Resource Library

AgSTAR's Anaerobic Digester/Biogas System Operator Guidebook is a comprehensive technical resource that offers best practice guidance related to the operation and maintenance (O&M) of anaerobic digestion (AD)/ biogas systems.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Biogas Toolkit serves as a centralized knowledge hub for biogas project stakeholders. The toolkit is designed to allow stakeholders to search and browse for information and resources that meet their specific project needs.

AgSTAR's Project Development Handbook was created to help farmers, technology developers, financial investors and policymakers better understand AD/biogas systems in order to make more informed decisions and develop sustainable, manure-management solutions.

Dairy operations continue to be plagued by a high incidence of metabolic disorders and infectious diseases around calving. Turbulent transitions increase expenses, decrease milk production, impair reproductive performance, and result in premature death. Practical management strategies to minimize health problems while still promoting high milk production have remained elusive.

Farms with livestock have the advantage of being able to supply manure, which has many of the nutrients required for crop production, to their fields. To protect water quality and use these nutrients to support crop growth, manure has to be applied with consideration for timing, method, and rate.

By Judith L Capper, and Roger A Cady. Although milk yield per cow has increased over the past decade, whole-system environmental impact analyses have not been conducted over this time. The objective of this study was to compare the environmental impact of U.S. dairy cattle production in 2007–2017.

Nitrogen interception technology recycles ground water in areas where, because of soil type and other conditions and where manure effluent is being land-applied, there is a danger of elevated groundwater nitrate levels. This technology uses shallow wells in fields that receive wastewater to intercept nitrogen and reuse it for irrigation.

An excellent video produced by Washington State University that highlights two of the innovative ways that the dairy industry is working to address the environmental issues it is facing using new technologies that create usable products and reduce their costs.

This study, led by Dr. Ermias Kebreab, Dr. Frank Mitloehner, and Dr. Daniel A. Sumner from the University of California, Davis, and funded by the California Dairy Research Foundation, finds that California's voluntary climate-smart solutions in the dairy industry could achieve a 40% reduction in methane emissions by 2030.

Researchers provide a comprehensive review of current enteric methane mitigation options to improve the carbon footprint of ruminant food products. The paper highlights the opportunities and barriers to the implementation of the current available options as well as the economic, regulatory, and societal aspects that are key to implementation.