Survey on Ammonia Concentrations in Dairy Cattle Tie-Stall Barns

Abstract

The aim of the study was to quantify the ammonia concentrations from the air of dairy cattle tie-stall barns and to compare it with threshold limits recommended in our country and in other countries. The significance of interactions between ammonia concentration and air temperature, relative humidity and air flow velocity was also determined. Two measurements were done in each barn, in the morning and in the evening of the same day. The Mann-Whitney U test indicated significant differences between the two measurements only for the ammonia concentrations in the air (p=0.003). In 20% of the investigated cattle barns the ammonia concentration was bellow 10 ppm, in 20% of these it varied from 11 and 26 ppm while in 60% of these, it exceeded 26 ppm. There was a significantly positive correlation between relative humidity and ammonia concentration in all barns, both for the morning (r=0.57, p=0.008) and for the evening (r=0.64, p=0.002) measurements. Assuming an ammonia threshold limit of 26 ppm, 60% of the dairy cattle barns in this study exceeded this recommended limit, indicating a need for improved housing conditions in the future.

Keywords

• air temperature
• closed buildings
• noxious gases
• relative humidity