Project: MLMMI 03-HERS-01
Objective
- To quantify the relative and absolute contributions to odour and greenhouse gas emissions from hog barns and manure storage structures in Manitoba.
- To characterize these emissions.
- To develop and validate a model for predicting the dispersion of odours from hog operations in surrounding communities.
Performer
Q. Zhang
University of Manitoba
Details
Status: Completed
Started: 2003-07-01
Completed: 2005-05-01
Funding Partners: who have contributed to MLMMI in support of this project:
MRAC - $64,815
Manitoba Pork Council and industry groups - $64,815
Amount Funded: $129,630.00
Performer Funded: $0.00
Total Cost: $129,630.00
Activity
First Progress Report received on December 29, 2003.
Second progress report received on August 31, 2004.
Final Report due January 1, 2005.
Extension granted for Final Report to March 31, 2005.
Final Report received on May 1, 2005.
Summary
Hog production facilities have increased in size over the years, and along with this increase have come complaints due to odour. Odour associated with hog operations are from three main sources: a) building exhaust, b) manure storage, and c) land application of manure. As more and more producers are adopting manure injection, odour from land application is becoming less of a concern in Manitoba. But our understating of odour emissions from buildings and manure storage is still elusive. In particular, the relative contributions to odour from barns and the manure storage are not well known. This project aimed to quantify these relative odour contributions by comparing odour emissions and dispersion between two similar hog operations with different manure storage systems.
A common practice of reducing the impact of livestock odour on the neighbouring communities is to maintain appropriate separation (setback) distance between the facility and the neighbouring communities. The downwind odour impact depends on many factors, including odour emission, weather conditions, topography, and odour sensitivity and tolerance of the neighbors. The methods for estimating setback distances are either empirical (experience plus measurements) or dispersion-based. This project evaluated commonly used setback and dispersion models for Manitoba conditions.
It is estimated that agricultural operations contribute approximately 10% of the total anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in Canada, with about 40% of that originating from livestock production. However, little is known about the relative contributions to GHG emissions from barns and manure storage in different production systems. This project addressed the issue of greenhouse gas emission from hog operations with open and covered manure storage.