U.S. flagAn official website of the United States government
                    Here's how you know **Official websites use .gov**
                            
                            A **.gov** website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
 **Secure .gov websites use HTTPS**
                            
                            A **lock** (                            
                              A locked padlock                                                      
                            
                            ) or **https://** means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.


Menu Agricultural Research Service
						
                    U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
 close



Research
                Research Home
                            National Programs
                            Research Projects
                            Scientific Manuscripts
                            International Engagement
                            Scientific Software/Models
                            Databases and Datasets
                            Office of Scientific Quality Review
            Media
                News & Features
                            Multimedia
                            Briefing Room
                            Down on the Farm
                            Press Room
                            Science in Your Shopping Cart
                            Scientific Discoveries
                            Tellus
                            Under the Microscope
            About ARS
                About ARS Home
                            Staff Directory
                            Labs and Research Centers (Map)
                            Headquarter Offices
                            Organizational Chart
                            Employee Services (REE Employees Only)
                            Office of Outreach, Diversity, and Equal Opportunity
            Work With Us
                Work With Us Home
                            ARS Vacancies at USAJOBS
                            Careers at ARS Information
                            Scientific Collaborations
                            Extramural Agreements
                            1890 Faculty Research Sabbatical ProgramSearch small
                    Search
            
            ARS Home
                                About ARS
                                Contact Us




ARS Home News & Events News Articles Research News 2013





- ARS News & Events
- AgResearch Magazine
- Image Gallery
- News
- Search News & Events
- Pesticide Drift May Endanger Pollinators
- ARS Seeks a Fire Ant Fix
- Scientific Discoveries 2024
- ARS Featured Photos
- Down on the Farm
- Facebook Live Events
- Food and Nutrition Research Briefs
- News Archive
- Science in Your Shopping Cart
- Scientific Discoveries
- Social Media
- Under the Microscope
- AgResearch magazine
- ARS at Work
- ARS Memorial Lectures
- ARS Science Hall of Fame
- Citrus Disease (Huanglongbing)
- Contact Office of Communications
- Plant Hardiness Zone Map
- Mobile Apps
- Public Affairs Contacts
- Publications and Other Resources
- USDA Blog
- Videos

Archived Page
 This page has been archived and is being provided for reference purposes only. The page is no longer being updated, and therefore, links on the page may be invalid.
 **Read the magazine story to find out more.**ARS scientists are studying the fate of cow manure in feedlots and in fields with an eye to increased food and environmental safety. Click the image for more information about it.For further readingOrganic compounds eliminate disease-causing pathogens*E. coli* can survive in streambed sediments for monthsDoes grilling kill *E. coli* O157:H7? The Lifetime Journeys of Manure-based Microbes By Ann Perry  February 22, 2013 Studies at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) are shedding some light on the microbes that dwell in cattle manure—what they are, where they thrive, where they struggle, and where they can end up. This research, which is being conducted by Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists at the agency's Agroecosystems Management Research Unit in Lincoln, Neb., supports the USDA priority of ensuring food safety. ARS is USDA's chief intramural scientific research agency. In one project, ARS microbiologist Lisa Durso used fecal samples from six beef cattle to identify a core set of bovine gastrointestinal bacterial groups common to both beef and dairy cattle. She also observed a number of bacteria in the beef cattle that had not been reported in dairy cows, and identified a diverse assortment of bacteria from the six individual animals, even though all six consumed the same diet and were the same breed, gender and age. In another study, Durso collaborated with ARS agricultural engineer John Gilley and others to study how livestock diet affected the transport of pathogens in field runoff from manure-amended soils. The scientists added two types of manure to experimental conventional-till and no-till fields at 1-, 2-, or 4-year application rates. The manure had been collected from livestock that had consumed either corn or feed with wet distillers grains. After a series of simulated rain events, the team collected and analyzed samples of field runoff and determined that neither diet nor tillage management significantly affected the transport of fecal indicator bacteria. But they did note that diet affected the transport of bacteriophages—viruses that invade bacteria—in field runoff. Gilley also conducted an investigation into how standing wheat residues affected water quality in runoff from fields amended with 1-, 2-, or 4-year application rates of manure. The scientists found that runoff loads of dissolved phosphorus, total phosphorus, nitrates, nitrogen, and total nitrogen were much higher from plots with residue cover. The team also observed that runoff from fields amended with 4-year application rates of manure had significantly higher levels of total phosphorus and dissolved phosphorus than fields amended with 1-year or 2-year manure rates. Results from these studies have been published in*Foodborne Pathogens and Disease*, *Applied and Environmental Microbiology*, and *Transactions of the ASABE*. Read more about this research in the February 2013 issue of *Agricultural Research* magazine.


Return to top


Research
                            Media
                            About ARS
                            Work With Us


Connect with ARS Sign up


ARS Home
                            USDA.gov
                            Plain Writing
                            Policies & Links
                            Civil Rights Statements
                            FOIA
                            Accessibility Statement
                            Privacy Policy
                            Non-Discrimination Statement
                            Quality of Information
                            USA.gov
                            WhiteHouse.gov