From the Livestock and Poultry Environmental Learning Center newsletter: The September webinar topic is very timely - manure safety. As fall application starts to ramp up, it is important to remember how to keep yourself, those working with you, and animals safe. A flyer will be posted at "Upcoming Webcasts" as soon as it is available.

Water Quality

• Measurements of the "dead zone" in the Gulf of Mexico indicate 2017 is the largest ever measured at 8,776 square miles. High discharge rates from the Mississippi River were earlier predicted to result in a large hypoxic zone. The average size over the past five years has been just over 5,800 square miles. The target size is 1,900 square miles. Read more...
• To help track the science related to agricultural operations and Great Lakes harmful algal blooms and hypoxia, the National Agricultural Library has created an online, automatically updated bibliography on the topic. "Great Lakes Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) and Hypoxia: Agricultural Aspects" is not a complete listing of all literature and does include some citations that may not have a strict agriculture focus.
• University of Illinois researcher, Laura Christianson, is studying woodchip bioreactors, not only for their ability to remove nitrogen from runoff, but also phosphorus. How? She and a research team looked at the addition of a "P filter" either before or after the bioreactor. Neither placement affected the ability of the bioreactor to remove nitrogen. The amount of P removed varied depending on the material used in the filter. News release... | Journal article...
• EPA, along with several partners, has announced a "Nutrient Sensor Action Challenge" with the goal of accelerating the development of affordable continuous sensors. The first stage of submissions closes September 20, 2017. Learn more or view the archived informational webinar...

Soil Health

• New Manure and Soil Health (MaSH) blog posts include Manure’s Value to Erosion and Runoff and Soil Organic Matter and Its Benefits. The blog will include a new article every month with the purpose of defining the current state of the science related to manure’s impact on soil health. Read current and past MaSH blogs...
• University of Nebraska research set out to discover more about phosphorus losses from manure application. Throughout the research, they discovered some important benefits for reducing soil erosion and runoff as the result of manure application. Read more...