Professor Albert Heber holds up one of the samples from the stinky study. (Photo courtesy of Purdue University)
University students are sniffing manure samples in the lab. As Mark Brush reports, the
students are part of a research effort aimed at reducing odors near livestock farms:
Transcript
University students are sniffing manure samples in the lab. As Mark Brush reports, the
students are part of a research effort aimed at reducing odors near livestock farms:
Students are paid thirty dollars to take part in each sniff test. They tell researchers
which air samples smell the worst. Researchers are trying to figure out how to cut back
on smells coming from large livestock operations.
Al Heber heads up the research at Purdue University. He says the studies help determine
what practices cut down on smells – and it helps communities decide where to locate
these big livestock operations in the first place:
“We have used these odor emission studies to help develop a setback model. So that if
the farm is located far enough from the neighbor then we can avoid the problem because
we let the atmosphere dilute the odor down to where it’s not a nuisance anymore.”
Heber says using appropriate setbacks could cut back on the conflict between livestock producers and the people who live near them.
For the Environment Report, I’m Mark Brush.