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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:
Dynamics of odour release: Application methods for olfactometry and the electronic nose
Posted in: Environment by admin on January 1, 2001 | No Comments
For prognostic calculation of odour pollution,
exact knowledge of odour emissions
is necessary. For this, odour concentration
in exhaust air and exhaust volume flow
have to be measured with odour emission
calculated from the product [1, 2]. Olfactometry
is applied as standard method for determining
odour concentration. However,
despite all standardisation, this has shown
to have a few important disadvantages.
Through the non-continuous sampling involved
in individual sampling, only momentary
samples are possible in odour situations
where output is mainly variable. The subjectivity
of human testers plus the relatively
high costs per odour sample are further disadvantages
of olfactometry. In comparison,
the new a
Succssul Siting of New and Expanding Intensive Livestock Operations – The Alberta Experience
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In 1998-98 Alberta had 471 livestock applications. 446 (94.7%) of these were approved. This is a significant statistic, however, in spite of this approval rate, there are significant issues facing ILO development in the province. In 2000 there were several large development applications which received substantial community oppostiion and genrated a lot of media coverage. This wave of oppoistion continues to effect development applications, to varying degrees across the provincce and reflects and increasing trend of the countryside being regarded as a common resource with public increasingly a say in how it is managed.
Nutrient and Heavy Netal Content of Soil Nutrient Status and Surface Water Quality
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It is well-known that the application of hog manure to land is an economical and environmentally sustainable method for the utilization of the nutrients and other components in the manure. Manure application can increase soil quality and productivity, at least in the short term, on most soils. However, soil quality and productivity can severely reduced in the long-term unless precautions are taken with respect to the loadings and frequency of application of manures. Sustaining the hog industry, through good manure management, is one method to ensure the continued growth of the hog industry in the province. Excessive accumulations of phosphorus, metals such as copper and zinc, sodium and other soluble salts can reduce soil quality and productivity. The loading rates and period of time a soil or parcel of land can be used for manure application depends on soil properties and the concentration of various constituents in the manure. Manures vary in the concentrations of metals (such as opper and zinc), depending on the type of hog operation (feeder, sow, nursery or farrow to finish barns) because of the varying concentrations of these minerals used in the feed. Soils with pH values of less than 6.5 are sensitive to metal loadings of copper and zinc, and crop yield and quality may be reduced if metal applications are high. sodium and other soluble salts found in the manures, also depend on the mineral supplements in the feed, as well as the source of water used to operate the hog facility. any soils in Manitoba are highly sensitive to sodium and salt applications. Another concern is the ratio of nitrogen to phosphorus in the manures. If the nitrogen to phosphorus ratio in the manure is much less than the ratio of nitrogen to phosphorus removed by crops, and the application rate of the manures was based only on available itrogen, phosphorus will accumulate in the soil. The build-up of phosphorus in the long-term can result in phosphorus runoff to surface waters (a decrease in water quality) and may cause yield reductions.
This investigation was an exploratory study to determine whether or not decreases in soil quality
and productivity were likely to occur due to the long-term applications of manure to Manitoba
soils. Several types of hog manures produced by various hog operations in Manitoba were
examined, and the effects of these manures on soil quality and productivity were assessed.
Influence of Hog Manure Application on Surface Runoff Water Quality
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This paper describes some preliminary results from a field-scale study of the effect of field application of hog manure by injection on surface runoff water quality. In the study, manure injection at rates of 7,000 and 10,000 gal ac-1 are compared to an inorganically fertilized control at a site near the Bear Hills Pork Producers barn at Perdue, SK. Surface runoff water quality is assessed during snowmelt and by rainfall simulation. Analysis of the preliminary data indicates that concentrations of total and ortho P and NH3 in snowmelt runoff from the basin receiving 10,000 gal ac-1 of hog manure the previous fall increased relative to background measurements and the control basin. Concentrations of NH3 also appeared to increase in snowmelt runoff from the basin receiving 7,000 gal ac-1 of hog manure. Elevated P concentrations were also measured in runoff from the manured plots the following year. Although the rainfall simulation data were less conclusive, nutrient concentrations in runoff from the plots receiving hog manure appeared to increase relative to the control. There was no indication that hog manure application led to increased coliform counts in runoff water.
Introduction
Hog manure is a valuable source of nutrients and its application to fields as fertilizer is an environmentally-sustainable solution to a waste disposal problem. However, with
increasingly large amounts of manure produced in a single location and prohibitively high transportation costs, manure applications to fields close to hog operations may exceed environmentally sustainable rates. If nutrients are applied in excess of crop requirements they may be transported to surface water through runoff or to groundwater through leaching. While the organic C and micro-organisms in manure can be beneficial to soil, dissolved organic C, bacteria and parasites may pollute water resources. Research is required to confirm that hog manure can be applied to agricultural fields without negatively impacting the environment and to establish sustainable rates of manure application. We have undertaken a field-scale study that is designed to assess the impact of hog manure application on soil and water quality by comparing two rates of manure application with an inorganically fertilized control and by comparing two methods of manure injection. This Health Issues and Water Quality paper describes the methodology for the surface water quality component of the study and presents some preliminary results.
PERFORMANCE ASSESSMENT AND MODEL DEVELOPMENT OF A VARIABLEa
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