Dust and Particulates Practices

Dust and Particulates - Dry Systems

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Dust and Particulate Control for Animal Housing Systems with Dry Manure - Stocking Density

Pro	Con
Increasing stocking density may reduce particulates	Increasing stocking density may cause negative impacts on animal performance
Reduction in dust may reduce odors

Stocking density (number of animals per unit of lot area) or its inverse, animal spacing, may be adjusted to compensate for increases in net evaporative demand (evaporation depth less the effective or retained precipitation), shifting the moisture balance in favor of dust control.

A commercial feedlot in the Texas Panhandle found that decreasing cattle spacing from 150 to 75 square feet per head reduced net PM10 concentrations at the lot fence line by about 20 percent. Net PM10 concentrations are the measured particulate matters that are smaller than 10 microns in diameter (PM10), less the background. As daily net evaporation increases, the effectiveness of increased stocking density is likely to decrease. Furthermore, increasing stocking density may induce behavioral problems and reduce overall feed-to-gain performance.

Extension Publications

PM 1973a Practices to Reduce Dust and Particulates from Livestock Operations (pdf)
PM 1973b Practices to Reduce Dust and Particulates from Livestock Operations Flowchart (pdf)
EDC 162h Air Quality and Animal Agriculture (pdf)
PM 1936 Air Quality Resources for Iowa Animal Agriculture (pdf)
PM 1935 Gaseous Emissions from Animal Agriculture (pdf)
PM 1964 Odor Control Methods Used by Iowa Pork Producers (pdf)
FS925-A Understanding Livestock Odors (pdf)
No. 1.220 Feedlot manure management, Colorado State University (pdf)

Abstracts, Conference Proceedings, Presentations and Reports

Journal Articles

Newsletter Articles

Animal Housing Odor Control Options