Covers and biofilters are two techniques that can be used to help manage odors and other airborne emissions from animal feeding operations and manure storage units. Watch these two videos to learn about covers and biofilters, how they work, and related costs and benefits of different methods to reduce airborne emissions. Links to additional techniques and information are given below.
Manure Storage Covers for Reducing Odor Emissions
Visit the Feedlot Air Emissions Treatment Cost Calculator website to download a spreadsheet to help calculate costs and benefits of installing technologies to treat odors and gas emissions from animal feeding operations. A good tool to assess current management practices and their impact on air emissions, including odor, is to use the National Air Quality Site Assessment Tool (NAQSAT). Manure Storage Covers includes many more resources on this topic.
Biofilters for Reducing Odors and Gas Emissions
More is available on Biofilters. There are several methods that can be used to manage odor and other airborne emissions from animal feeding operations. Additional techniques and management information include:
- Diet and feed management
- Windbreaks or vegetative buffers
- Cattle feedlot dust
- Manure and litter additives
- Wet scrubbers
More Videos in This Series
- Air Quality Resources for Policy Makers
- Health Impacts of Air Emissions from Animal Feeding Operations
- Managing Odors and Neighbor Relations and Estimating Setbacks
Additional educational materials are available at Air Quality in Animal Agriculture including an archived webinar on “Clearing the Air on Biofilters“
Acknowledgements
For more information about this video or these resources, contact Dr. Kevin Janni, University of Minnesota kjanni@umn.edu
These materials were based upon work supported by the by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture under Agreement No. 2010-85112-20520.
Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this video are those of the speaker and do not reflect the view of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.