To assess the magnitude of greenhouse gas (GHG) fluxes, nutrient runoff and leaching from dairy barnyards and to characterize factors controlling these fluxes, nine barnyards were built at the U.S. Dairy Forage Research Center Farm in Prairie du Sac, WI (latitude 43.33N, longitude 89.71W). The barnyards were designed to simulate outdoor cattle-holding areas on commercial dairy farms in Wisconsin. Each barnyard was approximately 7m x 7m; areas of barnyards 1-9 were 51.91, 47.29, 50.97, 46.32, 45.64, 46.30, 48.93, 48.78, 46.73 square meters, respectively. Factors investigated included three different surface materials (bark, sand, soil) and timing of cattle corralling. Each barnyard included a gravity drainage system that allowed leachate to be pumped out and analyzed. Each soil-covered barnyard also included a system to intercept runoff at the perimeter and drain to a pumping port, similar to the leachate systems. From October 2010 to October 2015, dairy heifers were placed onto experimental barnyards for approximately 7-day periods four times per year, generally in mid-spring, late-spring / early summer, mid-to-late summer and early-to-mid autumn. Heifers were fed once per day from total mixed rations consisting mostly of corn (maize) and alfalfa silages. Feed offered and feed refused were both weighed and analyzed for total nitrogen (N), carbon (C), phosphorus (P) and cell wall components (neutral detergent fiber, NDF). Leachate was pumped out of plots frequently enough to prevent saturation of surface materials and potential anaerobic conditions. Leachate was also pumped out the day before any gas flux measurements. Leachate total volume and nitrogen species were measured, and from “soil” barnyards the runoff was also measured. The starting bulk density, pH, total carbon (C) and total N of barnyard surface materials were analyzed. Decomposed bark in barnyards was replaced with new bark in 2013, before the spring flux measurements. Please note: the data presented here includes observations made in 2015; the original paper included observations through 2014 only. Gas fluxes (carbon dioxide, CO2; methane, CH4; ammonia, NH3; and nitrous oxide, N2O) were measured during the two days before heifers were corralled in barnyards, and during the two days after heifers were moved off the barnyards. During the first day of each two-day measurement period, gas fluxes were measured at two randomly selected locations within each barnyard. Each location was sampled once in the morning and once in the afternoon. During the second day, this procedure was repeated with two new randomly selected locations in each barnyard. This experiment was partially funded by a project called “Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation in Dairy Production Systems of the Great Lakes Region,” also known as the Dairy Coordinated Agricultural Project (Dairy CAP). The Dairy CAP is funded by the United States Department of Agriculture - National Institute of Food and Agriculture (award number 2013-68002-20525). The main goal of the Dairy CAP is to improve understanding of the magnitudes and controlling factors over GHG emissions from dairy production in the Great Lakes region. Using this knowledge, the Dairy CAP is improving life cycle analysis (LCA) of GHG production by Great Lakes dairy farms, developing farm management tools, and conducting extension, education and outreach activities. Resources in this dataset:Resource Title: Data_dictionary_DairyCAP_Barnyards. File Name: BYD_Data_Dictionary.xlsxResource Description: This is the data dictionary for the data from the paper "Gas emissions from dairy barnyards" by Mark Powell and Peter Vadas. Resource Software Recommended: Microsoft Excel 2016,url: https://products.office.com/en-us/excel Resource Title: DairyCAP_Barnyards. File Name: BYD_Project_Data.xlsxResource Description: This is the complete data from the paper: Powell, J. M. & Vadas, P. A. (2016). Gas emissions from dairy barnyards. Animal Production Science, 56, 355-361. Data are separated into separate spreadsheet tabs.Resource Software Recommended: Microsoft Excel 2016,url: https://products.office.com/en-us/excel Resource Title: Data_dictionary_DairyCAP_Barnyards. File Name: Data_Dictionary_BYD.csvResource Description: This is the data dictionary for the data from the paper "Gas emissions from dairy barnyards" by Mark Powell and Peter Vadas. Resource Title: GHG Data. File Name: BYD_GHG.csvResource Description: Greenhouse gas flux dataResource Title: Intake Data. File Name: BYD_Intake.csvResource Title: Leachate Data. File Name: BYD_Leachate.csvResource Title: Runoff Data. File Name: BYD_Runoff.csvResource Title: Surface Data. File Name: BYD_Surface.csvResource Title: TMR Data. File Name: BYD_TMR.csvResource Description: Total mixed ration data

