Odor Measurement in Animal Agriculture

Odors are the most common nuisance complaint associated with animal feeding operations (AFOs), but is one of the most challenging to measure. Unlike other air emissions from AFOs odor is not one easily identifiable gas or molecular compound. Instead, odor is made up of many (hundreds!) of individual odorous compounds. Complicating this scenario is the fact that each person on the receiving end of odor has a different perspective, different tolerance, and different interpretation of what they are smelling. The following materials were developed for college instructors to utilize in their classrooms when presenting about odors.

Fact Sheet

Archived Webinar

Monitoring Manure Odors Following Land Application

Robin Brandt, Pennsylvania State University (15 minutes)

Presentation Slides

Acknowledgements

These materials were developed by the Air Quality Education in Animal Agriculture (AQEAA) project with with financial support from the National Research Initiative Competitive Grant 2007-55112-17856 from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

For questions about the materials on this page contact Dr. Eileen Wheeler, Pennsylvania State University. For questions about the AQEAA project, contact Dr. Rick Stowell, Unviersity of Nebraska (rstowell2@unl.edu).

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