Best Management Practices for Pork Production
What are Best Management Practices?
Best Management Practices or BMPs refer to operating techniques
and good housekeeping principals for reducing and preventing pollution
before it occurs. The overall philosophy behind BMPs is to conduct everyday
activities in a more environmentally-sound manner, recognizing that it
may not always be practical to control or manage pollution after it is
generated. By using BMPs, a facility can help protect the environment,
save money, and improve community well-being all at the same time.
Why implement Best Management Practices?
Swine operations have a number of sources which can potentially generate
odors or pollute ground water or surface water resources, including:
- the hogs themselves,
- open feed lot operations (uncontained runoff which is collected in
a settling basin and holding pond),
- spilled feed,
- confinement operations (confinement buildings, manure collection
systems, storage systems, livestock waste handling facilities, or lagoon
treatment system),
- dead animal disposal.
Odors from pork production emanate from decomposition of livestock waste,
from spoiled feed and from dead animals. Livestock waste is the most significant
and consistent odor source.
BMPs can help pork producers comply with environmental requirements
and improve their performance over the long term. Most BMPs are based
on common sense and can be implemented quickly and at low cost, through
simple changes to general housekeeping procedures or in-house process
changes.
How Can I Implement Best Management Practices?
The purpose of this factsheet is to help pork producers identify BMPs
that will improve their operations and reduce the potential for generating
odors and release of contaminants to ground water and surface water resources.
Because each facility is unique, not every practice may be suitable. Each
suggested BMP will need to be judged on a case-by-case basis, taking into
account the conditions, operations and limitations of each facility. Pork
producers are encouraged to individualize the BMPs to their operations
and site conditions, and to develop their own solutions for preventing
pollution.
The BMPs listed below are divided into four categories, covering a specific
operation or management task.
Grounds
BMPs involving the grounds at pork production facilities is basically
using common sense and being considerate of your neighbors. Below are
examples of BMPs activities that you may be able to implement at your
facility:
- locating the facility as far as possible from surface water bodies
- locating the facility in an area with sufficient soil drainage
- having wind breaks and buffer strips around the facility
- diverting rain water away from areas where it could become contaminated
- maintaining proper gravel cover and landscape gradient so that water
does not stand in access roads and around the production facility
- scraping away manure in open feed lots to reduce buildup of solids
and to control odor and fly production
- collecting runoff from lots in settling basins for subsequent land
application
- immediately loading manure into a manure spreader and directly applying
to the field
- removing spilled feed promptly
- keeping feeder equipment in good repair
- keeping watering devices in good repair
Buildings
Routine maintenance and good housekeeping practices are the two easiest
ways to prevent pollution in buildings. Some ways that you can use BMPs
in buildings are:
- constructing interior surfaces with smooth materials to reduce dust
and grime accumulation and facilitate cleaning
- maintaining adequate ventilation in the building to prevent buildup
of dusts, gases, moisture and heat
- preventing liquids from collecting under animals and watering equipment
by using slatted floors or other technologies
- repairing leaking water lines immediately
- maintaining clean and dry buildings
- installing an underfloor ventilation system in confinement buildings
where below floor storage is used
- using a power washer when hosing down walls, dividers and floors
in order to reduce water usage
- covering feeders and extending feed downspouts to minimize dust
- scraping off or flushing away of manure in confinement areas on a
frequency which is adequate to minimize odors
- covering sumps at lift stations
- pumping manure from accumulation areas to storage areas on a frequency
which is adequate to prevent odors and overflow
Lagoons, Settling Basins and Holding Ponds
Lagoons, settling basins and holding ponds which are undersized or poorly
designed cause pollution. Below are some examples of ways to improve your
lagoons, settling basins and holding ponds:
- locating lagoons, settling basins and holding ponds away from valley
type topography which can trap odors in low lying areas
- constructing lagoons, settling basins and holding ponds so that wastes
do not overflow or leach into groundwater and that odor is minimized
- covering the lagoon, settling basin or holding pond to reduce surface
odors being released
- adding aeration
- pumping or draining manure to a lagoon in small enough quantities
to avoid slug loadings to maintain a stable microbial population within
the lagoon
- maintaining sufficient storage capacity to prevent overflow of lagoons,
settling basins and holding ponds
- using a pump and a solids separator to lower solids loading
- removing sludge from the primary lagoon frequently enough to prevent
overloading or carryover of solids to a second stage lagoon
- equipping lagoons and holding ponds with a free-board gauge so that
it can be determined when it is necessary to pump out and land apply
supernatant and prevent overflows
- dewatering lagoons no more than the minimum treatment volume level
as indicated on the lagoon marker
- filling new or emptied lagoons with water to the minimum treatment
level before manure is introduced
Land Application
Manure as a fertilizer can be environmentally beneficial. However, there
are additional opportunities for reducing pollution when applying the
manure to the land. Some examples of BMPs in land application practices
are:
- developing a manure management plan
- scheduling application times that are compatible with crop rotations
- having sufficient land available to land apply during various times
of the year so that the rate of application will be at or below agronomic
rates
- locating land application sites away from valleys
- applying manure on fields that are not highly erodible
- applying manure early in the morning until early afternoon
- applying manure on days with low humidity and little or no wind
- applying manure at a site remote from neighboring residences if manure
is not injected or immediately incorporated into the soil
- applying manure on land which is not frozen or snow-covered
- preventing contaminated runoff by not applying to land which is saturated
or contains ponded water
- preventing contaminated runoff by not applying manure near a creek
or river or fields adjacent to them
- preventing contaminated runoff by not applying manure during precipitation
or when precipitation is imminent
- injecting manure with a tank wagon equipped for manure injection
- determining the necessary application rate and properly calibrating
your equipment
- using injection equipment which leaves crop residue intact and creates
a level surface to plant crops without further tillage
- irrigating cropless fields at low enough rates to allow liquid manure
to be incorporated within 24 hours of application
- applying liquid wastes at low pressure with little agitation if spreaders
or sprayers are used to land apply
- sealing manure application equipment and cleaning disks used to incorporate
manure if travel on public roads is necessary
How do I get more information or assistance?
The Illinois EPA will work cooperatively with pork producers to find
practical and cost-effective solutions to the environmental issues addressed
using BMPs.
For more information contact:
Illinois Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Pollution Prevention
1021 North Grand Avenue
East P.O. Box 19276
Springfield, Illinois 62794-9276
(217) 782-8700
Illinois Department of Agriculture
Bureau of Environmental Programs
State Fairgrounds P.O. Box 19281
Springfield, Illinois 62794-9281
(217) 785-2427
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