Brief Summary of Minutes of Annual Meeting

Regional Project S-1035 met on July 24, 2009 in Raleigh North Carolina (in association with the Poultry Science Association meeting). Representative of each state gave a summary of research and activities germane to this project. In addition, Tony Pescatore of the University of Kentucky was vote in as the new leader of the group. Yi Liang of the University of Arkansas reported on research demonstrations on vegetative buffers around chicken houses through the Dept. of AG engineering. Plants evaluated include Japanese cedar, arborvitae, crape myrtle and a fabric windbreak. They also tested a water curtain scrubber with a biofilter. Ken Macklin from Auburn University reported on continued research to reuse litter and promote its enlightened use as a fertilizer, including alternate litter treatments to reduce ammonia and windrow composting to reduce pathogens (cocci, IBDV, AI). John Blake reported on continuing efforts of Auburns Interagency Waste Management Team and suggested that the group host an environmental seminar during the Poultry Science Association meeting in either 2011 or 2012. Brian Fairchild from the University of Georgia reported on on-farm odor issue studies underway using open-path laser spectrophotometry. This is patterned after a study in California. Researchers at Georgia are also involved in a grant studying methods to reduce hormone levels in litter. Litter stacking is being examined in this regard. Other research is looking at antibiotics in the environment. Bedding materials are also under test (gypsum, chipped pine, char). Georgia is also holding CAFO training on Nutrient Management Plans and odor emissions. Tony Pescatore of the University of Kentucky reported on tests to determine whether enzyme usage or organic trace minerals can be used to lower feed supplementation levels of various minerals, thus lowering mineral excretion in the litter. Organic minerals tested include copper, zinc, manganese and iron. DDGS were fed to measure their influence on ammonia release from litter and high efficiency incinerators for dead bird disposal were monitored. Theresia LaVergne from the Louisiana State University reported on training efforts through LSUs Master Farmer program on environmental education. They have reached 75% of Louisianas Ag commodity farmers with this program and are in the process of updating the environmental Best Management Practices manuals for this program. Nick Zimmermann of the University of Maryland reported on programs aimed at training small flock owners in biosecurity. Topics discussed included Avian Influenza and swine flu. Also an Ag Alert program is in place to train farmers about being prepared for agricultural bioterrorism. Darrin Karcher of Michigan State reported on research on DDGS in their group. Their group also developed workshops on conserving nitrogen in the soil rather than allowing it to escape as ammonia. In Michigan, they have established a round table group on nutrient management planning issues. They are also involved in a CIG grant that is developing a questionnaire to identify environmental concerns regarding air emissions. Paul Patterson and Mike Hulet from Penn State reported that they have continued both research and demonstration work on vegetative buffers around poultry houses to trap ammonia, dust, viruses and odors. They are also involved in a fuel project looking at burning litter to brood poultry. Various alternative litter sources are also being tested, including misanthus, poplar and willow. Paul Patterson also spoke on Pennsylvanias Act 38, which provides state-wide standardization on odor control. Craig Coufal from Texas A&M indicated that a project has been initiated looking at phosphorus in manure. Also, work is progressing on measuring bacterial contamination of watersheds. Texas A&M is also involed in the AFRI air emissions project. Craig pointed out that Texas has mostly large firms and that the poultry group is working with each on air quality training programs.

