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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:
SEEPAGE EVALUATION OF OLDER SWINE LAGOONS IN NORTH CAROLINA
Posted in: Environment by admin on January 1, 2004 | No Comments
Amounts, Forms, and Solubility of Phosphorus in Soils Receiving Manure
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Impact Analysis of Intensive Livestock Operations on Manitoba Residential Property Values – Five case study locations
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The purpose of this study is to determine the impact of intensive livestock operations (ILO’s) on surrounding rural residential property values. To this end, we have undertaken an analysis of five case study sites located within the Manitoba rural municipalities of Franklin, De Salaberry, Rhineland, Saskatchewan, Glenwood, Rockwood and St. Andrews. The case study sites coincide with the selection of five hog ILO’s varying in operational intensity from 1,120 to 3,500 animal units. Within the case study areas, data for 249 improved property sales and 223 land sale transactions, occurring between the years 1990 and 1003, were collected and analyzed. The study focussed on two primary issues; identifying the presence of an impact of ILO’s on surrounding improved residential property values, and the presence of an impact of ILO’s on surrounding land values. The analysis of house sales located within five miles of an ILO, based upon case study samples sizes ranging from 10 to 94 transactions, resulted in relatively consistent findings. Each case study, excepting case study four, indicated that house prices actually tended to be higher as distance to the ILO decreased (i.e. in closer proximity to ILO’S). In case study four, located in the Municipality of Glenwoord, an analysis f 15 house sales suggested that there was generally no change in prices, regardless of proximity to an ILO. The analysis of land sales located within five miles of an ILO, was based upon sample sizes ranging from 26 to 56. Again, the findings were consistent with the exception of one case study site; this time case study one being the exception. In case study one, located within the municipalities of Franklin and De Salaberry, the analysis indicated that prices for land generally increased as distance from ILO’s increased (i.e. a negative influence on land values due to proximity to an ILO). However, in the remaining four case study areas, the opposite relationship resulted from our analysis. In these areas, land values were found to increase, as distance to ILO’s decreased. In two of the case study areas, the highest sale prices (per acre) in the municipality were found within 1.0 to 1.5 miles of an ILO. In case studies one and found, data was also collected and analyzed with respect to the influence on prices due to proximity to a poultry ILO (case study one) and a cattle ILO (case study four). Poultry ILO’s observed in the municipality of De Salaberry had an impact on land prices, similar to hog ILO’s. For both ILO types, land prices on a peracre basis were found to increase as distance from the ILO increased. Based on 47 sales of land within five miles of a hog ILO, the average price per acre of land sold was $686; for poultry ILO’s, 10 sales of land indicated an average price per acres of $633. Unfortunately due to the location of the poultry ILO’s in the cast study area, a very small sample of improved property sales were found. Therefore, the impact of poultry ILO’s on house prices could not be observed in any meaningful fashion. Cattle ILO’s in the municipality of Glenwood were also observed in our analysis. House prices showed marginal increases as distance from the cattle ILO’s increased, whereas land sales in proximity to cattle ILO’s provided inconclusive results. Overall, the data analyzed in the case study areas fails to support the notion that the presence of hog ILO’s are detrimental to surrounding real estate values. It is entirely possible that isolated cases of properties, that have had a negative impact due to the presence of a neighbouring ILO, may be encountered. However, if examined in a “global” or market-wide perspective, real estate market activity suggests otherwise.
Systems Engineering for Handling and Land Application of Solid and Semi-Solid Livestock Manure
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Research on manure handling and land application has been recognized as a top priority by a number of national and provincial organizations across Canada as a mean to increase the environmental sustainability and to improve the social acceptance of intensive livestock production. Handling and land application systems for solid and semi-solid manure (i.e. manure containing more than 10% of solids by weight) have experienced much less technical research and development efforts than comparable systems for liquid manure and slurry over the last thirty years or so. However, these types of manure management systems have been identified as potential alternatives to liquid manure systems in terms of reducing environmental and societal problems that may be associated to liquid manure management. Solid and semi-solid manure as well as organic fertilizers resulting from the combination of solid (separated or composted) manure and other materials (e.g. wood chips, paper mill residues, industrial or municipal sludges, etc.) have highly variable physical and flow properties. Adapted handling and land application systems are therefore required if one wants to optimize their value as a source of nutrients for field crops while minimizing environmental and nuisance risks. The most important technical characteristics of handling and land application systems in terms of optimizing the agronomic value of manure are those related to the control of the application rate of the product and to its uniform application and distribution to the cropped land.
Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Production Systems
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In order to improve the current knowledge about GHG emissions from swine production systems, a research project between IRDA and the Prairie Swine Center was developed. The purpose is to measure GHG emissions from swine production buildings, manure storage and manure treatment facilities over a 2-year period. GHG emissions will be assessed for different types of production buildings, manure storage facilities, and manure treatment systems. Following the completion of some of these projects, it will become possible to identify the agricultural sectors which should be targeted for GHG emission reductions in the future along with appropriate mitigation measures. Data collected midway through the project have delivered estimates that the Canadian swine production systems do not constitute a major anthropogenic source of GHG.
