Source: Michael Fielding, MEATINGPLACE, 10/17/11

With $5 million in funding from the USDA, a multi-disciplinary team of researchers from the University of Arkansas, Purdue University and Virginia Tech is developing an integrated management tool for swine production based on a comprehensive analysis of the swine production process – from crops used for feed to various methods of managing waste.

“A primary purpose of this work is to evaluate and mitigate the environmental footprint of swine-production facilities,” said Greg Thoma, professor of chemical engineering, in a news release. “What action can we take to limit greenhouse-gas emissions from these facilities without making processes more expensive for the farmer? So we want to understand this impact and then come up with something that will enable farmers to make informed decisions about changes to production, such as breeding, feeding, waste-management and other practices. To do this, we must understand the entire system – or full life cycle – of swine production in this country.”

The technologies will support the development of a life-cycle analysis that will serve as a model to demonstrate the environmental impact of various changes to production. For example, in a project spearheaded by Charles Maxwell, professor of animal science, the model will show how manipulating the diet of hogs will affect the amount and type of crops grown to feed the animals, as well as carbon emitted from the animals through burping and flatulence.

The model is flexible and allows for geographic customization. It will consider factors including weather patterns and annual rainfall, which affect decisions related to heating and cooling and the amount of manure that can be applied to land without affecting water quality.

Directed by Jennie Popp, professor of agricultural economics, the life-cycle cost analysis will measure the economic impact of process changes.

“The beauty of these models is that the algorithms behind them will show what will happen, both environmentally and economically, if a farmer decides to change the diet of his hogs – to substitute amino acids for vegetable proteins, for example,” Thoma said. “What impact will this have on emissions? Will it increase production? The models will provide these answers.”

The work includes an innovative project in which researchers remove nitrogen and phosphorus from pig manure and then use these nutrients to grow algae as feedstock that can be converted into biofuel.
Funded over five years from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, the project includes researchers from the University of Arkansas, the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture, Purdue University, Virginia Tech and the private sector.

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