Daniel N Miller

Research Microbiologist

 

Research Objectives

1. Determine effectiveness of manure treatment and manure reuse options to reduce potential animal disease exposure. A critical component for managing animal disease outbreaks includes how to best manage manures, which may be a possible source of future disease outbreak.  
2. Understand how animal antibiotics in manures may affect soil microbial processes, such as decomposition and nutrient transformation, in a range of soils receiving animal manures or wastewater runoff from animal production sites. Animal manures may have high concentrations of antimicrobial compounds, and these compounds may influence the important soil processes where the manures are applied.
3. Understand biological, physical, and chemical factors affecting the movement of nitrates into shallow groundwater. Microorganisms transform nutrients in manure and chemical fertilizers into nitrate that can easily move into shallow groundwater.  Development and application of microbial biofilters below the root zone to intercept nitrate should limit nitrate movement especially in sensitive water recharge areas.

Portable chamber for measuring odorous hydrogen sulfide gas fluxes.

 

Beef cattle manure application for crop production.

Core series collected from a site with leaking holding pond. Darker- colored cores 4-5 show the layer with higher organic matter intrusion.