The importance and challenges of swine barn ventilation
Caring for livestock is a practice that has evolved over the years especially with vast changes in technology over the past few decades.
Nick Enfield, is a production consultant with FarmPro, a service offering from Pipestone Business, a company that helps farmers by providing resources and expertise in swine management. One of those services, Enfield said, includes consultation and management of swine barn ventilation systems.
On a recent episode of the SwineTime podcast, Enfield was a guest alongside Dr. Jeff Blythe, also with PIPESTONE, to discuss the challenges of proper ventilation in swine facilities. The knowledge and information that has been gained over the years is vast, Enfield said, but we are just scratching the surface of the science behind proper ventilation and its impact on swine health.
“That may be the understatement of the discussion,” Enfield said. “And the reason I say that is we get to see a lot of different styles of barns and differences in how pigs are raised. Obviously there are some preferences and new technologies out there, but what we want to share with producers is the base level ventilation that needs to be executed for success.”
For Enfield, the number one and first thing a producer should do to maximize the potential of their ventilation system, is to ensure all of their equipment is working properly.
“For me, the number one thing prior to utilizing the experience or mathematics you have to get into is that the barn has to be functional,” he said. “The equipment has to be functional. Fans have to be working, curtain machines have to be working. Inlets need to be working. Because if you don’t have that, it really doesn’t matter the settings any expert would put in, say, the controller to operate the ventilation, or what temperature you set as a set point, if the fans are not functioning.”
Much like a car or home, downed equipment and repairs are to be expected, Enfield said. However, keeping up with maintenance and repairs is essential.
The second most important thing to consider, Enfield said, is probe placement. The probe detects air temperature, and if it is placed improperly, for example near a heat or cooling source, it can skew the entire system and lead to under or over ventilation, as temperature will dictate how much air moves in the barn.
“It’s pretty simple, just like in a house,” he said. “You would set your thermostat at 72 and really, you just need to make the decision of ‘do I need to have my AC on or do I need to have my furnace on?’ It’s no different except we don’t have to tell the thermostats to kick on the furnace or AC, we set the parameters to begin with and then temperature will dictate what turns on and when. I say that because even if you have everything set up perfectly in the controller, if your probes are reading odd, like they are in front of a heater and catching that line of air, it is going to greatly skew the temperature reading.”’
After you confirm the equipment is working and probe placement has been addressed, producers can dive into the nuances of the math involved in creating the ideal ventilation and humidity in the barn, Enfield said.
The math, he said, is the third most important thing to consider in creating proper ventilation. With a variety of barn styles and setups, the math can be something that is very nuanced.
“You could have different experts argue over some settings, or how far apart or close you set things in terms of temperatures but you have to have a base level of what that has to be for CFMs, we’re talking volume of air.”
A lot of research is available that can demonstrate at what rate your fans need to be running in order to achieve the necessary volume of air, Enfield said. Some factors that will influence the rate include the size and number of fans available in the barn.
Poor ventilation can include under or over-ventilation, Enfield said, which can lead to a variety of issues. In terms of swine health, it can lead to bacteria and pathogens that thrive in high-humidity environments. Under-ventilation can also lead to more air containments, and breathing difficulties for livestock.
“With higher humidity, it’s just harder to breathe,” he said. “Think about Iowa in August with all the corn and you walk outside and it’s 85 degrees at 7 a.m., and it just feels like the air is thick. So in an under-ventilation scenario, it can challenge respiration, which ultimately can hurt the growth and efficiency of the pigs. There is some science behind this, in terms of metabolic rate, or the minimum amount of calories they need to function.”
Essentially, in terms of the pigs’ body temperature, if their body temperatures are higher, it may be signaling the animal to eat less as their bodies think they do not need to take in as many calories for their base level of sustenance. Consuming less feed in turn causes a slowed growth rate.
Although rare, over-ventilation is a possibility, Enfield said.
“It does happen way less than under-ventilation,” he said, “but it does happen. The reason under ventilation tends to happen more often is because people are just very aware of the utility cost of those facilities.”
Enfield stressed that producers have learned so much over the years about stewardship of livestock, and have worked to improve their processes for the betterment of the animal and their operation. FarmPro, he said, can help them to figure out how to achieve ventilation efficiency, which in turn will impact the efficiency of their herd.
“It is wildly amazing all of the, what I call, lessons we have learned that make our lives easier as caretakers, and ultimately way easier and better for the pigs,” he said. “I tell everyone we are constantly working to improve animal welfare, from advancements in computer technology in these hog facilities, to better design of pens and alley ways, and so much more. It’s mind blowing how far we have come.”
