Penn State's professors of Dairy Science are studying sophisticated
diets to reduce the harmful pollutants created by cow manure that are
running off into the Chesapeake Bay watershed, the Washington Post
reports.
The stakes are high. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has
proposed mandatory reductions in pollution from Pennsylvania and the
five other states in the bay's watershed, each of which is in the midst
of determining where the cuts will be made.
Agriculture is a prime target. It accounts for a large share of
pollution, in the forms of nitrogen, phosphorus and sediment. Livestock
manure is loaded with nitrogen, which is useful as fertilizer but is an
environmental threat when it washes into waterways. Along with
phosphorus, nitrogen fosters the growth of excess algae, eventually
robbing the water of oxygen.
Original Source: The Washington PostRead the full story here.