John Feddes

Total dust and endotoxin in poultry operations: comparison between cage and floor housing and respiratory effects in workers.

Objective: The objective of this study was to assess respiratory outcomes and environmental exposure levels of workers in cage-housed and floor-housed poultry operations. Methods: Poultry operations were evaluated for total dust, endotoxin, and ammonia, and respiratory symptoms and lung function tests of workers were conducted. Results: Workers in floor-housed poultry operations had significantly greater exposures to total dust and ammonia, whereas workers from cage-housed poultry operations reported greater frequency of current and chronic symptoms overall and significantly greater current and chronic phlegm (39% vs 18% and 40% vs 11%, respectively). Endotoxin concentration (EU/mg) was a significant predictor (P = 0.05) of chronic phlegm for all poultry workers. Conclusions: Greater endotoxin concentration in the presence of significantly lower total dust, in conjunction with greater respiratory symptoms in workers from cage-housed poultry operations, as compared with workers from floor-housed poultry operations, appears to indicate that differences in environmental exposures may impact respiratory outcomes of workers.

Respiratory symptoms and lung function in poultry confinement workers in Western Canada.

OBJECTIVE To determine whether poultry production methods impact respiratory health, and whether poultry farmers have more respiratory symptoms and lower lung function than comparison control groups. DESIGN Cross-sectional study. SETTING Provinces of Saskatchewan, Alberta and Manitoba during the winters of 1997 to 1999. POPULATION Three hundred three poultry workers, 241 grain farmers and 206 nonfarming control subjects were studied. Poultry workers were further classified according to the poultry housing type in which they worked, ie, workers who worked with poultry raised on the floor (floor-based operations), which included broiler/roaster, broiler/breeder and turkey operations (n=181), and workers who worked with poultry raised in a caged setting (cage-based operations), which included egg operations (n=122). INTERVENTIONS Subjects completed a respiratory health questionnaire, which included questions on the poultry operation and work habits, and participated in lung function testing. MAIN RESULTS Overall, this study indicated that poultry workers report greater prevalences of current and chronic respiratory symptoms than control populations, and that the type of production method (cage-based versus floor-based) appears to influence the prevalence of respiratory symptoms and lung function values. Workers from cage-based operations report greater prevalences of current cough and wheeze, as well as lower mean values for forced expiratory volume in the first second (FEV1), forced expiratory flow at 25% to 75% of vital capacity (FEF25-75) and FEV1/FVC than workers from floor-based facilities. Workers from cage-based facilities also reported greater prevalences of current and chronic cough and phlegm, as well as significantly lower FEF25-75 and FEV1/FVC values than nonfarming control subjects. Furthermore, grain farmers had lower FVC and FEV1 values than nonfarmers. CONCLUSIONS The results suggest that the type of poultry production system (ie, floor- versus cage-based) appears to have an effect on the respiratory response of workers from these facilities. Further studies are required to understand the physiological mechanisms of respiratory dysfunction and the relationships concerning workplace exposure among poultry workers.

Effects of Frequency and Quantity of Sprinkling Canola Oil on Dust Reduction in Swine Buildings

Dust concentrations in animal buildings can be reduced by sprinkling a small quantity of canola oil on the floor. The efficiency of dust reduction was expected to be dependent on the frequency and quantity of oil application. Canola oil was sprinkled at six application rates (QF1 to QF6) in three identical swine grower/finisher rooms to examine the effect of oil application frequency and quantity on dust concentration in the room air. For the six oil application rates, dust concentration was reduced between 37 to 89% with an overall mean reduction of 71 and 76% for modified respirable (0.5 to 5 mm) and inhalable (> 0.5 mm) dust, respectively. At the same total volume of oil sprinkled, a higher oil application frequency was more effective than a lower application frequency in terms of dust reduction. However, sprinkling more often than once a day is difficult when the oil application is less than 10 mL/m2 per day. The more oil sprinkled, the more dust could be reduced. Variable daily dosages (from 30 to 10 mL/m2) for oil sprinkling had a higher efficiency of dust reduction than a constant daily dosage (20 mL/m2).

Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Three Cage Layer Housing Systems

Simple Summary Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions were measured from three different cage layer housing systems. A comparative study was conducted to identify the housing system with the least impact on the environment. The results showed that liquid manure from deep-pit housing systems produces greater emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) than natural and forced dried manure from belt housing systems. The influencing factors appeared to be the manure removal frequency and the dry matter content of the manure. Abstract Agriculture accounts for 10 to 12% of the World’s total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Manure management alone is responsible for 13% of GHG emissions from the agricultural sector. During the last decade, Québec’s egg production systems have shifted from deep-pit housing systems to manure belt housing systems. The objective of this study was to measure and compare carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from three different cage layer housing systems: a deep liquid manure pit and a manure belt with natural or forced air drying. Deep liquid manure pit housing systems consist of “A” frame layer cages located over a closed pit containing the hens’ droppings to which water is added to facilitate removal by pumping. Manure belt techniques imply that manure drops on a belt beneath each row of battery cages where it is either dried naturally or by forced air until it is removed. The experiment was replicated with 360 hens reared into twelve independent bench-scale rooms during eight weeks (19–27 weeks of age). The natural and forced air manure belt systems reduced CO2 (28.2 and 28.7 kg yr−1 hen−1, respectively), CH4 (25.3 and 27.7 g yr−1 hen−1, respectively) and N2O (2.60 and 2.48 g yr−1 hen−1, respectively) emissions by about 21, 16 and 9% in comparison with the deep-pit technique (36.0 kg CO2 yr−1 hen−1, 31.6 g CH4 yr−1 hen−1 and 2.78 g N2O yr−1 hen−1). The shift to manure belt systems needs to be encouraged since this housing system significantly decreases the production of GHG.

Odor Index: An Integration of Odor Parameters for Swine Slurry Odors

In the animal production industry, manure odors can be a potential nuisance to neighboring residents. A more suitable metric other than odor concentration and intensity is required to evaluate odor dispersion or to evaluate on-farm odor-reducing technologies. An odor parameter was developed to better describe odor by integrating odor concentration, odor intensity, and hedonic tone values into an odor index. In order to mathematically define the odor index, an assumption was made that the odor index is equivalent to the geometric mean of odor intensity and hedonic tone. The mathematical models for the relationships of odor intensity versus odor concentration, hedonic tone versus odor concentration, and odor index versus odor concentration were determined based on the analysis of stored pig slurry headspace odor. The models showed that odor intensity increased as a power function of odor concentration with an exponent of 0.39, while odor index and hedonic tone decreased as a power function of odor concentration with the same exponent.

Biotrickling filter for the treatment of swine exhaust air.

The piggery industry is important both worldwide and in Canada, but swine production sites can emit substantial amounts of aerial contaminants. Biological treatment systems, such as biotrickling filters (BTF), have the potential to treat these emissions which are generally characterised by low concentrations and very high flow rates. The main objective of this study was to test the effect of certain operating parameters on the performance of BTFs treating swine exhaust air.

Pipeline vs. Truck Transport of Beef Cattle Manure

Anaerobic digestion of manure can be conducted at a wide range of capacities. As capacity increases, economies of scale in capital equipment are realized but transportation costs increase as manure must be carried longer distances to the plant site. In this study we evaluate the cost of pipelining manure from beef cattle confined feeding operations, i.e. feedlots, as an alternative to truck transport. Pipeline transportation cost is minimized at a slurry concentration of about 12%; low concentrations require a larger pipeline, and high concentrations require higher pumping costs. Pipelining costs are highly scale dependent, while trucking costs are virtually independent of scale. Manure starts its journey to a digester on a truck; pipelining of manure is more economic than ongoing truck transport for manure from animals in excess of 95,000. Incremental net fixed costs for trans-shipment from truck to pipeline are low for manure because equipment installed at the pipeline inlet eliminates the need for identical equipment within the digester plant; the incremental fixed cost identified in this study is the cost of a pipeline operator. A pipeline must run for a minimum distance to recover the incremental fixed cost of trans-shipment; at 300,000 animals, the minimum economic pipeline distance is 8 km. Pipeline transport of beef cattle manure has the potential to reduce overall transportation cost to a large centralized digester in areas such as Dodge City, Kansas or Lethbridge, Alberta where very large numbers of beef cattle are in feedlots. A 50 km pipeline carrying manure from 300,000 beef cattle has a overall transport cost of 60% of ongoing truck transport.