There are opportunities for the swine industry to reduce their emissions even so. The frequent removal of manure from building may reduce CH4 and N2O emissions. For manure storage and land application, more information on different technologies is still needed to determine the best possible solutions. For manure treatment, anaerobic biodigestion processes offer the potential of converting the methane produced into useable energy. This offers to benefits as methane, a more serious GHG, will be converted to carbon dioxide and the energy generated will reduce the costs of fuel needed during production.
Measurement & Simulation of Nitrate, Phosphorous and Carbon Leaching from Manure & Fertilizer
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Objectives: The objectives of this field study were to compare organic (hog manure) and inorganic (commercial fertilizer) sources of nitrogen and phosphorus on crop yield and nutrient losses on a coarse textured soil. To determine the effect of rate of hog manure on nutrient movement in the soil and compare the lysimeter method of measuring nutrient movement to the traditional soil profile sampling technique of measuring nutrient movement. Major Findings: We conducted this study on a coarse textured soil (Fairland soil series) located near Carberry, Manitoba. Each spring, we applied swine manure at rates of 2500, 5000 and 7500 gal acre-1 to a plot of land measuring 10 m by 10 m. Commercial fertilizer was added to two other plots to provide similar amount of nitrogen and phosphorus as did hog manure. These treatments, together with a control constituted 6 treatments which were replicated 4 times for a total of 24 plots. One of the fertilized plots was seeded while the other was left in fallow during the two growing seasons. A lysimeter was installed in each plot to collect leachate below the root zone and received treatment similar to that imposed on the surrounding plot. Grain yield was similar in both years and was about one-half of that expected for the area. The growing season precipitation in both years was below normal for the area and may partly explain the low yield obtained in this study. In both years, the fertilized treatment produced grain yield that were greater than the manure treatments. The grain yield from the manure treatments were not significantly greater than the control plot. The dry growing season probably limited the availability of nutrient from manure treatments. Maximum uptake of nitrogen by wheat was from the fertilized treatment (63 kg ha-1 in 2002 and 48 kg ha-1 in 2003). In both year, however, fertilizer use efficiency was less than 20% when measured relative to the control plot. This was much below an average efficiency of 50% for cereal on the prairies. In comparison to commercial fertilizer, the nitrogen use efficiency in manure treatments was 10% or less. For phosphorus, there was no significant treatment effect in 2002 while commercial fertilizer produced higher uptake in 2003. Little or none of the manure phosphorus was available to wheat in both years from swine manure. This may be due to the low input of P caused by an unusually high N:P ratio of the manure used in this study. The distribution of nitrate nitrogen followed the same pattern in both years, high close to the soil surface shortly after application, with levels declining at the surface while increasing at depth, as a result of nitrate movement with time. Nitrate movement was limited to a depth of 45 cm in the year of application, possibly due to the dry growing season in 2002. By fall of 2003 however, nitrate nitrogen has reached a depth of 80 cm at the 7500 gal rate. More nitrate nitrogen was measured in the soil that received commercial fertilizer compared to plots with manure. In the fallow plot that received commercial fertilizer, nitrate nitrogen was found at the 120 cm depth in 2002 and lower amount of nitrogen after spring snowmelt in 2003 signifying the loss of nitrogen by leaching in this treatment. This result was supported by data obtained from the lysimeters. No leachate was collected in 2002 and only from 7 of the 24 lysimeters in 2003 starting with the spring snow melt. Results showed that nitrate leaching occurred mainly in the spring and the fall with significant amount of nitrate loss from soil in fallow. At the end of the growing season in 2003 , the two most productive fallow lysimeters lost 12 and 7 cm of water containing 119 and 40 kg ha-1 of nitrate-nitrogen, respectively. The lysimeter on the control plot yielded 5 cm of water containing 18 kgha-1 of nitrate-nitrogen in 2003. While leachate containing nitrate was expected from the fallow lysimeters as a result of fertilizer addition and water accumulation in 2002, the amount of water and nitrate from the control lysimeter shows that soil organic matter breakdown can result in loss of nitrate from these sandy soils without the additions of fertilizer or manure. It is feasible to use swine manure on these sandy soils at rates below the 5000 gal acre, however, the limitation imposed by water may make manure nutrient unavailable to crop. Nitrate leaching can be minimized but it may be unavoidable on sandy soils as losses were measured where no fertilizer and manure was applied.
USE OF FLOATING VEGETATION TO REMOVE NUTRIENTS FROM SWINE LAGOON WASTEWATER
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Corn Response to Composting and Time of Application of Solid Swine Manure
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