“Pig farmers have always been committed to doing what’s right for people, pigs and the planet,” Dr. Heather Fowler, director of producer and public health at the National Pork Board, said in a release.
To measure and continuously improve air quality in and around swine production facilities, the Improving Swine Production Air Quality Program by the Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research (FFAR) and the National Pork Board will help develop objective measures for key air quality components and concentrations in and within 500 meters of a swine facility.
Current air quality measurements are “subject to bias, preventing the development of effective strategies to improve air quality,” the release said.
“This research program aims to develop a scientifically valid assessment of particulate levels inside and immediately outside of swine facilities. The first phase of this potentially multi-phase program focuses on developing accurate and objective measurements,” FFAR said.
FFAR senior scientific program director, Lucyna Krtyka, shares that it is important to first understand the exposure of particulates by workers and surrounding communities to then begin developing effective interventions.
“Recently, we released the U.S. Pork Industry Sustainability Report to document pork’s ongoing continuous improvement efforts. Projects such as this will allow us to continue to measure where we are today and look for areas of continuous improvement in the future,” Fowler said.
Following the first phase of this program, future phases may assess particulate exposure among swine production facility workers and those living nearby to understand impacts to workers, animals and local communities.
Letters of intent are due May 18 with invitations for full applications to be sent in June.
