Land Application of Swine Waste: Regulation and Producer Practices in Oklahoma

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This paper develops some general hypotheses about producer practices relating to manure land application and examines current swine waste manure handling practices, land application methods, and potential land constraints based on a pilot survey of Oklahoma swine producers. This survey is undertaken to determine the actual importance of land and transportation cost constraints in this region and thereby assist policy makers in identifying potential causes for manure over-application. Based on a limited sample from our pilot survey, we find some evidence to support transportation-cost hypotheses about manure waste management: that transportation costs affect the distribution of swine waste on individual Oklahoma Farms.
The paper provides an overview of existing theory relating to the economics of land application of manure given possible land constraints and manure transportation costs. It then discusses regulation and policy relating to the land application of manure. Preliminary results of a pilot survey of Oklahoma swine producers are then presented. We conclude with a discussion of the implications of Oklahoma manure management practices for policy design.

Public Involvement in the Siting of Large Scale Hog Facilities: Lessons for Pork Producers from Four Alberta Communities

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The recent increases in intesnive hog production in Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba has corresponded to increased hostility and legal challenges within rual agrcultural communities over the siting of intenive facilties. Long expensive appeals to siting decisions suggest the need for public involvement in intensive livestock management. A 1998 study prepared an assessment of the socio-economic impact of hogs in Alberta. Their conclusions, recommended that pork producers strike a balance between the science-based aspecs of their plan and good neighbor policies, inclusing communication with surrounding neighbours, public awareness and solid environmental planning. Our research focuses on the public involvment in the siting of intesnive hog developments in Alberta, the rteasons for conflict, and the ways to minimize conflict through constructive public particiapation methods

Understanding the Soil-Lanscape: Implications for Managing Manure

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Introduction
Application of livestock manure to land has been conducted for centuries to increase agricultural productivity by providing nutrients and organic materials that improve overall soil tilth and fertility. Manure is a valuable source of crop nutrients and organic matter provided that it is used as a nutrient amendment based on sound agronomic principles. Soil and water quality deterioration following manure addition may occur when agronomic principles are not adhered to or when manure is simply disposed of as a waste on agricultural land. It is important for the land manager to understand the pros and cons of manure application to land as well as understand the limitations of the land base to which the manure is applied. One of the factors that influences the fate of manure applied to land is the variability of the soillandscape. Unfortunately, the variability of soils within a given landscape is generally not well appreciated and manure (or fertilizers) is applied uniformly across a given field with little consideration given to the variability in soil and hydrologic processes within the field. This paper presents the concept of the soil-landscape and describes how an understanding of this concept is important for managing manure on agricultural land. What is the a

Dust and Bioaersol Concentrations in Two Swin Finishing Buildings in Kanas

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Air quality was assessed in 2 commercial swine finishing barns, one naturally ventilated and the other mechanically ventilated. The concentrations of inhalable dust IDC) and respirable dust (RDC), bioaerosols, carbon dioxide, and ammonia as well as particle size distribution, air temperature, relative humidity inside the barns were measured for 41 consecutive weeks covering three batches of pigs in each barn. The mean IDC, RDC, total viable particles, and respirable particles in the naturally ventilated barn were 2.19 mg/m3, 0.10 mg/m3, 6.0 x 1^4 and 9.8 x 10^3 respectively. The two barns did not differ significantly in any of the above parameters or in particle size distribution. The IDC and RDC inside the two barns correlated significantly with the weight of the pigs. The IDC also correlated with the outside air temperature, and the RDC correlated with the temperature difference between the outside and inside air. Significant but small correlation was found between the total forming units inside the barns and the weight of the pigs.

Formation of Fuel-Grade Ethanol From Swine Waste Via Gasification

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The objective of this project is to investigate the application of gasification technologies to the treatment of swine waste for the ultimate production of fuel-grade ethanol. This waste treatment system would reduce the negative environmental impact of current manure management systems. The research objectives are: 1) to develop and test a system for harvesting swine manure in a form dry enough to be used as a gasification feedstock, 2) to establish the feasibility and the gasification conditions for the swine waste/amendments feedstock, 3) to characterize the end products of gasification (ethanol and mineral ash) and their potential markets, and 4) to conduct a rigorous economic analysis on the entire swine manure management model to determine its feasibility along with the factors that promote or impede its implementation.

Our research thus far has shown that swine manure can be a suitable feedstock for gasification. The belt system (an alternative waste management system) has the potential to dry the swine waste to more than 60% DM. The final conclusion regarding the feasibility of gasifying swine waste will be dependent upon the economic analysis of the entire housing and gasification system. A decision support system (DSS) will be developed that stimulates and optimizes the whole chain from animal production to manure spreading or processing. The system will assess the logistics, economics, and environmental effects for each of the elements of the chain. An economic/environmental sensitivity analysis of gasification as a manure processing technology will be performed by changing the options (such as subsidies on ethanol), the constraints (particularly the regulatory context), and the model assumptions. The results will be compared to an environmentally sustainable system based on current technologies, waste disposal by land application at agronomic rates that avoid eutrophic consequences.

SEASONAL AND SPATIAL VARIATIONS OF DENITRIFYING ENZYME ACTIVITY IN FEEDLOT SOIL

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Emergence of influenza A viruses

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Odour emission rates from manure treatment/storage systems

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Separation distance to avoid odour nuisance due to livestock calculated by the Austrian odour dispersion model (AODM)

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Effect of suspended soil material and pig slurry on the facilitated transport of pesticides, phosphate and bromide in sandy soil

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The colloid-facilitated transport of pesticides and other pollutants to groundwaters is a source of
concern to authorities in the European Union and other countries. It has been suggested that
colloids are good sorbents for pesticides and other pollutants, and it is now suspected that the
spreading of animal manures increases the potential for colloid-facilitated transport. In experiments
in lysimeters of sandy soil to which phosphate, triallate, chlordane and bromide were applied to the
surface, the A