How many cattle are in the world? The global live cattle population amounted to about 1.57 billion heads in 2023, up from approximately 1.51 million in 2021. Cows as livestock The domestication of cattle began as early as 10,000 to 5,000 years ago. From ancient times up to the present, cattle are bred to provide meat and dairy. Cattle are also employed as draft animals to plow the fields or transport heavy objects. Cattle hide is used for the production of leather, and dung for fuel and agricultural fertilizer. In 2022, India was home to the highest number of milk cows in the world. Cattle farming in the United States Cattle meat such as beef and veal is one of the most widely consumed types of meat across the globe, and is particularly popular in the United States. The United States is the top producer of beef and veal of any country worldwide. In 2021, beef production in the United States reached 12.6 million metric tons. Beef production appears to be following a positive trend in the United States. More than 33.07 million cattle were slaughtered both commercially and in farms annually in the United States in 2019, up from 33 million in the previous year.

This dataset includes the scripts to reproduce the models presented in the paper. The cleaned data used for the analyses is also available. Abstract of the article: Precision farming technology, including GPS collars with biologging, has revolutionized remote livestock monitoring in extensive grazing systems. High resolution accelerometry can be used to infer the behavior of an animal. Previous behavioral classification studies using accelerometer data have focused on a few key behaviors and were mostly conducted in controlled situations. Here, we conducted behavioral observations of 38 beef cows (Hereford, Limousine, Charolais, Simmental/NRF/Hereford mix) free-ranging in rugged, forested areas, and fitted with a commercially available virtual fence collar (Nofence) containing a 10Hz tri-axial accelerometer. We used random forest models to calibrate data from the accelerometers on both commonly documented (e.g., feeding, resting, walking) and rarer (e.g., suckling calf, head butting, allogrooming) behaviors. Our goal was to assess pre-processing decisions including different running mean intervals (smoothing window of 1, 5, or 20 seconds), collar orientation and feature selection (orientation-dependent versus orientation-independent features). We identified the 10 most common behaviors exhibited by the cows. Models based only on orientation-independent features did not perform better than models based on orientation-dependent features, despite variation in how collars were attached (direction and tightness). Using a 20 seconds running mean and orientation-dependent features resulted in the highest model performance (model accuracy: 0.998, precision: 0.991, and recall: 0.989). We also used this model to add 11 rarer behaviors (each < 0.1% of the data; e.g. head butting, throwing head, self-grooming). These rarer behaviors were predicted with less accuracy because they were not observed at all for some individuals, but overall model performance remained high (accuracy, precision, recall >98%). Our study suggests that the accelerometers in the Nofence collars are suitable to identify the most common behaviors of free-ranging cattle. The results of this study could be used in future research for understanding cattle habitat selection in rugged forest ranges, herd dynamics, or responses to stressors such as carnivores, as well as to improve cattle management and welfare.

The Census of Agriculture provides a detailed picture every five years of U.S. farms and ranches and the people who operate them. Conducted by USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service, the 2012 Census of Agriculture collected more than six million data items directly from farmers. The Ag Census Web Maps application makes this information available at the county level through a few clicks. The maps and accompanying data help users visualize, download, and analyze Census of Agriculture data in a geospatial context. Resources in this dataset:Resource Title: Ag Census Web Maps. File Name: Web Page, url: https://www.nass.usda.gov/Publications/AgCensus/2012/Online_Resources/Ag_Census_Web_Maps/Overview/index.php/ The interactive map application assembles maps and statistics from the 2012 Census of Agriculture in five broad categories:

Crops and Plants – Data on harvested acreage for major field crops, hay, and other forage crops, as well as acreage data for vegetables, fruits, tree nuts, and berries. Economics – Data on agriculture sales, farm income, government payments from conservation and farm programs, amounts received from loans, a broad range of production expenses, and value of buildings and equipment. Farms – Information on farm size, ownership, and Internet access, as well as data on total land in farms, land use, irrigation, fertilized cropland, and enrollment in crop insurance programs. Livestock and Animals – Statistics on cattle and calves, cows and heifers, milk cows, and other cattle, as well as hogs, sheep, goats, horses, and broilers. Operators – Statistics on hired farm labor, tenure, land rented or leased, primary occupation of farm operator, and demographic characteristics such as age, sex, race/ethnicity, and residence location.

