AMMONIA VOLATILIZATION FROM CONSTRUCTED WETLANDS THAT TREAT SWINE WASTEWATER

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Slurry Application Techniques to reduce Ammonia Emissions: Results of some UK Field-scale Experiments

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Shallow injection, trailing shoe and band spreading machines were evaluated, in terms of their potential for reducing ammonia (NH3) emission, by making measurements after application and in direct comparison with surface broadcast applied cattle slurry (pig slurry on one occasion). Several sets of comparative measurements were made with each type of machine on both grassland and arable land (mostly cereal stubbles), covering a range of soil, crop and weather conditions. Measurements of NH3 emissions were made for 5a

Exposure and respiratory health in farming in temperate zonesa

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EFFECTS OF MANURE REMOVAL STRATEGIES ON ODOR AND GAS EMISSION FROM SWINE FINISHING

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Odor, ammonia (NH3) and hydrogen sulfide (H2S) concentrations and emission rates were measured in two small rooms of finishing pigs with different manure removal strategies. The strategies included daily flush, and static pits with 7-, 14-, and 42-d storage times with and without pit recharge. Tests were conducted with three successive groups of 25 pigs per room. Pigs were fed standard corn-soybean diets. Ammonia and H2S concentrations were automatically measured 15 to 24 times per day. Odor samples were collected and evaluated for odor concentration, intensity and hedonic tone by an odor panel, whose performance was verified with a reference odorant. Geometric mean odor emission rates were 19, 33, and 29 OUE s-1 AU-1 (OUE = European odor unit equivalent to 123 A

Methane emissions from swine lagoons in Southeastern US

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Use of liquid hog manure for sustainable forage production

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Manitoba Agriculture and Food and Turtle Mountain Conservation District, with financial assistance from Covering New Ground, established two demonstration sites in the Killarney area. The focus of the project was to measure the effects of hog manure on the yield and quality of tame and native pastures, and to look at these pastures ability to support grazing livestock. Complementary focus was placed on evaluating crop nutrient uptake by conducting soil tests before fertilization and following the growing season. The tame pasture consisted of a tall fescue- alfalfa mixture. The native pasture had been sod-seeded with alfalfa in 1999, but was dominated by native grass species. Forage clippings were taken on August 20-21. Forage quality was consistently better when fertilized. Energy content (measured in Total Digestible Nutrient) was also greater when pastures were fertilized. Soil tests taken following the growing season showed that soil N and P were, in most cases; lower than pre-fertilization soil N and P. This indicates that the actively growing vegetation had taken up the applied nutrients. Manure also had a positive effect on forage yield and forage quality. The yield increases in particular had an effect on the carrying capacity of fertilized pastures vs. unfertilized pastures. Actively growing forages use manure nutrients well, as indicated by the post-growing season deficiencies in both soil N and P. Other benefits of using liquid hog manure on forage crops are the expansion of the practical spreading season from traditional spring and fall demand peaks. As forages have much higher N and P requirements than most annual crops they also allow a reduction in spread acres required.

Effect of extender, cooling method and incubation time on storage of extended boar semen at 5A?A?C

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A study was carried out to determine if cooling method, incubation time and extender affected the success of storing boar semen at 5A?A?C. Extended boar semen can be stored at 5A?A?C with acceptable values of sperm progressive motility, total motility and viability over time. This success depends upon incubating the sperm at 17A?A?C for at least 24 hours prior to 5A?A?C storage.

Effects of high-protein/low-carbohydrate swine diets during the final finishing phase on pork muscle quality

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Evaluation of the relationship between injuries and size of gestation stalls relative to size of sows.

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Most pregnant sows in the United States are housed singly in stalls. Small stall dimensions or restricted space can cause injuries. The problem of spatial restriction increases as the size of the sow increases during pregnancy. The study was designed to determine whether there is relationship between sow injuries and size of gestation stalls relative to sow size. A total of 267 pregnant sows were randomly selected from 4 farms. Sow and stall measurements were obtained, and injuries were scored on the basis of location, number, and depth. Ratios of stall length to sow length, and stall width to sow height were calculated. The results indicated that high injury scores were associated with low ratios of stall length to sow length and stall width to sow height. In other words, when the stall size relative to sow size was decreased, pregnant sows endured more injuries.

Influence of mating ratio and group size on indicators of fearfulness and stress of hens and cocks

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Heterophil to lymphocyte ratio and duration of tonic immobility are indicators of stress and fearfulness, respectively. This study was designed to examine the effects of the male to female mating ratio on the heterophil to lymphocyte ratio and on the duration of tonic immobility in two different experiments. In the first experiment, four different mating ratios (1:11, 1:5, 1:3, and 1:1) and 10 different Spanish breeds of chickens were allocated to breeding pens of 12 birds each. Experiment two used two different mating ratios (1:11 and 1:1) and four breeds allocated to pens of 60. There were significant differences among mating ratios for the heterophil to lymphocyte ratio in females of both group sizes. Hens housed with a mating ratio of 1:1 had a higher heterophil to lymphocyte ratio than hens with a 1:11 mating ratio in the group with 12 or 60 birds. In the 1:1 mating ratio, hens had significant heterophilia and lymphopenia. The 1:5 and 1:3 ratios did not differ from the 1:11 ratio. In the 1:1 ratio, the effect of group size was significant, but it was not significant in the 1:11 ratio. Tonic immobility did not differ between the mating ratios for hens. In the mating ratio of 1:1 and in the group size of 60 birds, cocks showed a shorter duration of tonic immobility than cocks housed with a 1:11 mating ratio. Results in the study suggest that very high mating ratios should not be used in conservation populations because they increase physiological and psychological stress responses.