Best Management Practices for Reducing Ammonia Emissions - Feedlot Pen Management

Confined cattle feeding operations have been identified as a potential source of airborne ammonia emissions. The majority of ammonia produced at feedlots comes from fresh urine on pen surfaces. Even on pastures, urine spots are responsible for about 96% of total ammonia emissions. Further, 80% of the total ammonia emissions from urine spots occur during the first 48 hours of exposure to the atmosphere. Ammonia that is lost to the atmosphere is no longer available for managed application as a nitrogen fertilizer, decreasing the nutritive value of feedlot manure for land application.

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