Speir, A. and C.W. Ritz, 2009. Broiler Litter Management. Georgia FarmASyst Farm Assessment System. The University of Georgia Cooperative Extension Service Publication B-1152-11. Speir, A. and C.W. Ritz, 2009. Layer Production and Environmental Management. Georgia FarmASyst Farm Assessment System. The University of Georgia Cooperative Extension Service Publication, B-1152-10. Fairchild, B. D., 2008. Water system check-up. The Communicator. Published by the U.S. Poultry and Egg Association. Winter Edition. Fairchild, B. D., 2008. Check farm water systems on a regular basis. Poultry Times, March 24. B. D. Fairchild, 2008. Do you know your water quality? Poultry Housing Tip, October. Fairchild, B.D. Poultry Information Exchange. PIX. Brisbane, Australia, July 2008. " Drinker line management and sanitation Singh, A., K.D. Casey, W.D. King, A.J. Pescatore, R.S. Gates and M.J. Ford, 2008. Efficacy of urease inhibitor to reduce ammonia emissions from poultry houses. J. Appl. Poul. Res. (Accepted, In Press). Lavergne, T.A., 2008. In-House pasteurization of broiler litter. Proceedings of the Worlds Poultry Congress, Brisbane, Australia. Hess, J.B., J.P. Blake, K.S. Macklin and C. Coufal, 2008. Proceedings of the 2008 National Poultry Waste Management Symposium, Balancing Economic and Environmental Issues, Des Moines, IA, Oct. 21-23. K.S. Macklin, J.B. Hess and S.F. Bilgili, 2008. In-house windrow composting and its effects on foodborne pathogens. J. Appl. Poult. Res. 17:121-127. McCrea, B.A., K.S. Macklin, R.A. Norton, J.B. Hess and S.F. Bilgili, 2008. Recovery and genetic diversity of Escherichia coli isolates from deep litter, shallow litter and surgical shoe covers. J. Appl. Poult. Res. 17:237-242. Hess, J.B., K.S. Macklin, J.P. Blake, S.F. Bilgili and R.A. Norton, 2008. In-house composting of broiler litter. Proceedings of the 2008 National Poultry Waste Management Symposium, Des Moines, IA, Oct. 21-23. Blake J.P. and J.B. Hess, 2008. Litter treatment methods can achieve results. Poultry Times 55(June 16):3. Hess, J.B., K.S. Macklin, and J.P. Blake, 2008. Using litter treatments for broilers. Alabama Poultry 3(3):24-25. Macklin, K.S., J.B. Hess and J.J. Giambrone, 2008. Water Quality. Alabama Poultry 3(3):23-24. Blake, J.P., J.B. Hess, K.S. Macklin and C.A. Wilson, 2008. Effectiveness of litter treatments for reduction of ammonia volitilization. Proceedings of the XXIII Worlds Poultry Congress, Brisbane, Australia, June 30  July 4, Worlds Poult. Sci. J. 64 (Supl. 2), 4pp. J.P. Blake, J.B. Hess and L.M. Stevenson, 2008. An ash supplement derived from combustion of broiler litter used as an alternative energy source. Proceedings of the XXIII Worlds Poultry Congress, Brisbane, Australia, June 30  July 4, Worlds Poult. Sci. J. 64 (Supl. 2), 4pp. Patterson P.H., R.M. Hulet, G.W. Malone, J.B. Hess, J.P. Blake, K.S. Macklin, T.A. Lavergne, M.F. Stevens, A.H. Cantor, A.J. Pescatore, W.J. Powers, Y. Liang, S.L. Noll, C.W. Ritz, B.D. Fairchild, P.A. Gay and C.D. Coufal, 2008. Air and water quality challenges in the US: Implications for global poultry industries. Massey Poultry Meeting, Massey, New Zealand, June 25. Macklin, K.S., J.P. Blake and J.B. Hess, 2008. Direct application of acid to control ammonia and bacteria levels in litter. Proceedings of the fifty-seventh Western Poultry Disease Conference, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, April 9-12, 213-215. Hess, J.B., J.P. Blake, W. Powers, G. Malone, P. Patterson, T. Lavergne, J. Carey, A. Cantor, C. Ritz, S. Noll, C.D. Coufal and N. Zimmermann. 2008. Nutritional and management abatement strategies for improvement of poultry air and water quality. Annual Report ALA015-034, Accomplishments Report AD-421. Hess, J.B., S.F. Bilgili, J.P. Blake and K.S. Macklin, 2008. A Success Story for PPA23: Broiler grower litter seminars. Bilgili, S.F., J.B. Hess, K.S. Macklin, B. Saenmahayak, J.P. Blake and J.L. Sibley, 2008. Bedding alternatives for broilers. Proceedings of the 2008 National Poultry Waste Management Symposium, Des Moines, IA, Oct. 21-23. Blake, J.P., J.B. Hess and K.S. Macklin, 2008. Effectiveness of PLT, All-Clear and hydrated lime for reduction of ammonia volatilization in broilers. Proceedings of the 2008 National Poultry Waste Management Symposium, Des Moines, IA, Oct. 21-23. K.S. Macklin, J.P. Blake and J.B. Hess, 2008. Effectiveness of All-Clear, hydrated lime and Poultry Litter Treatment (PLT) for reduction of litter bacterial levels. Proceedings of the 2008 National Poultry Waste Management Symposium, Des Moines, IA, Oct. 21-23. Blake, J.P., J.B. Hess, and K.S. Macklin, 2008. Poultry Guard, sulfuric acid and A-7 treatments for reduction of ammonia volatilization in broiler production. Proceedings of the 2008 National Poultry Waste Management Symposium, Des Moines, IA, Oct. 21-23. Macklin, K.S., J.P. Blake and J.B. Hess, 2008. Effectiveness of poultry guard, sulfuric acid and AL-Clear-A7 for reduction of litter bacterial levels. Proceedings of the 2008 National Poultry Waste Management Symposium, Des Moines, IA, Oct. 21-23. Hess, J.B., J.P. Blake and R.D. Reynnells, 2008. The National Poultry Waste Management Symposium as a forum for discussion on poultry waste management issues. Poult. Sci. 87 (Suppl. 