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Ag Data Commons migration begins October 18, 2023

The Ag Data Commons is migrating to a new platform – an institutional portal on Figshare. Starting October 18 the current system will be available for search and download only. Submissions will resume after the launch of our portal on Figshare in November. Stay tuned for details!

Data from: Environmental footprints of beef cattle production in the United States

    To quantify important environmental impacts of beef cattle production in the United States, surveys and visits of farms, ranches and feedlots were conducted throughout seven regions (Northeast, Southeast, Midwest, Northern Plains, Southern Plains, Northwest and Southwest). Life cycle environmental impacts of U.S. beef cattle production were determined. Annual carbon emission was 243 ± 26 Tg CO2e (21.3 ± 2.3 kg CO2e/kg carcass weight). Annual fossil energy use was 569 ± 53 PJ (50.0 ± 4.7 MJ/kg carcass weight). Blue water consumption was 23.2 ± 3.5 TL (2034 ± 309 L/kg carcass weight). Reactive nitrogen loss was 1760 ± 136 Gg N (155 ± 12 g N/kg carcass weight).

    USDA - Web Log Analysis Dashboard Dataset

      These are the monthly summarized server access logs for the following databases: Ag Data Commons, Dr. Duke's Phytochemical and Ethnobotanical Databases, SoyBase, FoodData Central, Life Cycle Assessment Commons, and GrainGenes. Server logs were initially collected and stored using Elasticsearch, and summarized and analyzed using Python, then reformatted in tabular format for use in Tableau. The dataset contains the KPIs visitors, USDA Researchers, web crawlers, downloads, pageviews and countries. secondary_source_table.csv also contains counts of pageview and download requests that passed through Ag Data Commons to other databases. It can be used to assess Ag Data Commons’ impact on other databases.

      Unit Process for Wood Chip Briquette Production, 2016

        This unit process dataset represents the production of 1 dry ton of wood chip briquette from wood chips using RUF200 model briquette (RUF Briquetting Systems, Zaisertshofen,Germany) in Big Lagoon, California. Additional details on the process can be found in Alanya-Rosenbaum et al (2018). Briquettes are produced using RUF200 model briquetter (RUF Briquetting Systems, Zaisertshofen,Germany), which uses dried woodchips generated from forest residues as feedstock. Capacity of 200 kg/hr.

        Unit Process for Torrefied Wood Chips, 2016

          This unit process dataset represents the production of 0.0436 oven-dried kg (1 MJ) of torrefied chips at torrefier (Biogreen, ETIA Group, Compiègne, France, and Norris Thermal Technologies, Tippecanoe, Indiana, USA) at Samoa, California. Additional details on the process can be found in Alanya-Rosenbaum et al (2018).

          Animal Transportation Database for Beef Cattle

            Currently, there are inaccuracies in the energy use and greenhouse gas emission estimates of cattle transport reported by LCA studies because of their simplistic assumptions. The purpose of this database is to provide the necessary data for accurate estimation of the energy use and greenhouse gas emissions associated with cattle transport. The database has 28 different trailers under three categories namely pot belly, gooseneck, and bumper pull. It describes space available (length and width), maximum weight allowed in the trailer, along with a compatible vehicle that can haul the trailer. Gross vehicle weight, maximum payload allowed, and fuel use are available for the compatible vehicle. Using this database one can directly identify the number of cattle of a particular weight category that can be transported in a particular trailer-vehicle combination. This database also helps to identify economical and eco-friendly ways to transport cattle.

            Data from: Starch and dextrose at 2 levels of rumen-degradable protein in iso-nitrogenous diets: Effects on lactation performance, ruminal measurements, methane emission, digestibility, and nitrogen balance of dairy cows

              This feeding trial was designed to investigate two separate questions. The first question is, “What are the effects of substituting two non-fiber carbohydrate (NFC) sources at two rumen-degradable protein (RDP) levels in the diet on apparent total-tract nutrient digestibility, manure production and nitrogen (N) excretion in dairy cows?”. This is relevant because most of the N ingested by dairy cows is excreted, resulting in negative effects on environmental quality. The second question is, “Is phenotypic residual feed intake (pRFI) correlated with feed efficiency, N use efficiency, and metabolic energy losses (via urinary N and enteric CH4) in dairy cows?”. The pRFI is the difference between what an animal is expected to eat, given its level of productivity, and what it actually eats. The goal was to determine whether production of CH4, urinary N or fecal N is a driver of pRFI.

              Product System Model for Beef Production 2011

                Product system boundaries (cow-calf-finisher, CCF) include all material and energy flows associated with crop production and live cattle operations. Cattle inventory flows include the cow-calf operation and end with market weight finisher cattle and culls resulting from one full year of operation. The total live weight produced in one year is 2914841.44 kg and is comprised of the following animals: Finished cattle: 3724 (581 kg/finisher), Culled cows: 1156 (636 kg/cow), Culled bulls: 58 (908 kg/cow). These data were developed using Integrated Farm System Model and are intended to represent the MARC cattle operation in Nebraska in 2011. The data were a product of a project funded by the National Cattleman's Beef Association.

                Data from: Agro-environmental consequences of shifting from nitrogen- to phosphorus-based manure management of corn.

                  This experiment was designed to measure greenhouse gas (GHG) fluxes and related agronomic characteristics of a long-term corn-alfalfa rotational cropping system fertilized with manure (liquid versus semi-composted separated solids) from dairy animals. Different manure-application treatments were sized to fulfill two conditions: (1) an application rate to meet the agronomic soil nitrogen requirement of corn (“N-based” without manure incorporation, more manure), and (2) an application rate to match or to replace the phosphorus removal by silage corn from soils (“P-based” with incorporation, less manure). In addition, treatments tested the effects of liquid vs. composted-solid manure, and the effects of chemical nitrogen fertilizer. The controls consisted of non-manured inorganic N treatments (sidedress applications). These activities were performed during the 2014 and 2015 growing seasons as part of the Dairy Coordinated Agricultural Project, or Dairy CAP, as described below. The data from this experiment give insight into the factors controlling GHG emissions from similar cropping systems, and may be used for model calibration and validation after careful evaluation of the flagged data.