April 9, 2008
AMES, Iowa - Increased populations in traditional farm areas and environmental concerns have created a more immediate need to reduce odor and air emissions from animal feeding operations. A national conference exploring the advantages, limitations and economics of mitigation technologies will be held May 19-21 at the Hotel Fort Des Moines in Des Moines.
The conference, Mitigating Air Emissions from Animal Feeding Operations, is being coordinated and hosted by the Iowa State University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and University Extension. It is designed to provide practical information about prevention, capture and treatment, masking and dispersal of air emissions from animal feeding operations.
The conference proceedings will deliver practical information on the use and cost of air mitigation technologies. "Our goal is for consultants and producers to use the proceedings from the conference as a practical reference that identifies tools that are available when considering air emissions mitigation strategies for animal feeding operations," said Robert Burns, conference coordinator and associate professor of agricultural and biosystems engineering at Iowa State.
The conference begins at 1 p.m. May 19 with an afternoon of keynote presentations. Arlen Lancaster, chief of the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, will discuss his agency's air quality programming. Additional keynote talks will cover the current U.S. animal feeding operations air emissions regulatory climate, plus updates on U.S. and European mitigation efforts.
The second day of the conference and part of the third day will be filled with nearly 60 technical presentations. These will cover mitigation of air emissions from animal housing, manure storage facilities and land application of manure, as well as facility siting and environmental barriers.
The final session will feature presentations and a panel discussion involving several animal industry representatives.
Standard conference registration is $125 through May 4 and increases to $175 after that date. The registration fee includes attendance at all presentations, conference materials, meals and refreshments during breaks and receptions.
An optional session titled "Standard Testing and Reporting of Mitigation Technology Effectiveness" will be held Wednesday afternoon and begins with a lunch at 12:30 p.m. Registration for this additional session is $25.
Exhibitor registration is $500 and includes a table in an exhibition area where conference attendees can discuss specific mitigation technologies and strategies with industry suppliers and service providers.
Additional information about the conference, lodging and registration is available here.
The conference is coordinated and funded by Iowa State University Extension and the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Additional funding is provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture NRI Project: Air Quality Extension and Education: Enhanced Learning Opportunities for Addressing Air Quality Issues in Animal Agriculture, U.S. Pork Center of Excellence, Iowa Pork Producers Association, Iowa Egg Council, Iowa Farm Bureau Federation and the Iowa Pork Industry Center.