ODOR, HYDROGEN SULFIDE AND AMMONIA EMISSIONS FROM SWINE FARMS IN MINNESOTA

Livestock odors have become a major concern in many states during the last five years. Many communities in Minnesota and in other states are developing and reviewing policies and ordinances related to agriculture that address concerns about odor and gaseous emissions from livestock production facilities.Evaluation of air emissions from livestock production facilities is a critical exercise in order to address some of the issues facing livestock producers and regulatory agencies. This paper summarizes results obtained from five different swine farms that were monitored for odor, hydrogen sulfide (H2S), and ammonia (NH3) during 1999.Results indicated that a gestation/finishing barn at a farrow-to-finish site had the highest odor and H2S emissions (34 OU-m3/m2-s and 24 μg H2S/m2-s, respectively) as compared to other types of swine barns in different sites (nursery, wean-to-finish and finishing). NH3 emissions were highest at the wean-to-finish and finishing facilities (between 60 and 80 μg NH3/m2-s). Odor and H2S emissions from manure storage basins were usually higher than from barns. Care should be exercised in extrapolating these results, as measurements were from only one facility of each type.Continuous measurements of H2S at different distances from the sources indicated that there is a distinct diurnal variation in H2S concentration that may be related to weather conditions (temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and direction).Significant dilution/dispersion effect on gaseous concentrations was observed from measurements taken at the source and at different distances from the sources.