While the aroma of a livestock operation is unmistakable, the dust, ammonia and other air-borne compounds coming from farms are difficult to measure. As such, the air-quality regulation of the livestock industry has been based on limited data.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has announced that Purdue University will lead a national $9 million study to help establish air emissions standards, based on scientific research, for the livestock and poultry industries. Al Heber, professor of agricultural and biological engineering, has been selected by a livestock industry consortium to head the study.

The research project will collect data on air quality at livestock facilities. Heber will recruit scientists from additional universities and deploy teams to selected farms. Using mobile labs, they will monitor these sites continuously for two years, measuring air particle emissions.

Studying air quality at commercial livestock facilities is the best way to gather data that will affect regulation of these operations. The goal is to discover how science can aid in developing fair and accurate air-quality standards.

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