Odor emission from swine housing is influenced by the herd characteristics and building environment.
The following three specific factors were identified as inputs to a swine house odor emission model:
indoor temperature, barn ventilation rate, and pig activity. Model input parameters were determined
based on tests of four, identical, 1000-head, mechanically-ventilated swine finishing houses. Each
building had two sidewall curtains, a curtain on the west end wall, five exhaust fans on the east end wall,
four pit ventilation fans, and long-term manure storage beneath a fully slatted floor. Odor concentrations
of 112 odor samples were determined using dynamic forced-choice olfactometry with four to six trained
panelists. The emission model showed that the standard live mass specific odor emission factor was
48 OU s1 per 500 kg live mass or animal unit (AU), and it corresponded to an indoor temperature of
T0 ¼ 20 C, a ventilation rate of V0 ¼ 200 m3 h1 (55.6 103 m3 s1) per pig (maximum capacity for
summer time), and the daily mean animal activity. The rate of odor emission from a swine finishing
house can be calculated based on these parameters coupled with the number of animals, the mean live
mass, and the standard live mass specific odor emission factor. Using this process-based odor emission
model, the odor emission estimation and therefore the input for odor dispersion models can be improved
to obtain more reliable estimates of separation distance for siting future pig farms.