Northwest Ranchers And Dairies Struggle Against Freezing Temps, Wind Chill

Jan 04, 2017

By Anna King

Low temperatures, snow drifts and northeasterly winds east of the Cascades are making things difficult for Northwest ranchers and dairy owners. They are struggling to keep their animals hydrated, fed and warm.

Jack Field of Yakima, Washington, said his beef cattle and calves are struggling through 2-foot snow drifts, and his tractors are seizing up in the cold. Keeping the cattle fed is important since they can’t reach the standing hay or the grass under the snow.

Near Othello, Washington, Tony Freeman has 400 milking Holsteins. He said in this cold, every job takes twice as long. Freeman said it’s tough to keep the ice out of water troughs, tractors running, clean bedding and enough feed for the milkers.

Cold is also hard on the humans who tend them. Freeman spends a lot of his time telling his workers to come in the milk parlor every 15 minutes to thaw.

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Video: Swine Industry Advances: Biodigesters Lower Emissions and Increase Profits

Analysis of greenhouse gas (GHG emissions) in the Canadian swine sector found that CH4 emissions from manure were the largest contributor to the overall emissions, followed by emissions from energy use and crop production.

This innovative project, "Improving Swine Manure-Digestate Management Practices Towards Carbon Neutrality With Net Zero Emission Concepts," from Dr. Rajinikanth Rajagopal, under Swine Cluster 4, seeks to develop strategies to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions.

While the management of manure can be very demanding and expensive for swine operations, it can also be viewed as an opportunity for GHG mitigation, as manure storage is an emission source built and managed by swine producers. Moreover, the majority of CH4 emissions from manure occur during a short period of time in the summer, which can potentially be mitigated with targeted intervention.

In tandem with understanding baseline emissions, Dr. Rajagopal's work focuses on evaluating emission mitigation options. Manure additives have the potential of reducing manure methane emissions. Additives can be deployed relatively quickly, enabling near-term emission reductions while biodigesters are being built. Furthermore, additives can be a long-term solution at farms where biogas is not feasible (e.g., when it’s too far from a central digester). Similarly, after biodigestion, additives can also be used to further reduce emissions from storage to minimize the carbon intensity of the bioenergy.