Jay Harmon Iowa State University

Publish Date: April 4, 2012

Ventilation air-to-air heat exchangers are used in swine housing facilities to reduce supplemental heating cost and to preheat incoming fresh air. There is potential for heat exchanger use in some swine barns, since as much as 90% of the total heat loss from an insulated swine nursery facility occurs through the minimum ventilation air exchange. Heat exchangers recover a portion of this loss, depending upon design and maintenance. In addition to reducing fuel use, heat exchangers preheat the incoming ventilation air thereby reducing the potential for drafts on piglets and reducing frosting problems when air enters directly from outside. Heat exchangers also improve air distribution, because warmed inlet air will not drop as rapidly as cold inlet air.

Publish Date: April 9, 2010

The best time to lower the potential for odor and odor complaints from any swine facility is before the site is constructed. Siting and building design have a tremendous influence on odor potential, not only through position relative to neighbors, highways, parks and municipalities, but also due to the communitys perception of odor potential.

Publish Date: April 9, 2010

Pork producers that have facilities with odor problems or want to be proactive in management approaches to prevent odors have a variety of options. Some of these options are easily implemented, while others are more of a challenge. The cost and benefit of any approach should be carefully considered before implementation.

Publish Date: June 3, 2006

Pork producers in the United States who are looking for lower cost structures for raising pigs have shown a great deal of interest in hoop structures or hooped shelters as facilities for housing market or finishing pigs. Producers need to be aware of the advantages and disadvantages of this type of housing. A number of manufacturers offer these units for sale, but little objective data are available to help producers decide if a hoop structure is a good investment. The information in this publication is intended to help producers and designers resolve some of the issues involved in using a hoop structure. The fact sheet discusses some of the management techniques that hoop structures require, and it presents economic factors that can be used to analyze the alternatives.

Publish Date: June 3, 2006

Housing for gestating sows is very important to promote productivity, longevity and welfare of sows. There are many options for the housing of sows which must adhere to environmental needs, space and animal movement considerations, and feeding and watering systems. This fact sheet focuses specifically on those needs and then describes a variety of housing.

Publish Date: November 1, 2019

Economies of scale and the greater need for efficiency have resulted in the vast majority of pigs being raised indoors. These artificial environments have a great impact on production performance and the health status of both the pig and the worker. With the pork industry becoming more integrated, uniform-style barns are built in multiples, and an error in design can be multiplied many times over. This situation highlights the continued need for adhering to basic design principles in ventilation and environmental control.

Publish Date: November 27, 2012

As perceived by humans, odors have five basic properties that can be quantified: 1) intensity, 2) degree of offensiveness, 3) character, 4) frequency, and 5) duration, all of which contribute to the neighbor’s attitude towards the odor as well as the pig production generating the odor. It is generally accepted that the extent of objection and reaction to odor by neighbors is highly variable. The reaction can be based on previous experience, relationship to the odor-producing enterprise and the sensitivity of the individual. Weather (temperature, humidity, wind direction) affects the volatility of compounds, preventing or enhancing movement into the gaseous phase where an odor can be dispersed downwind.

Publish Date: November 27, 2012

Olfaction, the sense of smell, is the least understood of the five human senses. This, among other factors, makes the task of reducing livestock odors a considerable challenge. This factsheet explains the terminology used to describe odorants and odor, how the human olfactory system works, and how humans respond to odor.

Publish Date: June 3, 2006

Recirculation systems involve the addition of varying amounts of dilution water in order to improve the removal of manure from the animal area. The two types of recirculation systems used in pork production facilities are underslat flushing and pit recharge systems. Both systems use a shallow gutter that is flushed or drained periodically to remove waste from the building to the lagoon or storage basin. Open gutter systems have been used in the past but are no longer recommended because of concerns with disease transmission.

Publish Date: June 3, 2006

Research has shown and field experience has verified that corrosive and odorous gas production increases with storage time and storage temperature. Manure can be removed from a swine barn by: (1) manual or mechanical scraping, (2) gravity draining, (3) flushing with dump tanks, siphons or pumping systems with automatic or manually controlled valves, or (4)…