The Top Five Tips for Effective Feedlot Design

The lot feeding industry started in Australia in the mid-60’s. Development was steady until 1975 when a major downturn occurred. The industry slowly recovered and by 1985, a new phase of development had commenced. At that time, most Australian designs were based on US ideas that were developed in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s. The 1980’s expansion coincided with a period of increasing public awareness of environmental and animal welfare issues. Improvements were needed to the design and management of feedlots in Australia. Industry and government agencies responded and, in the early 1990’s, there were numerous research and extension activities aimed at lot feeding. Great improvements were made. Ten years ago, ALFA and Queensland DPI ran the “Designing Better Feedlots” Workshop. From this workshop, the DPI publication – “Designing Better Feedlots” – was born. This book was the first feedlot design manual specifically aimed at the Australian industry and it has been a useful background document for many lot feeders. In this past ten years, the industry has matured and while growth has not been as hectic and the late 1980’s and early 1990’s, steady progress has been made. In this paper, I will occasionally look back at the “Designing Better Feedlots” manual and see where changes have been made in the intervening period. This paper looks at “big picture” issues for feedlot design. Other speakers will deal with the detail of certain aspects of feedlot design and management.

Citation: Watts, PJ (2004), "The Top Five Tips for Effective Feedlot Design", Proceedings of BEEFEX 2004 Conference, Royal Pines, Gold Coast.

PDF: Watts_BEEFEX_2004.pdf

A Novel Concept for Modeling Odor Impact from Feedlots

Emissions from feedlot operations are known to vary by environmental conditions. Estimating the emissions from feedlot sources for modeling odors is a difficult challenge. A new approach using a feedlot hydrology model to derive necessary inputs for a feedlot emissions model has been developed. A feedlot pad emissions model that predicts emissions as a function of pad temperature, pad depth, and pad moisture content has been developed. A second model that predicts the emissions from sediment basins and holding ponds and is a function of days since rain, inflow volume, inflow ratio (pond volume), and temperature has been developed. Additionally, appropriate emission values for manure and compost storage areas have been investigated. The use of a feedlot hydrology model to estimate the variables for use in the emissions model allows for variable emissions for existing or proposed sites to be predicted over a long time horizon. The application of this process can be used to model odor impact from feedlots with atmospheric dispersion models. Such an application allows for variable emissions based on climate changes, management, and site-specific conditions. A possible application of this process is the development of simple separation distance tools for small to medium sized feedlots. The feedlot emissions predictions used in the model were based on an extensive set of odor samples collected by a wind tunnel over a range of environmental conditions. A brief explanation of the methodology is presented.

Citation: Henry, CC, PJ Watts and PJ Nicholas (2006) "A Novel Concept for Modeling Odor Impact from Feedlots", Workshop on Agricultural Air Quality, Washington DC, June 5-8, p 720-723.

PDF: Feedlot_Odour_Model_2006.pdf

The Farts, Facts and Fiction on Greenhouse Emissions and the Lot Feeding Industry

Barely a day goes by without some reference to greenhouse gases in the media. It might be the Garnaut Report, climate change, carbon footprints, emissions trading or a carbon tax. However, surveys indicate that, while the majority of the population wants the government to do something about carbon emissions, few people understand much of the science. The organising committee for BEEFEX 2008 asked me to provide the farts, facts and fiction on greenhouse emissions and the lot feeding industry (their title, not mine!). In this paper, there will be no discussion as to whether climate change is a reality or not nor whether humans have caused global warming due to the emission of greenhouse gases. The truth is that climate change is a political reality as demonstrated by virtually every country on the planet signing up to the Kyoto Agreement. Furthermore, climate change is becoming an economic reality with more consumers asking about the carbon footprint of the products that they purchase and an emissions trading scheme about to be launched. In this rapidly changing environment, all industries must be aware of how the political and economic agendas of climate change will affect their businesses. Ten years ago, only a small group of environmental scientists discussed greenhouse gases. Five years ago, these scientists started to make dire claims about the world’s future but were often derided as alarmists. Today, half of the scientific community is scrambling to develop skills in greenhouse issues and to obtain research funding. After a slow start, knowledge is now being gained at a rapid rate and it is very difficult to keep up with the latest results. Publications that are only a few years old are now out of date. Hence, much of what is presented in this paper will be outdated within a few years. However, one thing is true – the political and economic agendas in climate change are developing more quickly than the science that is needed to support those agendas. The challenge for the lot feeding industry – as with many other sectors – is how to respond politically and economically while in a state of imperfect scientific knowledge.

