Pig manure vermicompost as a component of a horticultural bedding plant medium: effects on physicochemical properties and plant growth

Posted in: Environment by admin on January 1, 2001 | No Comments

Coupled Effects of Treated Effluent Irrigation and Wettinga

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Confined Animal Production and Manure Nutrients

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Amendment of nitrogen and phosphorus in swine manure by nutrition

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A rapid expansion of swine production in prairie provinces increased the public awareness of the
possible environmental risks of swine manure. The odours and water quality deterioration being
the main concerns, and an excess nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) excreted in manure are
responsible for adverse effect on water quality. Some of the large swine production units do not
have sufficient land base for an effective utilization of manure as fertilizer resulting in manure
storage and disposal problems. The new provincial environmental regulations require nutrient
management plans from the farms when the swine production exceeds certain number of animal
units. Some feeding strategies were developed for an amendment of the N and P content of
swine manure to minimize the adverse effects on environment.

Covers and Others: The Latest Technologies in Manure Processing, Handling and Storage

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Straw covers
In the early 1990s, the Prairie Agricultural Machinery Institute (PAMI, 1993) tested a variety of coverings to control odours associated with earthen manure storages. Their tudies examined: 1. Performance of various straw types and qualities 2. Performance of artificial flotation devices for straw support 3. Performance of a shredder/blower device for straw application 4. Problems during pump-out caused by straw or flotation devices 5. Costs of straw-covering systems

Results showed good quality barley straw to be the most effective material for unsupported cover. Flax and oat straw sank too quickly. Wheat straw lasted about one third of the time of barley straw. As flotation devices, polystyrene sheets and empty plastic bottles performed satisfactorily although leaking bottles caused pump problems during agitation. These devices were found to be too cumbersome and the covera

The Nutrient Loading Model for Agricultural Soils

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When manure is applied to supply crop nutrients, the application rate is based primarily on the nitrogen (N) content. As a result, the situation arises where manure as applied
contributes more phosphorus (P) to the soil than is required by the crop. This has a potential environmental consequence: runoff and erosion may eutrophy streams and
ponds. Few analytical tools are available to facilitate the establishment of application limits for P on agricultural land. The task is complex because the impact is usually
downstream of the farmland and can be episodic in nature. A modeling approach is best suited in order to integrate all of the factors. The Nutrient Loading Model (NLM) is a simple representation of the environment as a topsoil compartment, a subsoil compartment and a water compartment. Nutrient, both background (historic) and applied, is lost from the topsoil by leaching, erosion and crop removal. In the water compartment, the model includes processes of sedimentation to the stream bed and flushing. When reasonable input parameter values are used, representative of Manitoba farmland, the model indicates that over an average year, P contributions to water result in acceptable water concentrations. However, after severe storm events, the water P concentrations will be markedly higher than the annual average and the potential for impact is greater. Present soil fertility recommendations may lead to decreased soil P with time, but the current guidelines for manure application may result in accumulation of P in the soil. This accumulation coupled with periodic severe storm events has a significant potential to result in impacts such as eutrophication. The NLM can compute estimates of impacts following specific inputs (forward computation), but is intended to provide reverse computation, where P loading limits are defined based on the
criteria for acceptable water concentrations.

Controlling Odors from Swine Buildings

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Odor from swine production facilities arises predominantly from manure decomposition. Other odor sources include dead animals, pesticide sprays and manure handling facilities. Each can be handled by appropriate control procedures. Usable odor measurements include odor intensity, which can be measured in the field with a Scentometer and odor frequency, which attempts to determine the % of time that an odor can be detected at a site.
Control methods include moisture reduction, covered manure storage tanks, the installations of sprays that scrub the odorous materials from the air and the installation of barriers that cause more complete mixing of odorous materials with odor-free air allowing dilution. The most effective means of reducing odor is initial site selection, areas that do not have close neighbours. There is a general relationship between the perception of odor nuisance, separation distance and the size of a swine production facility. For facilities of 1,000 or fewer animals, the incidence of odor complaints are greatly reduces beyond one-quarter mile and for larger facilities it is a half-mile.
The design and construction of the facility is another means of reducing odor as is operation and management of the facility.
Disposal techniques and timing should also be considered in odor control. This includes the timing and techniques used in manure application on fields. If further steps in odor control are needed then there are alternate waste treatment schemes available but they may be in the experimental stage or be costly. Examples of these techniques include aerobic manure treatment, anaerobic digesters, flexible lagoon covers, air scrubbing equipment and odor control chemicals, such as masking agents, odor counteractants, odor absorption and enzymatic products.

EVALUATION OF PERCENT FLOW CAPTURED BY A SMALL INa

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Quantification of odors and odorants from swine operations in North Carolina

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Analysis of Minor elements and Metals in Hog Manure by Field-portable near-infrared Spectrscopy: Results for the Textron/Case NH ProSpectra(TM) Spectrometer

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The overall purpose of this project was to develop a field protocol for testing two field-portable
near-infrared (NIR) spectrophotometers as on-site, free-standing (not in-line), measurement
tools for nutrients in hog manure at the time of application of manure to agricultural land. This
project is a developmental step between the analysis of hog manure in the laboratory using
near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) and the deployment of NIR instruments in the manure
stream for real-time measurement of composition of manure during application to land. The
field-portable instruments included the Textron Systems Corp (USA)/Case NH (USA)
ProSpectraa