Mission:
The mission of the Environmentally Integrated Dairy Management Research Unit (EIDMRU), a research unit located at Institute for Environmentally Integrated Dairy Management (IEIDM) in Marshfield, WI, is to conduct research that addresses comprehensive nutrient management, atmospheric emissions, water quality, and pathogen transfer within dairy production systems. The research objectives of the unit are: • to improve nutrient management through better manure handling, storage, and application strategies; • to reduce degradation of air, water, and soil quality by dairy manure; to improve the efficiency of nutrient use by replacement dairy heifers through improved management and/or dietary strategies; • to assess the effects of manure application on nutrient uptake by forage plants, as well as subsequent effects on forage, hay, or silage quality; • to control pathogen transmission between livestock, wildlife, humans, and the environment; • to assess greenhouse gas emissions from current practices employed within dairy production systems, and perform comprehensive analyses of the impact of dairy production practices on greenhouse gas emissions through tools such as life cycle assessment; • to determine the role of biomass legume crops on the greenhouse gas intensity of dairy production operations; and • to develop new and improved management systems to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, increase emissions offsets (e.g., carbon sequestration, collection of biogases and on-farm energy production) reduce emissions of particulates and non-greenhouse gas emissions, conserve environmental quality, and enhance dairy productivity.