Effect of purge ventilation on the concentration of airborne dust in pig buildings.

Posted in: Environment by admin on January 1, 1989 | No Comments

A short period of high ventilation is sometimes used in piggeries to improve air quality. The effect of a 10 min period of high ventilation during the normal operation of 2 ventilation systems was studied. In a building with automatically controlled natural ventilation (ACNV) the purge produced a 60% reduction in estimated total dust concn. Most of the reduction occurred in the first 2 min. Dust concentrations increased rapidly after the purge, although not necessarily to the initial concn. The purge creates a significant reduction in air temperature for a short period. The effect of the purge in a building with an air recirculation system is not so clear. The number of airborne particles were reduced, but the benefits were partly offset by an increase in particle suspension from the ventilation ducts. The purge may be most beneficial after periods of high dust production, such as feeding or weighing.

Relationship between Volatile Fatty Acids, Total Ammonia, and pH in Manure Slurries

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The work realized during this experiment explain the pH changes occurring during manure aeration and the resulting ammonia emission.

Environmental and health studies of farm workers in Swedish swine confinement buildings

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Respiratory symptoms among Swedish swine producers

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Effects of exposure to dust in swine confinement buildings–a working group report

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Zoonoses

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Diseases that are transmitted from animals to humans are called zoonoses or zoonotic diseases. They are difficult to control because the existence of an animal reservoir makes it hard to eliminated them. Consider, for example, the problems involved in controlling rodents in the deserts of the southwestern United States that are infected with the plague, or larger herds of wildebeest that carry sleeping sickness in Central Africa. Animal related diseases have caused untold damage to people in the past and continue to be of enormous concern, especially in the tropical areas of the world.

Zoonoses are defined as those infectious diseases that are naturally transmitted between vertebrate animals and humans. The word is derived from the Greek, “zoon”, meaning animal, and “nososs”, meaning disease. The greatest risk of acquiring zoonoses are of course those who work in close proximity to animals, like farmers, veterinarians, slaughterhouse workers, and animal researchers. The most common sources of zoonotic diseases are domestic animals, namely pets and farm animals. Over 100 million cats and dogs are kept as pets in the United States, and although they are rare, more than 30 human diseases can be acquired from them.

With the international movement of animals, importation of zoonotic diseases from one geographical locale to another takes place with increasing frequency. For example, Marburg virus disease was first documented in laboratory workers in Germany after they had contact with monkeys imported from Africa for use in vaccine research.

Lower Nitrogen Excretion in Pig Husbandry by Feeding : Current and Future Possibilities

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The environmental situation in the Netherlands is well presented. The means for nutrients reduction are also well covered particularly for nitrogen. Information on the legislation is also presented.
In the Netherlands, the amount of P applied to was regulated in 1987 regulations, with decreasing amount up to 1995. Maximum application of P2O5 of 250 kg/ha decreasing to 175 in 1995 on grassland; 350 kg/ha to 175 for maizeland and 125 kg/ha for arable land. Prohibition periods for application are also given for sandy soils and other soils however these periods consider their shorter cold winter.

Ammonia Emissions from Livestock Buildings and Slurry Sreading in the Netherlands

Posted in: Environment by admin on January 1, 1988 | No Comments

Pig unit ammonia (273 mg NH3/pig.hour) is equivalent to 1 fattening pig, or 78 laying hens (daily removal of droppings), 12 hens (with open slurry storage), 4 laying hens (with deep pit manure system or eq.). The livestock production is considered as an input-output nitrogen model system constituted of 2 parts, the animal and the slurry system. As P present in system doesn’t change much, ratio N:P are considered in the fresh manure and after storage. Ammonia model consider all the nitrogen stages of the system being intake (feed content), yield (meat, eggs, milk, ) direct losses and litter added. As mentioned by other authors, the ammonia emissions are related to the manure surface. A table presenting ammonia production/ animal place-year is also presented for different animals and different production systems.

A Self Environmental Audit for Dairy Farm Ground Water Quality.

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In Connecticut for the use of dairy farmers, a self-evaluation environmental audit has been developed to monitor the nitrate in the ground water. This audit was directed toward nitrate concerns and was realized using a simple, inexpensive test strip procedure for an approximate evaluation of the nitrate present in the ground water of the farmstead. The information obtained from this nitrate test procedure is self-evaluated by the farmer and taken into account the specific nitrogen management practices and environmental conditions of the farm. This publication presents the methodology used to implement this program in Connecticut and the experience coming from such program.

This type of self audit helps develop farmers’ individual awareness of the impact of their production and management practices on water and particularly on their own water quality. The action taken by the farmers may be understood in another way as education as being provided and they are the first to diagnose the problem.

Ammonium in Rainwater Collected Around a Farm and in a Suburban Area

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Many sampling sites were considered in this experiment during one year even if the surroundings of only one livestock building were investigated with a control zone in a suburban area. Important variations in the results make the analysis difficult. As regional differences exist and different building systems exist, more investigations are needed to understand the impact of ammonium in rainwater around farms.