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Reducing ammonia emissions in UK dairy housing
Nitrogen is a key component of ammonia. Find out how to control the release of nitrogen from manures in livestock housing and slurry stores so that more can be retained as valuable fertiliser.
Nitrogen in livestock manure
Cattle slurry and farmyard manure (FYM) are made up of Organic N and Ammonium N, which are commonly referred to as readily available nitrogen. Nitrogen in manure is readily available to crops when spread onto land.
The higher the percentage of Total Ammonium N (TAN) the manure contains, the higher the potential of ammonia loss.
Cattle slurry, and the liquid portion of separated cattle slurry, have a high TAN % (typically greater than 30%), so there are high potential ammonia losses compared with cattle FYM, which typically has a 10–15 TAN % depending on the manure to straw ratio.
The table below shows the key factors that increase or decrease ammonia loss from manures.
Minimises ammonia loss |
Increases ammonia loss |
Low temperatures |
Warm to high temperatures |
Reduced air flow over manures |
Increased air flow over manures |
Reduced to no exposed surface area of manure |
Large exposed surface areas of manure |
Urine and faeces kept separate |
Mixing urine and faeces |
Eight ways to reduce ammonia emissions from manures
Carefully managing manures can improve ammonium nitrogen retention and reduce reliance on manufactured fertiliser.
The techniques that can be used to reduce NH3 emissions from cattle housing are explored below.
Housing periods and frequent removal of manure
Reducing the housed period of cattle and regular removal of manure can both have a positive impact on ammonia emissions.
Housing periods and frequent removal of manure
Cattle house flooring
From automatic floor scrapers to floor construction, find out how different flooring types and systems can reduce ammonia emissions.
Environmental and management techniques
Ammonia emissions can be reduced from cattle housing by addressing slurry pH and temperature, utilising loose housing, scraping and flushing systems, and more.
Environmental and management techniques to reduce ammonia emissions for housed cattle
Emission factors data
Read our emission factors data for livestock, manure storage and land spreading, dairy cow housing, and see a comparison with the Netherlands.
Emission factors data for cattle and dairy housing