Iowa State to hold biofilter conference

Jul 30, 2014

Iowa State University will host a conference on Aug. 20 dedicated to the latest biofilter technologies that can be used to reduce odors from animal-feeding operations.

“Biofilters can be an effective means to reduce odor and other gas emissions from ventilated animal and manure storage facilities,” said Steve Hoff, ISU professor of agricultural and biosystems engineering. “The conference will outline factors such as costs, effectiveness, management and other details, and provide sources of science-based information on biofilters.”

Hoff said hog farmers and managers of animal-feeding operations will likely be interested in attending, as well as Extension field specialists in agricultural engineering and animal science, commodity organization representatives and staff members from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources and the federal Natural Resources Conservation Service.

The conference schedule includes:

a session of researchers from several universities describing a variety of biofilter designs
a discussion with livestock producers who have on-farm experience with biofilters
funding opportunities for biofilter installation
a demonstration of biofilter operation with an Iowa State biofilter mobile unit

The conference will begin at 8 a.m. at the Scheman Building on the ISU campus. Early registration is due by midnight Aug. 12, either online or by mail.

Source: Iowa Pork Producers Association

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.