WINNIPEG – What are the chances of cleaning up the exhaust air from a hog barn to the extent that outside observers can’t tell it’s a hog barn?
“That’s exactly the way it is in Holland,” says Keith Anderson of Brandon.
“There are more pigs than people in Holland, and the people there absolutely do not tolerate livestock odours. Yet hog barns are often situated right in the middle of urban areas. And it’s not a problem. They co-exist because the barns give the people no reason to complain.”
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He said Dutch barns use the latest technology in water bath air scrubbers and air exchange systems. Anderson, who represents ITB Canada, an importer of hog barn equipment designed and manufactured in the Netherlands, had just returned from a business trip to Holland when he set up his display at Manitoba Hog and Poultry Days in Winnipeg.
“In one of the towns, two workmen were laying down interlocking paving stones. It was a cold rainy day, not what you could call pleasant working conditions. Every now and then they took a short break to go stand in front of an exhaust fan on the wall of a factory building next to where they were working.
“It was a big fan blowing warm dry air on the guys. They were very appreciative of it. Well, the factory was a hog barn. But they could not tell from the exhaust. There was no clue.”
Anderson said this is the way livestock facilities are managed in Europe. They are essentially closed, totally managed air systems. Exhaust air has no odour and no pathogens.
“The price the consumer pays per pound of pork product in Europe is essentially the same as the price here in North America. Their payback on these systems comes in about Year 10 of operation. So what’s the difference? Why can they do it when we can’t?”
He said the heat exchanger is a good place to start looking for answers. A significant number of North American hog barns still use the traditional air-to-air heat exchanger.
“These have an inherent hygiene problem. They collect dust and pathogens. It’s a big hassle to keep them clean enough that you’re not transferring disease organisms. You need something you can easily clean inside and out with a pressure washer.”
Canada’s extreme summer and winter temperatures mean hog producers must deal with an extra challenge to the air problem, Anderson said.
“You need to cool incoming air in the summer and heat incoming air in the winter, but especially in the summer.
You need to push significantly more air through the barn to get rid of ambient heat as well as heat from the hogs.”
Anderson said the ITB heat exchanger uses geo-thermal heat transfer to meet that challenge rather than an air-to-air exchanger.
“It lets you keep tighter control on humidity and oxygen levels. It gives you the freedom and flexibility to push more fresh air into the barn. And it’s easy to clean with a pressure washer,” he said.
“With better air, you see more piglets, faster rates of gain and fewer mortalities. There’s a tremendous health benefit for the hogs and, of course, for the people working in the barns.”
For more information, contact Keith Anderson at 877-213-2378.
