Poultry researchers target ammonia emissions

Negede Gedamu, research associate, checks electronic components that monitor environmental conditions in the poultry house.

4:26 p.m., April 1, 2005--The University of Delaware continues to develop and improve new technologies to help the poultry industry address problems associated with poultry houses, including ammonia emissions.

The results of these efforts, including a host of high-tech measuring and monitoring systems, were showcased during an open house held March 23 at the Jones Hamilton Environmental Poultry and Demonstration House, located at the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources’ Research and Education Center in Georgetown.

Dedicated in 2003, the 4500-square-foot, 6,000-bird capacity poultry research and demonstration house was partially funded by a $70,000 gift from Jones-Hamilton Co., a manufacturer of agricultural products, including poultry litter treatment. The University and Jones-Hamilton jointly use the facility for independent research, as well as for collaborative projects.

The next day on March 24, a presentation made to about 175 Delaware growers included remarks by U.S. Sen. Thomas Carper’s staff.

At the meeting, Bud Malone, UD Cooperative Extension poultry specialist, said ammonia emissions are a challenge the poultry industry will have to face and that growers eventually will need to comply with whatever standards the EPA adopts.

“UD has been progressive in working on new technologies to address a major problem with poultry houses, and that is the quantity of the emissions,” Malone said. “Believing that air emissions would be the next major challenge identified by the EPA, UD started working on air emissions four years ago.”

While the effects of the EPA agreement for growers are complex, Malone said the Jones-Hamilton house is a means to find practical, cost-effective technologies that can be implemented to help comply with future emission challenges.

“These also will help us deal with the consequences of urban encroachment around poultry houses, such as more nuisance complaints,” Malone said.

The house and its upgraded technology will allow researchers to develop strategies for the improvement of litter and indoor air-quality emissions from houses and to measure the response to these strategies, Malone said.

Other features include on-farm BMPs (Best Management Practices), such as guttering for roof runoff management and trees for filtering airborne emissions.

“The measurements will be monitored by a series of sophisticated data-collecting systems, with the data becoming available to faculty and researchers in UD’s College of Agriculture and Natural Resources,” Malone said.

“The information also will be available for online usage as a distance-learning center for college and high school poultry classes and companies,” he said.

Article by Jerry Rhodes
Photo by Duane Perry

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