Effects of Reducing Dietary Nitrogen on Ammonia Emissions from Manure on the Floor of a Naturally Ventilated Free Stall Dairy Barn at Low (0-20°C) Temperatures

This study was conducted to determine the potential for reducing ammonia (NH3) emissions from manure deposited on the floor of a naturally ventilated free stall barn by mid-lactation dairy cows fed reduced or normal N diets. Two crude protein (CP) diets (178 g kg(-1) [high] and 159 g kg(-1) [low] dry matter), were used. The diets were fed to 48 Holstein cows in a replicated crossover design with two pens per diet. The NH3 emitted from the manure deposited on the floor was measured using a dynamic flux chamber. The NH3 emissions were 2.7 (+/- 2.0) and 2.9 (+/- 1.8) g N cow(-1) d(-1) for high and low CP diets, respectively. Ammonia emission rates were significantly affected by manure pH, TKN, and ambient air temperature (P < 0.05). Dietary CP affected the feed N intake (8.7 and 7.1 kg pen(-1) d-1 for high and low CP, respectively), but did not affect milk yield (500 and 489 kg pen(-1) d(-1) for high and low CP, respectively) and milk CP content (30 g kg(-1) for both the high and low CP diets). The N utilization efficiency was 29.0% and 32.7% for the high and low CP diets, respectively. Reducing dietary CP reduced total Kjeldahl N (TKN) in manure, but did not affect the total ammoniacal N (TAN) in manure and had no significant effect on the ammonia emission rates from the barn floor.