for Dairy.”

 Dairy systems produce greenhouse gases that are lost to the atmosphere and contribute to global climate change. While many energy sources are larger overall contributors, livestock systems are major contributors of methane particularly from enteric methane and manure management systems. In addition to methane, nitrous oxide from crop fields is also a significant source of emissions. Mitigation strategies have largely focused on manure management as there are many potential paths for intervention. This talk will cover the larger dairy system and the potential practices that can be implemented on dairy systems to reduce overall emissions. Manure systems are comprised on multiple components, including manure collection, processing, storage, and land application. There are many management interventions that can be integrated into each of these systems to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Manure processing systems generally hold the largest potential to reduce methane losses from manure. Anaerobic digestion systems and solid liquid separation systems are both commonly integrated on dairy systems and both provide significant benefits. This talk will cover the basics of intervention strategies, their overall impact, how we evaluate the impact, and the potential and limitations for further intervention. Finally, it is important to discuss how we measure and track emissions from these systems as the accounting techniques are important for all evaluations of environmental impact assessments. In addition, reducing greenhouse gas emissions has potential to increase other environmental impact categories. This talk will also focus on the tradeoffs facing the livestock industry with specific mitigation strategies. 

Dr. Larson is an Associate Professor and Extension Specialist in the Biological Systems Engineering Department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She completed her B.S, M.S., and Ph.D. in Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering at Michigan State University. The main component of her work focuses on increasing sustainability of food waste and livestock manure systems to reduce environmental impact while maintaining profitability.