Ammonia Concentrations at Poultry House Fencelines

As the rural population continues to grow, people that are not from agricultural backgrounds are moving into traditional areas of poultry (and other agricultural) production. The incidence of nuisance complaints has increased over the last few years. In particular, complaints about ammonia have become more prevalent. While odor is a byproduct of many agricultural operations, ammonia is only one component of odor. Research is needed to determine what ammonia concentrations are at various distances from the typical poultry house to provide the poultry industry and their neighbors with accurate information to be used when such issues are raised. We have conducted two studies where ammonia concentrations outside of poultry houses were monitored 100, 300 and 500 ft from the tunnel fans during cold and hot weather months. Data indicates that concentrations of ammonia concentrations were lower as distance from the houses increased, with ammonia levels at 100, 200, 300 and 500 ft being less than 1 ppm (5 times lower than the ammonia detectable odor threshold of 5 ppm) approximately 60, 75, 85 and 90% of the time, respectively during hot weather. During cold weather, the concentrations were lower than those observed in cold weather. Wind direction and wind speed were factors that significantly influenced downwind ammonia concentrations beyond 100 ft. At no time did measured ammonia levels meet or exceed federally established ammonia odor threshold values.