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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:
Odour Control is Possible
Posted in: Environment by admin on January 1, 1996 | No Comments
Good management practices take an important place in odour control. Additives are not cost effective although they produce some improvement in the manure viscosity helping the handling. Zeolite added to the feed is probaly the most cost effective additive as nitrogen losses are reduced and feed conversion is improved.
Survival of Specific Pathogens in Material and Leachate from Composted Swine Carcasses.
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The ability to survive of several pathogens was measured in the compost material and leachate produced by composting swine carcasses. The survival of the bacterium, Serratia Marcescens (similar by its characteristics to Salmonella but non-pathogenic) have been studied throughout composting process. The results obtained showed that under most individual farming conditions the composting of carcasses do not present biosecurity risks. In case of serious health outbreaks other measures may be necessary to protect the herd.
The tests were done as part of the broader experiment on composting ( see: The Effect of Sawdust and Straw on Composting Swine Carcasses by the same authors). As mentioned in the other article, the sawdust seems to more adequate as the temperature is higher, conditions more appropriate for pathogen killing. On the other hand leachate may cause problems as results showed that some of the pathogen could survive for at least 5 days. The control of leachates would than be important in order to prevent contamination.
Anaerobic Decomposition of Swine Manure and Ammonia Generation in a Deep Pit
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The drive to stiffle odor
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As livestock odors are not currently regulated by federal statutes and generally not regulated by state air pollution control agencies, many states and local government units have established regulatory guidelines for new livestock facilities constructions. Guidelines may include information about minimum distances, restricted use of anaerobic lagoons or control of manure disposal areas. More attention should be given to manage the lagoons: recycling the waste material on the land (as fertilizer), making sure the bottom of the lagoon is sealed, limiting the amount of material stored (limiting the water used for waste processing) (from P. Goodrich, professor Univ. of Minnesota). Additives to reduce odor are also discussed by R. Miner (bioresource engineer Oregon State Univ.) and P. Goodrich. Data on manure reduction from additives are not always conclusive and Miner mention that it would be unrealistic to anticipate that even noticeable odor changes obtained from additives to fresh manure or changes in diet would persist during manure decomposition and anaerobic storage. J. Van Horn (dairy scientist at Univ. of Florida) adds that as some additives may reduce the concentration of a specific odorous compound in the manure, but this additive doesn’t reduce the overall odor intensity making the product’s effectiveness very limited and its use economically uninteresting. Lagoon and feed additives are being studied by many scientist in Iowa State Univ. North Carolina State Univ. and Univ. of Florida. At North Carolina State Univ. researchers are also studying improved methods to utilize animal wastes and control odor and a project is done to find ways to reducing odor (preliminary findings point trees, barn cleanliness slurry aeration and liquid-solid separation as factors in the odor solution) and determine when odor become a nuisance. Researchers at Purdue Univ. and Penn State Univ. are studying dietary manipulation for odor reduction.
This article contains a lot of information. As some researchers question the ability of additives to control and reduce odor we can see that many teams in different U.S.Univ. are currently working on those additives. Solutions may lay in a combination of different practices to realize significant odor reductions.
The effect of timing of floor-application of mineral oil on dust concentrations in a swine farrowing unit.
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Three farrowing rooms, each housing 5 sows and litters, were used to study the effects of floor applied mineral oil on dust concentrations (>0.5 mu m diameter). Rooms were ventilated at a similar rate (266 L/s). Three treatments were considered over a 3 week duration: oil was applied on day 8, 15, and 22; oil was applied only on day 8; and no oil was applied. Oil applied to pen floors at a rate of 24 mL/m(2) using a low pressure hand sprayer was found to be effective. Dust concentrations (particles/mL), wet and dry bulb temperatures, ventilation rate, and total piglet mass per room were recorded on day 9, 16, and 23 in each treatment. At day 23, dust concentrations 24 h before measurement were 0.8 particles/mL, oil applied only on day 8 were 5.5 particles/mL, and the concentration when no oil was applied was 5.6 particles/mL. The greatest increase in dust concentration occurred between weeks 2 and 3 when growth rate of the piglets was most rapid. Applying oil 24 h before measurement resulted in an average dust reduction of 73%. At week 3, the respirable particle production rates were 5, 25, and 30 particles/s per pig for oil applied 24 h and 15 d before measurement and no oil application, respectively.
Composting Solid Swine Manure and Lignite Mixtures with Selected Plant Residues
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Site Selection for Animal Housing and Waste Storage Facilities
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Being a good neighbour and proper site selction can aviod many of the recorded complaints against hog operations. Site selction is based on protecting the environment, in particular maintaining water and air quality. Methods used to colect, transfer and store manure will depend on several factors. Livestock species, climate topography, soil type, geology, cost and regulations are some very imprtant factors that need to be considered.
Water and air quality complaints are the most commonly expressed concerns of hog operations.
Site selection factors relating to water quality include: (1) proximity of proposed building site to lakes, streams or wetlands (2) What is the depth of the seasonally high water table and bedrock? (3) What type of soil is at the building site (4) Does water tend to flow towards the propsed site for the building or waste stroage (5) What cropland will be used to utilize manure nutrients. Odour site selction factors encompass three main ideas: prevailing wind direction, separation distance, farmstead visibility and condition. Site selction is very important and can avoid many problems associated with water quality and odour issues. However, being a good neighbour by keeping neighbours informed about expansion, application times and by always taking action on complaints received can potentially reduce many of the complaints against the operation.