The Battle Rages In Institutions Across The Country Keeping E. Coli At Bay Away From The Beef Chain

Jan 25, 2017

The battle against E. coli continues by researchers across the country. Kansas State University’s Dr. Randy Phoebus, is one of those working hard to try to reduce E. coli incidents within the beef cattle industry. He spoke with Radio Oklahoma Ag Network Farm Director Ron Hays about the last six years of research that has been conducted by 17 different institutions working in concert to combat this damaging pathogen.

“It actually center on beef production - feedlots, calves, veal,” Phoebus said. “Everything that you can think about related to the beef system.”

Before researchers began to study and try to understand the organism back in the mid-1990s when it was first declared an adulterant in ground beef by the USDA, not much was known about E. coli. Six years later though after this project was undertaken, funded by the USDA, Phoebus reports that by and large, most strains of the organism share relatively similar profiles.

“That was very important to know,” Phoebus said, “because all of the technologies and protocols that we’ve put in place over the years should control these other Escherichia the same way,” which he notes has been extremely successful.

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Video: Swine Industry Advances: Biodigesters Lower Emissions and Increase Profits

Analysis of greenhouse gas (GHG emissions) in the Canadian swine sector found that CH4 emissions from manure were the largest contributor to the overall emissions, followed by emissions from energy use and crop production.

This innovative project, "Improving Swine Manure-Digestate Management Practices Towards Carbon Neutrality With Net Zero Emission Concepts," from Dr. Rajinikanth Rajagopal, under Swine Cluster 4, seeks to develop strategies to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions.

While the management of manure can be very demanding and expensive for swine operations, it can also be viewed as an opportunity for GHG mitigation, as manure storage is an emission source built and managed by swine producers. Moreover, the majority of CH4 emissions from manure occur during a short period of time in the summer, which can potentially be mitigated with targeted intervention.

In tandem with understanding baseline emissions, Dr. Rajagopal's work focuses on evaluating emission mitigation options. Manure additives have the potential of reducing manure methane emissions. Additives can be deployed relatively quickly, enabling near-term emission reductions while biodigesters are being built. Furthermore, additives can be a long-term solution at farms where biogas is not feasible (e.g., when it’s too far from a central digester). Similarly, after biodigestion, additives can also be used to further reduce emissions from storage to minimize the carbon intensity of the bioenergy.