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Implications of Ammonia Production and Emissions from Commercial Poultry Facilities: A Review

Department of Poultry Science, The University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602

Correspondence: C. W. Ritz, E-mail: critz{at}uga.edu

For the poultry industry, concerns about ammonia are multifaceted and include issues of live production performance, animal health, and welfare, and environmental impact. Retail industry marketers, as a component of their evolving animal care audit programs, are issuing guidelines for the control and reduction of ammonia within poultry facilities to address animal welfare concerns. At the same time, pressure is being placed on poultry producers from interested groups and neighbors to reduce ammonia emissions for environmental reasons. Since the current procedure for reducing ammonia levels in houses is to exhaust air as much as possible, this will, in some part, conflict with efforts to reduce ammonia emissions from poultry live production facilities. Research will be needed from the industry and academia to develop methods of reducing nitrogen excreted by poultry, e. g., research in nutrition, genetics, poultry husbandry, and management. Research is needed to improve or develop methods of manure management and treatment that will reduce ammonia emissions. Research is also needed in developing methods of closing the loop, using nitrogen in poultry manures to produce crops that can be fed back to poultry. Importing major quantities of feedstuffs from other regions of the country and depositing manure onto low-productivity pastures or cropland may not be sustainable. Some combination of reducing excess nutrients in manure, alternative uses for these nutrients, shipping excess nutrients back to grain producing areas, or increasing grain production in poultry-producing areas will be required to address environmental concerns and minimize regulatory advances.

Key Words: poultry • ammonia • emission • health

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