Abstract
Odours generated in livestock buildings constitute one of the most relevant air quality issues of intensive livestock production. Reducing nuisance episodes related to odour exposure is therefore essential for a sustainable livestock production. In this study, the state-of-the-art on odour mitigation techniques in livestock housing is critically reviewed. Scientific advances in the last decade are revised and research needs are also identified. The complex nature of livestock odours is firstly reviewed and examined. Then, the most relevant odour control strategies are analyzed in terms of present knowledge and future needs. The strategies considered are: nutritional strategies, manure additives, building design, air filtration, manure covers, manure treatment systems and windbreaks. Finally, future research needs and priorities when establishing mitigation techniques are identified. Despite important recent advances, there are still some challenges for scientists, producers and regulators, particularly related to field evaluation of odours. Therefore, to control livestock odours effectively, using standardized field assessment techniques will be required. Also, investigating measurement and model errors may be useful to better understand the limitations of the current methods, as well as to identify research priorities.
Highlights
Odour generation is one of the most relevant air quality issues of confined livestock operations
The objective of this study is to critically review the state of knowledge on odour mitigation techniques in livestock housing
Whereas Lynch et al (2008) obtained a 41% increase of odour emissions when sugar beet pulp was added to pig diets, a non-significant effect of fermentable carbohydrates (FC) was found by Clark et al (2005) and Le et al (2007)
Summary
Odour generation is one of the most relevant air quality issues of confined livestock operations. Odour exposure has been traditionally considered only a nuisance problem, it is accepted that it can impair health through direct irritation or psychopathologic mechanisms (Shusterman, 1999; Schiffman & Williams, 2005). For this reason, in recent years intensive research has been conducted to assess and control odours emitted from livestock facilities. Measuring odours, developing odour dispersion models and evaluating abatement strategies have been traditionally challenging tasks for farmers and researchers. Our current knowledge seems to be still limited to definitively solve some odour problems of livestock facilities
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