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Effect of Dietary Inclusion of Medium-Chain Saturated Fatty Acids on Ammonia and Methane Emitting Potential of Dairy Manure

Published by the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers, St. Joseph, Michigan www.asabe.org

Citation:  International Symposium on Air Quality and Manure Management for Agriculture Conference Proceedings, 13-16 September 2010, Dallas, Texas  711P0510cd.(doi:10.13031/2013.32700)
Authors:   Alexander N Hristov, Chanhee Lee, Terri Cassidy, Maria Long, Kyle Heyler, Eileen Wheeler, Patrick Topper
Keywords:   Lauric Acid, Coconut oil, Dairy cow, Manure, Ammonia, Methane

Two experiments with lactating dairy cows were conducted to evaluate the effect of dietary inclusion of medium-chain saturated fatty acids (lauric and myristic, Exp. 1 and coconut oil, Exp. 2) on the ammonia and methane emitting potential of dairy manure. Experiment 1 was a replicated 3 3 Latin square design trial with 6 cows and Experiment 2 was a completely randomized block design trial with 36 cows and also involved dietary crude protein levels as a treatment. Individual cow (Exp. 1; n = 6) or composite (Exp. 2; n = 2) fecal and urine samples were combined in a 1.7:1 (w/w; feces and urine, respectively) ratio and ammonia and methane emitting potential of manure was measured in a steady-state gas emission system. In Exp. 1, the end-point cumulative ammonia emission was greater for lauric acid than for the control. Diets had marginal effect on manure methane emissions. In Exp. 2, dietary protein level had a profound effect on ammonia emissions; the low-crude protein diet had 37% lower ammonia emissions compared with the high-crude protein diet. The end-point cumulative methane emission was drastically increased by coconut oil compared with the control. Overall, individual medium-chain saturated fatty acids fed to dairy cows had biologically insignificant effects on the ammonia and methane emitting potential of manure as measured in these experiments. A larger dose of coconut oil caused a sizable increase in cumulative methane emission from dairy manure.

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