1):127. Blake, J.P., J.B. Hess, K.S. Macklin and C.A. Wilson, 2008. Evaluation of sulfuric acid application at three levels as a litter treatment for broiler chickens. Poult. Sci. 87 (Suppl. 1):24. Blake, J.P., J.B. Hess, K.S. Macklin, C.A. Wilson, R.N. Lehman and S. Kocakaya, 2008. Evaluation of a liquid aluminum sulfate litter treatment (A-7) at three application rates for broiler chickens. Poult. Sci. 87 (Suppl. 1):24. Presentations: Ritz, C.W., B. Mitchell, B. Fairchild, M. Czarick, J. Worley, 2008. Dust and Ammonia Control in Poultry Production Facilities Using an Electrostatic Space Charge System. Mitigating Air Emissions from Animal Feeding Operations Conference, Des Moines, IA, May 19-21, 2008. Ritz, C.W. Water Quality and Treatment. US Poultry & Egg Association Poultry Health and Management Seminar, Nashville, TN, September 16-17, 2008. Ritz, C.W., L.A. Harper, B.D. Fairchild, V. Johnson, J. Pavlicek. Ferric sulfate as a litter amendment in broiler houses. National Poultry Waste Management Symposium, Des Moines, IA, October 21-22, 2008. Ritz, C.W. Water Quality for Broilers. Kentucky Poultry Federation Annual Meeting, Bowling Green, KY, March 21, 2009. Fairchild, B.D. Perdue Winter Grower Meetings. Water quality and drinker management. Hawkinsville, Macon, Montezuma, Barnesville, October 2008. Fairchild, B.D. Sanderson Farms Grower meeting. Water line management in broiler operations. Moultrie, GA November 2008. Ritz, C.W. In-house Litter Management: Windrowing and Bedding Alternatives. Deep South Poultry Conference, Tifton, GA, April 8, 2009. Ao, T., J.L. Pierce, A.J. Pescatore, A.H. Cantor, K.A. Dawson and M.J. Ford, 2008. Effects of feeding reduced levels of trace mineral proteinates (Bioplex) to brown layer pullets during development. Poult. Sci. 87(Suppl. 1):114. Ao, T., J.L. Pierce, A.J. Pescatore, M.J. Ford, A.H. Cantor, K.A. Dawson and M. Paul. 2008. Requirement of Zn provided as organic Zn for broiler chicks. Poult. Sci. 87(Suppl. 1):162. Cantor, A.H., J.L. Pierce, A.J. Pescatore, M.J. Ford, T. Ao and H.D. Gillespie, 2008. Trace mineral concentrations in laying manure as effected by dietary organic and inorganic mineral supplements. Poult. Sci. 87(Suppl. 1):174. Pescatore, A.J., A. Singh, R.S. Gates, A.H. Cantor, J.L. Pierce, K.A. Dawson, T. Ao and M.J. Ford. 2008. Ammonia release and nutrient content of laying hen manure as affected by distillers dried grains with soluble and enzyme supplementation. Poult. Sci. 87(Suppl. 1):169. Lavergne, T.A., S.M. Derouen and G.M. Hay, 2008. A survey of the economic , environmental, public policy and production issues facing the poultry industry in Louisiana. Poult. Sci. 88(Suppl. 1):207. Blake, J.P., J.B. Hess, K.S. Macklin and C.A. Wilson, 2008. Evaluation of acidifying litter treatments for broiler chickens. Poult. Sci. 87 (Suppl. 1):25. K.S. Macklin, J.P. Blake and J.B. Hess, 2008. Litter bacterial levels associated with liquid aluminum sulfate (A-7) litter treatment. Poult. Sci. 87 (Suppl. 1):25. K.S. Macklin, J.P. Blake and J.B. Hess, 2008. The effect of various litter treatments on bacterial levels for two consecutive growouts. Poult. Sci. 87 (Suppl. 1):101-102. Saenmahayak, B., K.S. Macklin, S.F. Bilgili, J.B. Hess, J.P. Blake and J.L. Sibley, 2008. Microbial profile of bedding sources for rearing broiler chickens. Poult. Sci. 87 (Suppl. 1):102. S.F. Bilgili, J.B. Hess, J.P. Blake, K.S. Macklin and J.L. Sibley, 2008. Alternative bedding sources for rearing broiler chickens. Poult. Sci. 87(Suppl 1):159. K.S. Macklin, J.P. Blake, J.B. Hess and T.A. McCaskey, 2008. Bacterial levels associated with lime as a litter amendment. Poult. Sci. 87 (Suppl. 1):168. Hess, J.B., S.F. Bilgili, J.P. Blake, K.S. Macklin and J.L. Sibley, 2008. Alternative litter sources/Litter amendments. 2008 Pennsylvania Poultry Sales and Service Conference Broiler Program Turkey Program Hess, J.B., K.S. Macklin, J.P. Blake and S.F. Bilgili, 2008. Managing Broiler Litter: Decision Making. Auburn Litter Source and Management Seminars. Crossville, AL, April 29 Moulton, AL, April 30 Troy, AL, May 14 New Brocton, AL, May 15 Hess, J.B., S.F. Bilgili, J.P. Blake, K.S. Macklin and J.L. Sibley, 2008. AU research: Other litter sources. Alabama Farmers Federation 36th Annual Commodity Producers Conference, Birmingham, AL, Aug. 9. K.S. Macklin and J.B. Hess, 2008. How growers are saving and making money through litter management. AL Poultry and Egg Association Grower Educational Seminars. Cullman, AL, Oct. 27. Snead, AL, Oct. 27 Troy, AL, Oct. 28 New Brocton, AL, Oct 28