What's That Smell

- Abbie W.

You ever drive by a big dairy when they are cleaning the pens and the breeze is blowing just right you catch the nice ripe smell even through your car window. This odor is released from manure decomposing at a microbe level along with other natural matters that are in the ground. These odors are released and cause various issues for the farmer. Not only is the smell a nuisance the manure has environmental effects as well.

            There is no way for us to measure when the smell is out of control. As a farmer, you tend to not notice the smell until it reaches a very high level of intolerance. However, for those not used to it, it can be a pain to your senses. This is a reasoning behind why the amount of complaints due to odor has increased drastically and by passed the complaints to surface water. While it has not been proven that this odor can be harmful to human health it does bother our noses. This odor is can cause ammonia, and is caused by insufficient nitrogen conversion from the feed consumed by the cattle. The nitrogen leaves the animal and converts to NH3, or ammonia. Ammonia is an issue to human health as the gas releases small particulates from other gases.  Ammonia, leads to nutrients in the water to be over enriched and eutrophication as well.

           

Hydrogen sulfide is also a concern in terms of health. The sulfur compounds can be toxic at high levels, and give off a distracting rotten egg odor. Hydrogen sulfide is also released from decomposition of animal manure. Over time chronic health issues can be brought upon humans even if the odor is low and not overly detectable. Greenhouse gases are released as well into our atmosphere. GHG can delay the departure of heat from the surface and is a contribution to climate change.

            The key to help with these issues is to find ways to properly dispose of this manure to keep it from continuing to pollute the air. The EPA has created the National Emission Inventory estimates. With this tool we can help to control the emissions that animal agriculture emits. As the agriculture industry gets much attention from the population for the pollution it causes. The EPA has proven that only 3% of US greenhouse gas emissions is actually caused by livestock facilities. There are numerous different types of managing that livestock producers can do to help with keeping emission down though. Much of it has to do with the diet they feed their livestock. In making sure the nutrients are efficient in consumption and fed in a timely manner. Piling the manure for long periods of time is not advised and minimal. Be sure to regularly clean facilities along with disposing of any deaths you may have in a timely manner.

Photos:

http://investigations.peta.org/north-carolina-dairy-farm/

https://www.olympiabuildings.com/metal-farm-buildings/

https://ag.umass.edu/fact-sheets/conserving-ammonia-in-manure

Sources

http://msue.anr.msu.edu/uploads/236/29130/How_much_does_my_farm_emit.pdf