Manitoba Pork Welcomes Changes To Environment Act

Mar 20, 2017

The provincial government wants to make it easier to build hog barns and manure storage facilities.

The move is part of the government's effort to reduce red tape and unnecessary regulations.

Manitoba Pork General Manager Andrew Dickson says the proposed legislation would see the removal of a clause in the Environment Act that mandated the use of anaerobic digesters for hog operations.

"They've taken that legislation out, it was redundant," he commented. "The previous government had already admitted that these things don't work and we could build barns with two-cell lagoons...All the regulations that deal with manure storage and handling and application to land are all still in place."

Dickson says he's seen in some cases where an anaerobic digester could cost over a million dollars to install, adding the equipment did nothing to protect the environment.

Source : Portageonline

Video: Swine Industry Advances: Biodigesters Lower Emissions and Increase Profits

Analysis of greenhouse gas (GHG emissions) in the Canadian swine sector found that CH4 emissions from manure were the largest contributor to the overall emissions, followed by emissions from energy use and crop production.

This innovative project, "Improving Swine Manure-Digestate Management Practices Towards Carbon Neutrality With Net Zero Emission Concepts," from Dr. Rajinikanth Rajagopal, under Swine Cluster 4, seeks to develop strategies to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions.

While the management of manure can be very demanding and expensive for swine operations, it can also be viewed as an opportunity for GHG mitigation, as manure storage is an emission source built and managed by swine producers. Moreover, the majority of CH4 emissions from manure occur during a short period of time in the summer, which can potentially be mitigated with targeted intervention.

In tandem with understanding baseline emissions, Dr. Rajagopal's work focuses on evaluating emission mitigation options. Manure additives have the potential of reducing manure methane emissions. Additives can be deployed relatively quickly, enabling near-term emission reductions while biodigesters are being built. Furthermore, additives can be a long-term solution at farms where biogas is not feasible (e.g., when it’s too far from a central digester). Similarly, after biodigestion, additives can also be used to further reduce emissions from storage to minimize the carbon intensity of the bioenergy.