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Industry Partners
Prairie Swine Centre is an affiliate of the University of Saskatchewan
Prairie Swine Centre is grateful for the assistance of the George Morris Centre in developing the economics portion of Pork Insight.
Financial support for the Enterprise Model Project and Pork Insight has been provided by:
Evaluation and Demonstration of Deads Composting as an Option for Dead Animal Management in Saskatchewan
Posted in: Environment by admin on January 1, 2000 | No Comments
Introduction
The expansion of the hog industry in Saskatchewan has created the need for new advancements to develop an economically and environmentally sustainable industry. Dead animal management is just one area of the livestock industry that producers need to be mindful of.
Composting has the potential to be a more environmentally and economically sustainable option for on-farm disposal of dead stock.
Objectives
The purpose of this investigation is to determine whether composting mortalities is a viable solution for dead animal disposal for hog producers in Saskatchewan.
Experimental Procedure
A test compost pile (deads pile) was constructed using a straw/manure mix provided by the animal shelters of the operation. Mortalities were added to this mix in increments of 10-14 days. An additional compost pile composed of straw/manure mix only was constructed as the control. Temperature and oxygen measurements were taken weekly to track microbial activity.
In addition, volume reduction and moisture conditions were monitored to evaluate the overall progress and efficiency of the composting process. At the end of the study period, the deads pile was screened to quantify any objectionable material within the compost pile to evaluate the effectiveness of using compost as a method of deads disposal.
Results
Temperature and oxygen were used to determine when the compost pile required aeration, which was approximately three months from the last addition to the pile. Observations of the deads composting pile during pile aeration showed that the carcasses were broken down successfully. This was verified when the deads compost pile was screened revealing that, on a dry mass basis, only 0.04% of the compost pile was deemed to be recognizable remains.
Moisture conditions remained within the ideal range for composting throughout the compost period and a significant volume reduction was noticed. The volume of the manure/straw pile reduced approximately 40 a
Can Land Utilization of Swine Effluent Pose a Soil Sodicity Hazard?
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Swine manure has been a well document source of plant nutrient when applied in appropriate rates. Currently, most nutrient manegement plans focus on the balance of nitrogen, phosphorus or both in order to calcluate manure application rates. However, it must been noted that swine manure contains other constiuents that need to be identified. Excess sodium dissolved in soil solutions can cause a crusting of the seedbeds and deteriorate root-zone permability of water and air; impacting germination and seeling root development and impair internal drainage within Saskatchewan Soils. Using saline surface or ground water in a swine production facility definitely can increase the sodicity potential. One mid-size farm in southwestern Saskatchewan using sodic ground water creates effluent soium absroption ratio (SAR) rnaging from 19 – 28 (mmol/l)exp0.5. Current guidelines suggest the SAR values greater than 5 (mmol/l)exp0.5 may cause soil sodicity.
Under what conditions can land application of swine manure pose a soil sodicity problem? The first concern to take into account is the “Landscape and Soils”. Soil surveys have documented the evidence of solonetiz soils within certain regions of Saskatchewan. What are the consequences of manure application in these areas. A seconf concern is sodicity concentration at the Soil Point of Delivery. The injection of leaves liquid manure dispersed in narrow bands where the soils solutions will assume the character of the manure. High levels of sodium in manure, will result in high levels of sodium within the soil band. Third, effluent treated soil may develop soil crusting problems. Fourth, benchmark soil sampling. Soil sampling before and during manure application serve to distinguish areas that may be at a greater risk. Fifth, benchmark ground water sampling. The potential for ground water contamination is low is manure is applied relative to crop nutrient uptake. Certain soils, namely solonetzic soils can utilize effluent, however the utilization of effluent cannot be based soley on nutrient content. Once created soil sodicity problems are costly to rectify.