The Ag Census Web Maps application allows you to:

Select a map to display from a the above five general categories and associated subcategories. Zoom and pan to a specific area; use the inset buttons to center the map on the continental United States; zoom to a specific state; and show the state mask to fade areas surrounding the state. Create and print maps showing the variation in a single data item across the United States (for example, average value of agricultural products sold per farm). Select a county and view and download the county’s data for a general category. Download the U.S. county-level dataset of mapped values for all categories in Microsoft ® Excel format.

Washington State Department of Agriculture regulates dairy farm compliance with state water quality and food safety law. This includes regular inspections of dairy production fields and facilities. The milking facilities, which generally represent the heart of the operation, are mapped for internal and public use.This dataset includes all active cow dairy milking facilities. The data are updated quarterly. The dataset includes information about the spatial distribution of dairies in Washington State and information about each business itself. Pursuant to WAC 16-06-210, some information is expressed in ranges to meet non-disclosure requirements.The following is a description of the attributes included with the WA Dairies dataset:

Field
Description


AG ID
The agency given identification number assigned at the initial licensing of the dairy.


Facility Size
This is a general summary of the farm size. For DNMP purposes, size is determined by mature (milking + dry) animal numbers; with a dairy herd of up to 199 animals being a Small, 200-699 being medium, and 700 or greater being Large.


Business Name
The name which appears on the milking license.


Site Address
The street address of the farm milking facility (not the business mailing address).


Site City
The city wherein lies the milking facility.


County
The county wherein lies the milking facility.


DNMP Region
The Dairy Nutrient Management Program Region wherein lies the milking facility.


CAFO Status
This field denotes whether or not the dairy milking license has an associated Confined Animal Feeding Operation (CAFO) permit.


CAFO ID
The permit identification number for the associated dairy.


Range Current Acres
The current and approximate acreage of land application or farming production land associated with the dairy.


Range Current Milking
The current and approximate number of milking animals currently in rotation.


Range Current Dry
The current and approximate number of mature dry animals currently in rotation.


Range Current Heifers
The current and approximate number of heifers (ages 6 months old to fresh) currently in rotation.


Range Current Calves
The current and approximate number of calves (ages 0 to 6 months) currently in rotation.


Latitude (WGS84)
Latitude Datum World Geodetic System 1984


Longitude (WGS84)
Longitude Datum World Geodetic System 1984


WRIA
The Water Resources Inventory Area (WRIA) wherein lies the milking facility.


Conservation District
The Conservation District serving the dairy business.


DNMA Status
Indicates whether the dairy is currently licensed and is regulated under food safety laws and dairy nutrient management act requirements.

Abstract from ANARE Research Notes 72 The Antarctic fur seal Arctocephalus gazella has increased in numbers at Heard Island since the Australian National Antarctic Research Expeditions (ANARE) station was established in 1947. Increases have also been recorded at other breeding sites in the South Atlantic and South Indian Oceans this century, particularly at South Georgia.

In the 1987-88 summer, fur seals at Heard Island were counted in several age and sex categories. The aims of the project were to determine the location of pupping sites, the extent of the pupping season and the size of the population, and to record the changes in numbers of animals ashore during the summer. Maps of the colonies and main haul-out areas, together with descriptions of census areas and tabulations of counts, provide a basis for future comparison.

This dataset contains the results from surveys of Antarctic Fur Seals (Arctocephalus gazella) on Heard Island during the summer of 1987-1988. As well as habitat descriptions, age, sex, count of adults and pups were determined. The three major aims of the study include: to determine accurately the location of pupping sites; to determine the extent of the pupping season, the median date of birth and the number of pups born; and to census fur seals on as much of the island as possible in order to determine the number of animals ashore and to document changes in numbers during the summer. The results are listed in the document, which includes detailed tabulations of counts made at colonies and major haul-out sites on Macquarie Island during summer 1987-88, and descriptions and maps of these locations. Tagging, mainly of pups, was also undertaken, and a total of 234 pups, 8 under-yearlings, 9 yearlings, 2 juveniles and 1 sub-adult male were tagged. Counts at 3-day intervals (pups) were made between 25 November and 19 December 1987, and major censuses were made between 19 December 1987 and 25 February 1988.

The fields in this dataset are: Locality Age Class Date Colony Bulls Cows Pups

The layers within this feature service represent the spatial extent and boundaries of BLM Grazing Allotments and Pastures in Utah. Data within these services are a live copy of BLM Utah's enterprise production environment. Quality control is conducted annually.Complete metadata for these data sets can be found at:BLM UT Grazing Pastures (Arc)BLM UT Grazing Pastures (Polygon)BLM UT Grazing Allotments (Polygon)