Short Description of the Technology

Ammonia and greenhouse gas emissions from livestock barns are a significant, yet invisible result of livestock farming. They contribute to several global and local problems, such as global warming and acidification. Unlike factors that can visually be optimized through good farming practices such as animal productivity and welfare, the gas emissions of livestock barns are unknown to the farmer. Within the ECONUTRI project, partners ATB and ILVO are working on the development and testing of a low-cost emission monitoring system to continuously monitor emissions and barn climate (OTICE). The sensor system provides complete real-time monitoring of emissions and barn air quality, which will help implement the right technology/solution at the right place to overcome environmental problems and improve animal welfare and health. Within the ECONUTRI ATB is testing this technology at a commercial scale dairy barn, while ILVO is testing this technology in a commercial scale fattening pig barn.

Innovative Features

Real-time emission monitoring in livestock barns is innovative in several ways:

• There is a lack of research on low-cost gas sensor systems in animal production. Sensors that were created for industrial environments don’t always perform will in barn environments, where there are relatively lower gas concentrations, which are more difficult to measure accurately. At the same time, barns can experience highly variable temperatures and humidity levels, while sensors need to be resistant to dust and corrosive environments.
• The use of low-cost systems will reduce the dependence on expensive high-end measurement devices to monitor the barn climate and emissions. This makes it affordable for farmers to use a monitoring system in commercial barns.
• This system is easy to install and manage in the barns due to small size and high durability. This reduces the need for technological knowledge or high maintenance costs.
• Compatibility of this system with a wireless system make it easy to access and retrieve the data.
• This system can be linked with interactive online platforms to assess and observe the real-time monitoring of the barn climate and the emissions.

• The system is scalable, meaning that sensors can be added or removed depending on the needs and configuration of the barn.

Type of Contribution (e.g., reduction of nutrient losses, greenhouse gas emissions, etc.)

This technology will help farmers to continuously monitor the barn climate and emissions in real-time. It will help to improve the farm management practices and choices to reduce the emissions and to improve the animal welfare and health which will ultimately improve animal production and reduce environmental impact.

Benefits for farmers, the industry, and the environment

This technology will support farmers in data-driven decision-making and will optimize farm management. Early detection of spikes in gas concentrations can lead to quick intervention and identification of contributing factors. Long-term emission tracking will also help farmers to adopt best management practices (BMPs) for reducing their environmental impact while maintaining productivity. It will give farmers the opportunity to test and assess the effect of their management practices, such as:

• Improve manure management – Emission data can inform the farmer on optimal manure scraping or flushing schedules, reducing NH₃ volatilization and GHG emissions from soiled surfaces and decomposing manure in manure pits.
• Optimize ventilation and barn climate control – Information on gas concentrations and temperatures in the barn gives feedback on ventilation settings. The climate control systems can be optimized to improve air quality. This will consequently lead to a lower number of respiratory problems and improved animal health and productivity.
• Decide on feed and nutritional adjustments – Emission data can give farmers insight into the consequences of nutritional adjustments in the barn. This will give farmers the tools to improve their barn emissions using the most source-oriented solution: through optimizing their feeding strategies.

Combining all, this technology will help improve the economic aspects of the farmers by helping to improve the animal welfare and production and make them in compliance with environmental regulations. This technology will help reduce the environmental impact of animal production and limit biodiversity loss by reducing environmental pollution.