Fiber optic lighting system for plant production

Dennis St. George John Feddes (Dept. of Agricultural Engineering University of Alberta Edmonton AB Canada T6G 2Hl) A prototype light collection and transmission device was developed and evaluated for the potential of irradiating plants grown in an opague growth chamber. Results indicated that the device transmitted light with a photon flux of 130 1amol/s/m2 (4000-7000 nm) to the bottom of the growth chamber when direct solar radiation was 800 W/m2 (300-2500 nm) outside. The overall collection and transmission efficiency for photosynthetically active radiation is 19. 2. A growth trial with plants indicated that artificial lighting is required during cloudy periods. 1.

Measuring the Social Acceptability of Participants for Two Manure Spreading Techniques, With and Without an Information Session: A Case Study

Relationships between farmers and rural residents are sometime problematic, especially during manure spreading periods. To improve the social acceptability of spreading activities, newer technologies can be used. However, there is limited information on the impact of those technologies compared to a social intervention on the social acceptability. A first project was carried out in 2007 using two spreading techniques and an information session. The participants who took part of this first project were neutral regarding swine production. The goal of this new study was thus to measure the impact of two manure spreading techniques and of an information session on the social acceptability of participants in an area where relationships were problematic. Two groups of similar subjects were formed; one group who received an information session about the swine production and another kept as a control group. Both groups were then exposed to the same two spreading techniques; a surface application technique and an incorporation technique. The social acceptability of all participants was measured using a questionnaire. The odor concentrations at the participant’s level and near the spreading operation were measured using dynamic olfactometry. The social acceptability results show that the impact of an information session alone was negligible. However, the use of a manure incorporation technique increased the acceptability. In fact, the use of a surface application technique increased the risk that participants had a low acceptability by 64% compared with an incorporation technique. A spreading technique releasing less airborne contaminants should contribute at enhancing community relationships.

Innovative Air Treatment Unit to Improve Separation Distances between Swine Buildings and Neighbouring Populations

Animal housing can emit substantial amounts of odorous compounds. Among the air cleaning technologies, biotrickling filters can be interesting for animal housing since they are easier to manage and are smaller in size than traditional biofilters. It is also known that by reducing odour emissions, producers can improve the relationship with their neighbours. In fact, legislation in some countries forces producers to respect minimum distances between their barns and the neighbours. The overall objective of this study is to measure reductions in odour emissions obtained with a laboratory scale biotrickling filter (BTF) and to evaluate the potential gain in minimum distances for swine buildings. Three identical bench-scale chambers were equipped with three BTFs. Each chamber housed four grower-finisher pigs up to 80 kg. The experimental design included the following combinations of parameters: three empty bed residence time and two types of filtration media. Measurements included odour concentrations both with the dynamic olfatometry method and the assessor technique. The calculation of minimum distances was done using the equation developed by the provincial government of Quebec, in Canada. Results suggest that the BTFs are able to reduce odour emissions from -27% up to 92%. The media type and the empty bed residence time seem to have no effect on the efficiency of the BTFs. The results from the trials were then supposed to be used to produce simulations for the calculation of minimum distances. Given the efficiencies obtained during this project, it is difficult to establish an average performance of the BTFs that could be used to establish the subfactor F3.