Air Pollution From Swine Production Facilities Differing in Waste Management Practices
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A field study on downwind odor transport from swine facilities
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Ammonia, Hydrogen Sulphide and Carbon Dioxide Release from Pig Manure in Under-floor Deep Pits
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Releases of ammonia (NH3), hydrogen sulphide (H2S) and carbon dioxide (CO2) from deep manure pits were
investigated in two overnight tests to minimize the in#uence of solar radiation and sudden outdoor temperature changes using two pig fattening buildings. The rooms of the buildings had been emptied and cleaned between groups of pigs. The identical buildings had tunnel and pit ventilation fans and 2)4 m deep under-floor pits with a surface area of 800 m2 each. The “rst test was conducted in Building 3A. A new manure additive was applied in the pit to reduce gas and odour emission. The pit ventilation mode was used and the building was heated for about 1 h with one direct-“red propane space heater. The second test was conducted in Building 3B, in which
the pit did not receive the additive application. The tunnel ventilation mode was used and the building was heated for about 2 h with two space heaters. Gas concentrations, ventilation, temperatures and di!erential pressure were continuously measured overnight. Gas release rates in the tests were compared with the gas release rates in the same buildings when they were fully occupied.
Ammonia release rates during heating were 167$11 g/h (mean$95% con”dence interval) in the “rst test
and 46$2 g/h in the second test, equivalent to 65)5 and 24)9% of the rates from fully occupied buildings, respectively. The maximum H2S release rates measured after 1 h of heating were 9)6 g/h in the “rst test and 3)1 g/h in the second test, equivalent to 80 and 41% of the full buildings, respectively. The maximum CO2 release rates after heating were 3)4 kg/h in the “rst test and 7)0 kg/h in the second test. Heating immediately increased NH3, H2S and CO2 concentrations and release rates in the under-#oor pits in both tests. Ventilation modes and rates a!ected the indoor gas concentrations at di!erent locations. Higher ventilation rate was related
to higher gas release rate in the “rst test. A peculiar behaviour of H2S characterized by burst releases was found in the two tests. It was a new phenomenon not yet reported in the literature and might be related to some unexpected incidents involving acute H2S concentrations in animal facilities.
A review of microbiology in swine manure odor control
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Dust Mask Use in Swine Barns Reduce Health Effects
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BACKGROUND
Swine producers are exposed to dusts and gases when working in barns and studies have shown that these workers are at increased risk of developing respiratory symptoms, decreases in lung function levels and increases in airway reactions. Engineering controls are in development in an attempt to reduce the dust and gas levels in this work environment. One method for reducing worker exposure to dusts is by having workers wear a disposable respirator (mask) during barn work activities.
The objective of the study was to evaluate health effects related to wearing a disposable mask in a swine confinement unit.
STUDY DESIGN
Twenty-one subjects between the ages of eighteen and thirty-five years old were recruited to participate in the study. These subjects were male, nonsmokers, with no asthma or allergies and had no previous exposure to a swine barn environment.
The study was conducted to assess subjectsa
Nitrogen Dynamics in Manured Saskatchewan Soils
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The nitrogen dynamics of manured soils in east-central Saskatchewan were studied from a three-year period between 1997-1999. This study attempted to understand the behaviour of manure nitrogen in Saskatchewan soils, in particular examining the potential crop utilization and loss mechanisms of nitrogen contained in swine manure. It identified four potential transformations of ammonia present in Saskatchewan soils: (1) absorbed by plant roots (2) absorbed by microorganisms (3) volatilized by conversion to NH3 (4) be converted to nitrate. Incomplete mineralization of manure organic N result in approximately a 60-70% crop recovery in the year of application when compared to urea. Nitrogen contained in the organic form is much less suseptable to leaching or gaseous escape. Repeatedly yearly applications of manure that greatly exceed the crops ability of nutrient uptake, increase the risk of the movement of nitrate below the root-zone. Low annual application rates of swine manure showed no evidence of elevated deep soil nitrate levels. However, at high annual rates, there was a downtrend of nitrate in the soil, and urea applied at similar N rates showed a similar trend. This knowledge will aid in the development of manure management systems, ensuring proper application rates and application technologies are used to minimize the environmental impact, and maximize nutrient potential of manure.