Ammonia Emissions from Animal Agriculture: An Introduction – Livestock and Poultry Environmental Learning Community

Air emissions from animal agriculture operations consist of many different gases as well as suspended particulates (dust or microbes). One of these gases, ammonia, is gaining greater attention for its role in odor, but also as a precursor of fine particulate matter (PM 2.5). PM 2.5 has implications in haze and visibility as well as human health. The materials on this page were developed to assist educators and professors who include an introduction to include ammonia emissions as a topic in their classrooms or programs.

Fact Sheets

Atmospheric Ammonia: Understanding Its Effects. Ron Sheffield, Louisiana State University

Ammonia Emissions from Cattle Feeding Operations Part 1 of 2: Issues and Emissions.Sharon L. P. Sakirkin, Texas AgriLife Research; N. Andy Cole and Richard W. Todd, USDA-Agricultural Research Service; Brent W. Auvermann, Texas AgriLife Extension Service,Texas AgriLife Research.

Alternate download: Ammonia from Cattle Operations part 1 (Introduction) and part 2 (abatement) combined in a single document (17 pages; PDF format)

Videos

Ammonia Deposition Alpine Ecosystems

A look at the growing concern about the impacts of ammonia deposition in Rocky Mountain National Park.

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Ammonia Emissions

Rick Todd, USDA ARS (10 minutes)

Presentation Slides

Acknowledgements

These materials were developed by the Air Quality Education in Animal Agriculture (AQEAA) project with with financial support from the National Research Initiative Competitive Grant 2007-55112-17856 from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

For questions about the materials on this page contact Dr. Ron Sheffield, Louisiana State University Ag Center. For questions about the AQEAA project, contact Dr. Rick Stowell, University of Nebraska (rstowell2@unl.edu).

If you need to download a copy of a segment, submit a request.

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Photo (right): Ammonia is a precursor to fine particulate matter (also known as PM 2.5) which can lead to hazy conditions. These conditions are becoming a more common occurrence for visitors to Rocky Mountain National Park.