ZEOLITES FOR WASTE MANAGEMENT IN DIARY FARM.

• Waste management is an important issue in livestock, with each producer looking for a better way to manage waste. The biogas has been implemented in some farms now the use of Zeolites is another option. Dean Swagger is a dairy man, with a dairy herd of approximately 4,000 head, handling manure in a way that is friendly both to his neighbors and the environment is a key priority. That’s why he has partnered with Mario de Haro-Marti, University of Idaho Extension educator in Gooding County to test different methods for handling dairy waste. De Haro-Marti specializes in dairy and livestock environmental education.One the new methods that shows promise is a zeolite filter to remove ammonia and odor from a dairy manure flush system’s pit. Swagger Dairy has a mix of flushed free stalls and open lots. The collection pit receiving the flush water was capped during the summer of 2015. Gases were collected using a fan with variable frequency drive connected to floats and then passed through a self-contained pressurized zeolite filter. Zeolites are highly absorbent porous minerals, composed largely of silica and aluminum. They are useful for their ability to capture and hold a variety of undesirable materials, much like a sponge absorbs water. Zeolites have long been used in water filtration systems or in aquariums. Preliminary results from three replicated on-farm trials showed that the ammonia levels were reduced from 53 to 92 percent in 2015. Odor emissions were also reduced by 45 percent. The project was funded through a USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service Conservation Innovation Grant. Based on those results and what he observed during the trial period, Swagger believes the zeolite filter worked but he’s not convinced it’s a solution for everyone. Read more here;http://magicvalley.com/business/agriculture/research-shows-new-options-for-manure-management/article_4f7f55cd-0648-5ca9-ad77-cf80feb8d125.html

BIOTECHNOLOGY USES IN AGRICULTURE.

Biotechnology making better crops and livestock by careful selection of traits to increase yield,produce disease and pest resistance and drought resistance products. This entails a collection of specific technique to improve plant and animals. Genetic modification/genetic improvement/genetic engineering; refers to the process where there is transfer of useful characteristics into plants and animals. This process allows transfer of specific traits to plants or animals to produce improved and better versions.Crops improved with genetic modification aid farmers to increase productivity by reducing crop damage from weeds,diseases and insects. Molecular markers; the use in agriculture involves the use of DNA of a plant/animal that posses desirable trait,even when not visible.This has resulted in breeding that are more specific and ensure better products. This process has been used by the international institute of tropical agriculture to produce cow pea resistant to bruchid, disease resistant white yam and cassava resistant to cassava mosaic disease. Molecular markers is useful to identify undesirable genes that can be eliminated in future generation. Molecular diagnosis are methods to detect genes/gene products that are very precise and specific.Molecular diagnosis are used in agriculture to accurately diagnose crops and livestock diseases.The application in agriculture is vaccine production,these vaccines are cheaper,better and safer.They are stable at room temperature,hence refrigeration is not necessary making it very acceptable in remote villages. In the Philippines, biotechnology has been used to develop an improved vaccine to protect cattle and water buffalo against hemorrhagic septicemia. Tissue culture; this is the regeneration of plants in laboratory from disease-free plant part.This technique allows for the reproduction of disease free planting material for crops.This method has been used to produce improved crops such as pineapples,bananas,pawpaws and avocados. This tissue culture has also been used in food production especially cheese making,,also in animal husbandry where a sheep(dolly) was produced from mammary cells. The potential of biotechnology is explosive and can solve food scarcity issues and environmental pollution and food poisoning from use of pesticides.The process of biotechnology have produced crops that have been engineered to produce their own Bt protein(bacillus thuringiensis) a soil bacterium that contains a protein that is toxic to a wide range of insects but not harmful to animals and humans.