Nick Enfield, is a production consultant with FarmPro, a service offering from Pipestone Business, a company that helps farmers by providing resources and expertise in swine management. One of those services, Enfield said, includes consultation and management of swine barn ventilation systems.
On a recent episode of the SwineTime podcast, Enfield was a guest alongside Dr. Jeff Blythe, also with PIPESTONE, to discuss the challenges of proper ventilation in swine facilities. The knowledge and information that has been gained over the years is vast, Enfield said, but we are just scratching the surface of the science behind proper ventilation and its impact on swine health.
“That may be the understatement of the discussion,” Enfield said. “And the reason I say that is we get to see a lot of different styles of barns and differences in how pigs are raised. Obviously there are some preferences and new technologies out there, but what we want to share with producers is the base level ventilation that needs to be executed for success.”
For Enfield, the number one and first thing a producer should do to maximize the potential of their ventilation system, is to ensure all of their equipment is working properly.
“For me, the number one thing prior to utilizing the experience or mathematics you have to get into is that the barn has to be functional,” he said. “The equipment has to be functional. Fans have to be working, curtain machines have to be working. Inlets need to be working. Because if you don’t have that, it really doesn’t matter the settings any expert would put in, say, the controller to operate the ventilation, or what temperature you set as a set point, if the fans are not functioning.”
Much like a car or home, downed equipment and repairs are to be expected, Enfield said. However, keeping up with maintenance and repairs is essential.
The second most important thing to consider, Enfield said, is probe placement. The probe detects air temperature, and if it is placed improperly, for example near a heat or cooling source, it can skew the entire system and lead to under or over ventilation, as temperature will dictate how much air moves in the barn.
“It’s pretty simple, just like in a house,” he said. “You would set your thermostat at 72 and really, you just need to make the decision of ‘do I need to have my AC on or do I need to have my furnace on?’ It’s no different except we don’t have to tell the thermostats to kick on the furnace or AC, we set the parameters to begin with and then temperature will dictate what turns on and when. I say that because even if you have everything set up perfectly in the controller, if your probes are reading odd, like they are in front of a heater and catching that line of air, it is going to greatly skew the temperature reading.”’
After you confirm the equipment is working and probe placement has been addressed, producers can dive into the nuances of the math involved in creating the ideal ventilation and humidity in the barn, Enfield said.
The math, he said, is the third most important thing to consider in creating proper ventilation. With a variety of barn styles and setups, the math can be something that is very nuanced.
“You could have different experts argue over some settings, or how far apart or close you set things in terms of temperatures but you have to have a base level of what that has to be for CFMs, we’re talking volume of air.”
A lot of research is available that can demonstrate at what rate your fans need to be running in order to achieve the necessary volume of air, Enfield said. Some factors that will influence the rate include the size and number of fans available in the barn.
Poor ventilation can include under or over-ventilation, Enfield said, which can lead to a variety of issues. In terms of swine health, it can lead to bacteria and pathogens that thrive in high-humidity environments. Under-ventilation can also lead to more air containments, and breathing difficulties for livestock.
“With higher humidity, it’s just harder to breathe,” he said. “Think about Iowa in August with all the corn and you walk outside and it’s 85 degrees at 7 a.m., and it just feels like the air is thick. So in an under-ventilation scenario, it can challenge respiration, which ultimately can hurt the growth and efficiency of the pigs. There is some science behind this, in terms of metabolic rate, or the minimum amount of calories they need to function.”
Essentially, in terms of the pigs’ body temperature, if their body temperatures are higher, it may be signaling the animal to eat less as their bodies think they do not need to take in as many calories for their base level of sustenance. Consuming less feed in turn causes a slowed growth rate.
Although rare, over-ventilation is a possibility, Enfield said.
“It does happen way less than under-ventilation,” he said, “but it does happen. The reason under ventilation tends to happen more often is because people are just very aware of the utility cost of those facilities.”
Enfield stressed that producers have learned so much over the years about stewardship of livestock, and have worked to improve their processes for the betterment of the animal and their operation. FarmPro, he said, can help them to figure out how to achieve ventilation efficiency, which in turn will impact the efficiency of their herd.
“It is wildly amazing all of the, what I call, lessons we have learned that make our lives easier as caretakers, and ultimately way easier and better for the pigs,” he said. “I tell everyone we are constantly working to improve animal welfare, from advancements in computer technology in these hog facilities, to better design of pens and alley ways, and so much more. It’s mind blowing how far we have come.”
