"We're seeing good market opportunities in the broiler industry and also in swine finishing barns," said John Baumgartner, president of Baumgartner Environics Inc. in Olivia, regarding their Electrostatic Particle Ionization system, which they've pioneered over the past four years. The EPI system uses negatively charged electric cables to reduce dust in livestock facilities. The data, he said, is looking terrific.
At the Acheson Farm Nursery in Fort Recovery, Ohio, tests involving 4,000 nursery pigs per group showed Group 1 pigs (41 days of growth) with 35.35 pounds average gain in the EPI barn; 29.96 pounds in the control barn. Group 2 tests which ran 48 days showed 38.37 pounds gain for the EPI system; 34.56 pounds for the control.
"That generates to a 14.5 percent increase in average daily gain and in the pig business, those are significant numbers," Baumgartner said.
Bigger, faster growing pigs coming out of the nursery translates to better production in the finishing barns. "Every one pound heavier out of the nursery barns reduces by about three days the time through the finishing process."
At this stage the Ohio operation is also showing about 8 percent fewer mortalities in the EPI-equipped facilities, but Baumgartner said two cycles likely isn't enough testing to credit the mortality data to the dust control package. As they analyze data from more locations, however, it does appear that better health may be a silent benefit of dust suppression.
He spoke of 10 broiler flocks in British Columbia averaging 4.5 cents more profit per bird in facilities equipped with the EPI system. Calculated against the number of broilers in that particular operation, the investment payback was less than two years. The EPI system ballparks at about $1 per square foot of floor space. "Or in terms of pig space in a finishing barn, the cost is about $8 'per pig space' installed," Baumgartner said.
At this stage, BEI either provides an installation crew for getting an EPI system properly rigged in a facility, or they do on-site training for entities that have their own work crew.
All components of the EPI system are stainless steel so depreciation isn't a concern. "The system isn't going to wear out," Baumgartner said, pointing out the power supply is engineered for 200,000 hours of continuous use. He also said they will soon be offering a three-year, full warranty service contract on the power-supply portion of the system.
Because the EPI system uses negatively charged ions to attract dust particles, is frequent cleaning a necessity? Not so, said the Baumgartner team, indicating the same high-pressure, hot water process used for cleaning poultry and swine barns in between batches of animals also works well for the EPI equipment.
In the Netherlands where livestock environment issues are often front page news, BEI's EPI system was just recently granted a "Best Available Control Technology" certification. That occurred after two years of university and on-farm testing with ag industry officials.
"The EPI system is an easy, low-cost and highly reliable process for quickly improving the environment of any confinement housing facility," Baumgartner said. "In a typical 1,000-head swine finishing barn, your operating costs are about the same as running a 100-watt light bulb.
In multiple U.S. Department of Agriculture studies, the EPI technology is proven to efficiently remove up to 78 percent of dust in the air in such heavy-traffic facilities as commercial hatching cabinets, broiler and caged-layer barns. It has also been shown to reduce airborne levels of disease-causing bacteria such as salmonella by 95 percent or more, to reduce airborne disease transmission, and to kill airborne and surface bacteria at close range.
"Since the commercial launch, EPI is generating jaw-dropping achievements. It's really exciting," said Matt Baumgartner, environmental scientist for BEI. "The EPI system will change a livestock environment overnight. It's that good, and that quick in terms of its environmental impact."
What makes the EPI system work? The word "electrostatic" gives a hint. EPI charges the air space, polarizing suspended dust particles forcing them to "ground out" to surfaces like litter or concrete floors. "The EPI system operates 24/7 and is continually providing this grounding effect. The result is removal of air-borne pathogens and clean, breathable air," Matt Baumgartner said.
BEI is an environmental engineering firm and has the exclusive license for commercializing the EPI technology. For more information call (800) 823-4235, or log on to www.beiagsolutions.com.
Economy/Tech
Related Photos
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John (left) and Matt Baumgartner with a scale model livestock facility outfitted with the BEI Electrostatic Particle Ionization system. Dick Hagen
Discussion
Electricity used to control dust in livestock barns
Originally published in the May 14, 2010, print edition.
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