F26-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, January 9,1993
Herbert C. Jordan
Associate Professor
Poultry Science, Penn State
Consider these factors in plan
ning future use of water;
• Water location is important. If
too much water is located in feed,
bedding, manure, litter, or ambi
ent air it can be harmful. Wet feed
spoils, wet manure produces toxic
gas, and wet litter harbors para
sites or pathogens and produces
obnoxious odor. Wet air, above 80
percent relative humidity, causes
poor respiratory health in birds.
• Water quality is decreasing in
some areas. Birds that are drinking
water polluted with high nitrates
(for instance) may appear anemic,
have diarrhea, excess feather molt,
and productive performance may
be lowered. Laboratories can test
quality of water if human or bird
performance is lost.
• Water quantity is short in
some counties so that expansion
of the turkey industry (for exam
ple) has to be held back due to
lack of water in south central and
western Pennsylvania.
• Water cost is getting higher in
some areas. The cost of finding,
pumping, purifying, recycling,
and useable storage of water is
now a highly significant cost item
on many farms and in egg or poul
try processing firms.
• Water removal from manure
pits, grain, litter, and other areas is
becoming too expensive to invest
in. Excess (percent) water in feed,
food, waste, and bedding may
lower the quality of the item and
the water must be removed. Com
drying can be too expensive if per
cent water is excessive and grain
quality is low after drying.
Note this - plan com crop years
ahead, and grow com that dries in
the field.
• Water movement is now dam
aging egg production operations
by breaking into manure pits,
washing manure off soil surface
into springs, streams or wells, and
eroding soil and manure into
streams and bodies of water.
• Water state or condition or
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Learn To Manage Water In
physical nature is changing in
temperate climates suxh as Penn
sylvania. Snow load has cost the
tiny game bird industry in the U.S.
millions of dollars over the last
10-20 years and, to date, insignifi
cant research or testing for discov
ery has been done on handling
snow load in outside pheasant
pens. Ice and snow removal, sur
face water control, and recent
heavy rains are costly to some
poultry farmers. Ice storms can
also be costly to buildings, pen
netting, and cause accidents!
• Water policy varies widely
from area to area. Since water can
not be created or destroyed, it pays
to prepare for precipitation, then
control, store, conserve, and/or
manage water or water’s influence
on humans, soil, animals, build
ings, or home. Public policy can
address water use in most areas
and give options to water users.
Research on when a storm comes
is less significant than how to deal
with its damage when it arrives.
• On some farms, soil erosion
gets worse. Water is becoming
more polluted and there is lower
quality water for animals and hu
mans to drink. This will improve
only when managers set aside re
sources and improve it.
• Water possession or owner
ship is difficult to establish on
some farms because water use is
common or shared by many peo
ple. A priority may have to be es
tablished on quantity and use of
water.
• Water source is a real question
on some farms where springs can
not supply enough. Wells must be
drilled deeper and processing river
water is no longer an alternative.
Locating an adequate water source
may be our greatest future chal
lenge in the poultry processing
and production industry. This may
be done from aerial photos of soil
to see where water/soil fractures
merge.
• Water cycles from surface wa
ter, to water vapor, to clouds, to
rain, snow or some kind of preci
pitating water. This cycle now has
90x232 Arena
more variation giving too much
precipitation in some areas and
too little in other areas.
• Water conservation has never
really worked in some poultry
processing plants or farms. Much
water is used or lost per bird pro
cessed and re-use of water is just
starting to be state-of-the-art. It is
difficult to extract some solids,
microbes, ions or blood from wa
ter. Reclamation of or re-use of
water must be studied to discover
economical methods. Water with
4 percent dry (whey) food matter
may be used as a hog feed supple
ment if hogs are on pasture.
• Water as a vehicle to heat,
cool, clean, or move something is
essential to understand as egg
washing, poultry processing, and
manure hauling are studied. Add
ing water to manure may make
everything worse, except in biogas
generation.
Manure at 95 percent moisture
gives the operator of the spreader
19 loads of water to haul to get
one load of dry matter on the soil.
In turn, the soil gets compacted
because water weighs about twice
as much as dry manure per cubic
foot.
• Water as a recreational
medium is also present on poultry
farms but rarely surfaces as a
problem. Observe and study re
creational use of water it is be
coming more useful.
To improve water quality and
use, consider these factors:
• Water costs are found mostly
in logistics of conveyance as well
as energy costs used to move,
heat, cool, or change the physical
state of water or drill for water.
• Wasting water on each farm
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Poultry Farms
can lose or waste many thousand
dollars annually per farm or pro
cessing firm.
• Water quality may be improv
ed by filtration, ultraviolet light
treatment, or some other process
prior to its use. However, retain
ing the .purity and freshness of
spring or well water is essential
through design.
• Water removal from manure,
corn, feed, litter and bedding can
best be done by prevention of
excess water entering where it will
cause damage. Keep water where
it will do the most good.
• Conserve water and allow all
employees to share this responsi
bility. Waste water and it reduces
net pay or bonus to person wasting
Meeting Schedule
(Continued from Pago F 25)
12 Noon Pa. Brown Swiss Association. Room C
12 Noon Pa, Ayrshire Breeden Association,
Room E
1:30 p.m. Horse Pulling Drivers Meeting.
Room C
3:00 p.m. Pa. Farm-City Council, Room D
7:00 p.m. Pa. Foundation Seed Cooperative,
Room B
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 13,1993
9:00 a.m. Pa. Nut Growers, Room E
10:00 a.m. Pa. State Plowing Contest Committee,
Room D
1:00 p.m. Pa. Maple Syrup Producers Council,
Room C
1:00 p.m. Pa. Simmental Association, Room D
2:00 p.m. Keystone Pony Pullers, Room E
4:00 p.m. Pa. Livestock Association, Room D
6:00 p.m. Reception and Dinner at 7. Pa.
Co-Operative, Sheraton East
Potato Growers, Harrisburg
water.
• Slop water leaks from animal
waterers into manure. Stopping
water leaks into manure appears to
be the most important daily task in
poultry houses.
• Make every effort to study and
record use or misuse of water.
Plan water use and budget for a
better water quality program.
• Water quantity is limited, and
water quality is in doubt in many
areas.
Appoint a water quality control
person in your farm or firm. Start
a file, keep a record of problems,
solutions, lab test results, and im
provements in water use. A water
program that is useful today may
be essential in the future.