| Research and new technology will provide new options for measuring and controlling odour.
Nuisance and health concerns caused by odours from livestock facilities are one of the key issues affecting the growth of the livestock industry in Alberta.
A number of factors determine whether odour is a nuisance, including the human sense of smell and people's psychological and physiological make-up. As well, a changing rural population, and the trend to large-scale agricultural production, also have an effect.
"Research and technology development are going to play an increasingly important role in determining odour nuisance levels and in the development of odour control measures," says Sherry Perih, an Agricultural Engineer-in-Training with Alberta Agriculture, Food and Rural Development (AAFRD), who has worked on livestock odour issues.
"While odour control technology is advancing, the inability to accurately evaluate the performance of odour-mitigating technologies can have serious economic impact on the livestock industry," says Perih. "Also, in the absence of a clear understanding of laboratory and field odour measurement techniques, it is difficult to evaluate the true socio-environmental effects of odour. It is essential, for example, that the methodology used to establish setback distances be consistent and fair."
A new approach in Alberta is the Odour Control Team, a group of AAFRD, University of Alberta and Alberta Research Council engineers and scientists. The team's mission is to use science-based, engineering approaches to address the issue of livestock odour. The researchers will share resources and collectively analyze and develop new tools for measuring and controlling odour.
"Livestock odours are complex. They are made up of numerous compounds and vary with each type of livestock," says Perih. "Understanding odour, measuring it and controlling it takes a multifaceted approach, which is why the Odour Control Team, consisting of researchers with various expertise, was formed."
This issue of AgTech Innovator is the first of a two-part series on odour. It examines what odour is, the challenges of measuring it, how it's measured now, as well as new approaches for tackling the issue of odour. The second part of this series will examine odour control technologies. |