Citation: Watts, PJ (2008). "The Farts, Facts and Fiction on Greenhouse Emissions and the Lot Feeding Industry". Presentation at BEEFEX 2008, Royal Pines, Gold Coast.

PDF: Watts_BEEFEX_2008_Presentation.PDF

An Investigation of Lot-fed Cattle Drinking Water Consumption under Australian Conditions

Drinking water is vital for the health, welfare and productivity of lot-fed beef cattle, and the main component of feedlot water usage. The objectives of this study were to gain a better understanding of drinking water consumption patterns and to evaluate factors affecting consumption. This study was conducted at a medium sized cattle feedlot located on the Darling Downs, Queensland. Drinking water consumption and diurnal consumption patterns were measured and recorded with water meters with data logging capabilities. Meteorological data was obtained from an on-site automatic weather station. In this study, a daily maximum of 75 L/head/day was measured in summer with a daily minimum of approximately 11 L/head/day measured in autumn. The relationship between drinking water consumption and a number of meteorological parameters were evaluated. Drinking water consumption is at its lowest during periods of cool and wet weather. Seasonal variations were found with the diurnal drinking water consumption pattern.

Citation: Davis, RJ, SG Wiedemann, GS Cornford and PJ Watts (2009). "An Investigation of Lot-fed Cattle Drinking Water Consumption under Australian Conditions", Biennial Conference of the Australian Society for Engineering in Agriculture (SEAg), published by SEAg, Editors: T.M. Banhazi and C. Saunders - 13-16 of September 2009, Brisbane, QLD.

PDF: Feedlot_Water_2009.PDF

Energy Usage of Individual Activities within Australian Cattle Feedlots

Whilst lot feeders usually have good records of total annual energy usage, little data exists on actual usage levels for the individual components of the operation, including water supply, feed management, waste management, cattle washing, administration and repairs and maintenance. This information is invaluable for feedlots in understanding the drivers of energy consumption and targeting high energy use areas for efficiency gains and for future design and management considerations. Seven feedlots were selected to provide a sample group representative of the geographical, climatic and feeding regime diversity within the Australian feedlot industry. Electricity, fuel and gas usage data were collected to allow an examination of energy usage by the major energy usage activities (water supply, feed management, waste management, cattle washing). Expressed on a per head basis total annual energy usage ranged from 444 MJ/head to 1483 MJ/head, and was primarily dependent on the type of feed processing system in use. Knowledge of the total energy consumption will allow the feedlot industry to benchmark itself against other intensive or extensive livestock industries and or industrial processes. This study also offers individual feedlot operators the opportunity to identify options for energy efficiency in the feedlot.

Citation: Davis, RJ, SG Wiedemann and PJ Watts (2009) "Energy Usage of Individual Activities within Australian Cattle Feedlots", Biennial Conference of the Australian Society for Engineering in Agriculture (SEAg), published by SEAg, Editors: T.M. Banhazi and C. Saunders - 13-16 of September 2009, Brisbane, QLD

PDF: Feedlot_Energy_2009.pdf

Why Not Incorporate Feedlot Greenhouse Gas Emissions Modelling into MEDLI?

A readily accessible, agreed modelling framework for estimating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from beef feedlots is a desirable prerequisite for any future GHG emission assessments. We contend GHG assessments should take into account the environmental and management effects on daily moisture, nutrient and solids dynamics in the manure pad, and hence GHG emissions. A potential vehicle is MEDLI (Model for Effluent Disposal Using Land Irrigation) which is the benchmark model available for effluent reuse/disposal assessments in Australia. MEDLI has filled the need for a common model for regulatory and consultancy purposes. An existing validated feedlot hydrology model developed for MEDLI that accommodates design, management and environmental effects to predict manure pad composition and runoff, coupled with a GHG modelling framework, represents a potential win/win for the industry in understanding their GHG contributions and for those charged with conducting GHG research and assessments. This paper demonstrates the potential suitability of MEDLI for facilitating GHG decision support and addressing identified knowledge gaps. A recommended continuous monitoring method using specific GHG chemical sensors for verifying the magnitude of predicted GHG emissions for different environmental and management scenarios is also described.

Citation: Watts, PJ, MG Atzeni, MJ Scobie, MR Redding and JH Sohn (2009) "Why Not Incorporate Feedlot Greenhouse Gas Emissions Modelling into MEDLI?" Biennial Conference of the Australian Society for Engineering in Agriculture (SEAg). Published by SEAg, Editors: T.M. Banhazi and C. Saunders – 13-16 of September 2009, Brisbane, QLD

PDF: Feedlot_GHG_MEDLI_2009.pdf