This document summarizes a study that measured emissions of ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, and odor from five swine finishing barns operated by E & L Harrison Enterprises. Emission rates varied between barns and correlated with animal population size, with the most populated barn having the highest emission rates. Emission rates of ammonia and hydrogen sulfide from all barns were below averages from Minnesota barns. Odor levels were slightly above Minnesota averages but odor was contained near the barns and at non-annoying levels at property lines. Air quality modeling found the facilities did not pose public health risks from ammonia or hydrogen sulfide. A full report of the study is available online.

1. Understanding Nutrient s, Emissions & Odor at Harrison Farms - 2 Swine Facility Emission & Odor Monitoring Paul Kivlin – UW Extension/NPM/Discovery Farms Kevan Klingberg, Dennis Frame and Amber Radatz - UW Extension/Discovery Farms

2. Emission and Odor Introduction Air quality and odor control are pressing environmental issues facing animal agriculture across Wisconsin and the United States. Producers will soon be faced with increasing pressure to comply with air quality standards. For the past several years, pork producers have been at the forefront of these issues and they understand the importance of emission and odor control. As leaders in their industry, Lynn and Patricia Harrison (E & L Harrison Enterprises, Inc.) participated in an emission/odor monitoring project with the Discovery Farms Program and Baumgartner Environics. This study evaluated their hog finishing facilities against current WI Ambient Air Quality Standards.

3. Emission and Odor Introduction Ammonia, hydrogen sulfide and odor from livestock facilities can all have adverse impacts on air quality. May affect health and wellbeing of people and livestock living and working in these areas. The WI livestock industry has limited quantitative data to document actual on-farm emissions from livestock facilities. To improve the information available, the livestock industry requested that monitoring be conducted to identify baseline levels of loss for ammonia, hydrogen sulfide and odor generated from a variety of livestock facilities.

4. Emission and Odor Introduction Ammonia A nitrogen gas emitted from housing facilities, manure storage areas, and from applications of manure / nitrogen fertilizer to fields. Lost ammonia compounds can remain in the air as particulate haze and/or be re-deposited to the land. Concerns about ammonia emissions include: Atmospheric (ammonia compound) particulates cause haze and stimulate human respiratory health issues, Additions of “extra” nitrogen to the ecosystem results in soil acidification, changes in plant species and water quality concerns (hypoxia).

5. Emission and Odor Introduction Hydrogen sulfide A product of the anaerobic decomposition of manure (or other organic matter). Exposure to hydrogen sulfide at 50 parts per million (ppm) can cause dizziness, headache and nausea. Workers in areas where exposed to levels of 1,000 ppm or more of hydrogen sulfide can become ill and/or die: respiratory paralysis, manure pits, transfer stations, poorly ventilated buildings.

6. Emission and Odor Introduction Odors from livestock facilities arise from a wide variety of gases and compounds. Many exist at very low concentrations. The actual odor can be from any combination of manure, dust, decaying feed and other organic material. Odors evoke a wide range of physical and emotional reactions, both positive and negative – depending on the person. Apple pie, fresh tilled soil, paper company, livestock manure.

7. Project Methods This project was conducted by Baumgartner Environics and Discovery Farms staff at five swine finishing barns operated by E & L Harrison Enterprises, Inc. Animal management within these barns is “all in – all out”, where feeder pigs are brought in at 50 lbs. and finished to 250 lbs. within 16 weeks.

8. Project Methods Single-day emission rates for ammonia, hydrogen sulfide and odor were determined for each barn. Baumgartner Environics used the U.S. Environmental Protections Agency’s CALPUFF air quality model to estimate odorous gas concentrations present at property lines and nearest neighbor residences.

9. Project Methods On the day that air quality monitoring was conducted, each barn had the following hog populations:

10. Project Methods Ammonia was measured directly from barn exhaust fans, as well as manure pit exhaust fans using gas detection colorimetric tubes.

11. Project Methods Hydrogen sulfide was measured at exhaust fans and property lines using a Jerome 631-X Hydrogen Sulfide Analyzer.

12. Project Methods Odor was measured two ways: Collected a bag of air from barn exhaust fans for lab analysis by dynamic olfactometry (right), Measured on-site using a Nasal Ranger Field Olfactometer (above).

13. Project Results Emissions of ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, and odor are measured as the amount of gas emitted per square meter of barn floor per time unit. Referred to as gas flux rates. For the purpose of comparison, the following 3 graphs also show the average emission flux rates from a number of Minnesota swine finishing barns: Wood, S. L. et al. 2001. Odor and Gas Emissions From Animal Production Systems. 2001 ASAE Annual Meeting Paper No. 01-4043. St. Joseph, MI.

14. Project Results High correlation to the number of animal units present in each barn. On the study date, site 2 was the most densely populated barn (184 AU). Site 2 had the highest emission and odor values measured at the exhaust fans. Emission rates of ammonia and hydrogen sulfide from all the buildings on the project farm were below the Minnesota average.

15. Project Results High correlation to the number of animal units present in each barn. On the study date, site 2 was the most densely populated barn (184 AU). Site 2 had the highest emission and odor values measured at the exhaust fans. Emission rates of ammonia and hydrogen sulfide from all the buildings on the project farm were below the Minnesota average.

16. Project Results High correlation to the number of animal units present in each barn. On the study date, site 2 was the most densely populated barn (184 AU). Site 2 had the highest emission and odor values measured at the exhaust fans. The levels of odor were slightly above the Minnesota odor average.

17. Project Summary Air quality sampling and modeling indicate that E & L Harrison Enterprises, Inc. hog finishing facilities are not a significant public health concern with regard to ammonia and hydrogen sulfide emissions. Odor is primarily confined to the immediate vicinity of the barns but could be detected (at non-annoying levels) at the property lines for some barns. A full report for this project, “Air Quality Impacts at Three Hog Feedlots”, was prepared by Baumgartner Environics, Available on the UW-Discovery Farms Program website: http://www.uwdiscoveryfarms.org/pdf/pubsnewsres/other/harrisonBErpt.pdf

18. Information Available This presentation is the second in a series of four developed to provide the data and information collected at E & L Harrison Enterprises, Inc. There are 4 factsheets, 4 briefs and 4 presentations associated with this project. All factsheets, briefs and presentations are available on the UW - Discovery Farms website. http://www.uwdiscoveryfarms.org

19. Acknowledgement Thank you to the Wisconsin Pork Association for their interest and support of this project.

20. For Additional Information http://www.uwdiscoveryfarms.org UW Discovery Farms 40195 Winsand Drive PO Box 429 Pigeon Falls, WI 54760 1-715-983-5668 jgoplin@wisc.edukevan.klingberg@ces.uwex.edu