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
- Insect Meal: A Grand Challenge
- The Chicken, the Egg, and Salmonella
- Cooking with Science: Strawberries
- 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.Testing of wind and dust from dairies shows that they are not a significant source of bacteria, fungi, and endotoxins for nearby residential communities, according to ARS research. Click the image for more information about it.For further reading
Improving air quality with no-till cropping
How dairy farms contribute to greenhouse gas emissions
Beyond the barn: Keeping dairy cows outside is good for the outdoors Dust from Dairies Not Likely to Pose Hazard to Nearby Communities By Ann Perry December 12, 2013 Studies by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) indicate the dust stirred up by wind and restless cattle at dairies does contain bacteria, fungi and small bacterial remnants such as endotoxins. But these potentially problematic particles are not found at high levels far beyond the barnyard. Agricultural Research Service (ARS) microbiologist Rob Dungan is investigating dispersal patterns and transport of these bioaerosols. ARS is USDA's chief intramural scientific research agency, and this work supports the USDA priority of responding to climate change. Dungan works at the ARS Northwest Irrigation and Soils Research Laboratory in Kimberly, Idaho. In the western United States, dairy cows are kept in outdoor pens or in a combination of exercise pens and barns at open-freestall facilities. Residents in nearby communities want to know if their proximity to these facilities increases the potential risk of exposure to airborne microorganisms and endotoxins. In one study, Dungan and his colleagues set up three sampling sites at a 10,000-cow open-freestall dairy to measure airborne endotoxins and culturable microorganisms like bacteria and fungi during fall, spring and summer. The researchers found that overall average inhalable airborne endotoxin concentrations were 5 endotoxin units (EU) per cubic meter of air 655 feet upwind of the barn—their "background" levels"—and 426 and 56 EU per cubic meter of air 165 and 655 feet downwind of the barn, respectively. Close to the barn, endotoxin concentrations at night were significantly higher than morning concentrations and similar to afternoon concentrations. The scientists attribute the higher levels to increased animal activity and lower windspeeds during these times. But at the other two sites, endotoxin concentrations did not vary significantly over 24 hours. Samples of bacterial concentrations showed a similar pattern, with the highest counts—84,000 colonies per cubic meter of air—measured near the barn. The other two sites had less than 8,000 colonies per cubic meter of air. As with the daily endotoxin concentrations, bacterial concentrations near the barn increased significantly at night, but concentrations farther downwind did not. Results from Dungan's studies have been published in *Journal of Animal Science*, *Environment International*, *Journal of Environmental Quality*, and elsewhere. Read more about his research in the November/December 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