Mitigating ammonia emissions from liquid manure using a commercially available additive under real-scale farm conditions

Ammonia (NH3) is a major anthropogenic pollutant originating from agricultural activity, particularly livestock operations. NH3 emissions from livestock slurry storage pose risks to environmental quality and human health. Reducing NH3 emissions aligns with several United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including SDG 3, SDG 12, SDG 14, and SDG 15. This study evaluates the performance of the commercially available SOP® LAGOON additive under real-scale farm conditions for mitigating NH3 emissions. Two adjacent slurry storage tanks of a dairy farm in Northern Italy were monitored from 27 May to 7 September: one treated with SOP® LAGOON and one left untreated (serving as a control). In the first month, the treated tank showed a 77% reduction in NH3 emissions. Emissions from the treated tank remained consistently lower than those from the control throughout the monitoring period, reaching an 87% reduction relative to the baseline levels by the end of the period. The results suggest that SOP® LAGOON is an effective and scalable strategy for reducing NH3 emissions from liquid manure storage, with practical implications for farmers and policy makers in regard to designing sustainable manure management practices.