From measurement to mitigation: a historical review of livestock emission research in the U.S. Southern and Central Great Plains

As airborne emissions from agricultural operations began to receive more concentrated scrutiny, the federal Task Force on Agricultural Air Quality was established in the 1996 Farm Bill and began operations in 1997 to advance research and provide solutions for sustainable agricultural operations with primary focus on particulate matter, ozone, and odors. This historical review synthesizes research conducted by institutions serving the southern and central Great Plains from the early 2000s to mid-2010s across cattle, dairy, swine, and poultry production systems, identifying three interdependent research pillars: measurement technology, emission quantification, and abatement solutions. Research priorities varied by species, with cattle and dairy operations focusing primarily on particulate matter (PM), ammonia (NH 3 ), and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, while swine and poultry studies concentrated on odor and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Measurement technology innovations proved foundational to reliable emission science. Quantification studies established baseline emission factors essential for regulatory compliance while revealing critical temporal dynamics and environmental drivers. However, persistent knowledge gaps emerged, particularly in transferring abatement solution effectiveness from controlled laboratory conditions to commercial settings, where performance declined substantially due to extreme spatial and environmental variability. Most importantly, the research field shifted from pursuing simple pollution reduction toward systematic approaches that monitor and manage multiple pollutants. We recommend that future research must develop frameworks that systematically assess pollutant trade-offs alongside economic feasibility to enable science-based mitigation strategies balancing environmental protection with agricultural sustainability.