Test Protocol - vera-verification

1 Test ProtocolforLivestock Housing and Management SystemsVersion 2 / 2011-29-08 Copyright VERA SecretariatVERA TEST Protocol 2 Test Protocol for Livestock Housing and Management SystemsTable of contentsForeword ..3 List of abbreviations ..4 Summary ..51. Introduction ..62. Scope ..83. Terms and definitions ..94. System description ..135. Requirements ..15 Pre-testing or full testing of a technology ..15 Requirements on organisation of the test activities ..15 Requirements on the test facility ..17 Requirements for the test organisation ..19 Test design and sampling strategy ..19 Measurement parameters ..24 Data treatment, calculation and evaluation of emissions ..296. Test report and evaluation ..33 Bibliography ..37 Annexes ..38 Annex A (informative): Template for a test plan ..38 Annex B (informative): Example of a contract ..41 Annex C (informative): Ammonia emission factors for different animal categories.

2 45 Annex D (informative): Odour emission factors for different animal categories ..48 Annex E (informative): Dust (PM10) emission factors for different animal categories ..50 Annex F (informative): Example of distribution of sampling days for broilers during one-year test ..52 Annex G (informative): Feeding parameters ..54 VERA TEST Protocol 3 ForewordTo meet the environmental challenges in livestock production, new technologies are being developed within the EU member states and elsewhere. These so-called environmental technologies are designed for different stages of the livestock production chain and may potentially enhance the eco-efficiency of livestock production by reducing material inputs, emissions of pollutants and energy consumption, recovering valuable by-products and minimising waste disposal , central stakeholders, such as farmers and authorities, only have limited information about the performance of the environmental technologies, which hampers the diffusion of these technolo-gies in the livestock production sector.

3 The Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Environment, the German Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection, the German Federal Envi-ronment Agency and the Danish Ministry of Environment, in cooperation with experts from Wagen-ingen University & Research Centre in the Netherlands, the German Association for Technology and Structures in Agriculture (KTBL), the German Federal Research Institute for Rural Areas, Forestry and Fisheries, the German Agricultural Society DLG, University of Hohenheim and Kiel University in Germany, the University of Aarhus in Denmark, the Danish Institute for Agro Technology and Food Innovation (AgroTech) and Danish Pig Production, have therefore decided to develop common test protocols for testing and verification of a number of these environmental technologies for livestock production. The development of test protocols was initiated in October 2008 and the first version of the Protocol was finalised in December 2009.

4 This version 2 of the Protocol was finalised in June 2011. The VERA test protocols are designed to test the environmental performance and operational stabil-ity of a range of environmental technologies for livestock production. Basically, the test protocols can therefore be used to provide reliable and comparable information about the performance of new technologies to farmers, authorities and other stakeholders. The ground may therefore be prepared for these technologies to be used to a higher extent in meeting the environmental challenges of livestock production within the EU. Questions and comments on the test protocols should be sent toVERA SecretariatKollegievej 6DK-2920 VERA TEST Protocol 4 List of abbreviationsa Annus, Latin for yearA AnimalC CarbonCIGR International Commission of Agricultural and Biosystems EngineeringCH4 MethaneCO2 Carbon dioxideCF Crude fibreCP Crude proteinDM Dry matterDLG Deutsche Landwirtschafts- Gesellschaft German Agricultural SocietyFTIR Fourier transform infrared spectroscopyGC-ECD Gas chromatography electron capture detectorGC-FID Gas chromatography flame ionisation detectorGC-HWD Gas chromatography hot wire detectorGHG Greenhouse gasesIVB International VERA boardIVC International verification committeeK PotassiumKTBL Kuratorium f r Technik und Bauwesen in der LandwirtschaftLU Livestock unitME Metabolic energyN NitrogenNDIR Non dispersive infrared sensor NH3 AmmoniaN2O Nitrous oxideNOx Refers to NO (nitric oxide) and NO2 (nitrous oxide)

5 OU Odour unitOUE European odour units P Phosphorus PM Particulate matter ppm Parts per millionTAN Total ammoniacal nitrogenTDL Tunable diode laserVERA Verification of Environmental Technologies for Agricultural Production VERA TEST Protocol 5 SummaryThis test Protocol for livestock housing and management systems was developed within VERA Veri-fication of Environmental Technologies for Agricultural Production. The Protocol is a joint initiative between environmental authorities and experts from Denmark, the Netherlands and Germany with the purpose of providing a framework for independent verification of the environmental efficiency and operational stability of livestock housing and management systems. This test Protocol is also intended to help promote an international market for environmental technologies for agricultural housing and management system is defined in this Protocol as a unit with the primary func-tion of providing housing for a specific animal category, and with a specific design, equipment and management that determines its environmental performance.

6 In principle, all elements in an animal house that affect the external environment may be included in a definition of such a Protocol outlines the conditions for testing primary and conditional test parameters related to the environmental efficiency and operational stability of livestock housing and management systems. Am-monia, odour and dust are the primary test parameters of this VERA test of a livestock housing or management system must be carried out by an independent test organisation at farms that are representative for the animal production system in question. This test Protocol outlines detailed requirements for the actors involved: applicant/manufacturer, test organisa-tion and the farmer hosting the test facility. The test must be designed with a case-control approach. Where possible, the case-control setup must be carried out within-farm, such that the emissions from animal compartments equipped with the test system (case) and animal compartments with standard equipment (control) are directly compared by carrying out simultaneous measurements.

7 The case-control setup should be carried out on two different farm locations. However, for naturally ventilated livestock housing systems such as dairy farms, this case-control setup may not be applicable. In such cases, at least four test farms equipped with the test system should be measured during the required test period. Emission factors are then calculated by applying norm emission factors or calculated emis-sion factors from a minimum of four reference test is carried out over a one-year period to measure the annual variation in emissions levels and record the operational stability of the system when challenged by seasonal and production measurement parameters are divided into primary and conditional parameters. The primary parameters (ammonia, odour and dust) must be sampled and measured on 6 days distributed over one year, as a minimum. Criteria for measuring the conditional parameters (related to gaseous emissions and climate; animal production unit size, manure and feed composition; and operational functioning and stability of the system/technology) vary depending on the individual parameter.

8 On completion of a VERA test, the test organisation must produce a test report. This report must con-tain a description of the technology tested and the test design and methods used. The test report must also include a presentation of the results obtained and an evaluation of the environmental efficiency and operational stability of the TEST Protocol 61. Introduction The environmental footprint of livestock production can be reduced by stimulating the use of en-vironmental technologies designed for improving the eco-efficient performance. The eco-efficiency of livestock production is enhanced by reducing material inputs, emissions of pollutants and energy consumption, recovering valuable by-products and minimising waste disposal problems. Environmen-tal technologies can be introduced in different stages of the livestock production chain, for example techniques applied in animal houses or techniques for manure storage, processing or land application.

9 In order to facilitate the distribution of environmental technologies for agricultural production it is crucial that the environmental performance and operational stability of the technologies are thor-oughly tested. These tests should be based on test protocols comprised of descriptions of common standard methods for measuring the environmental efficiency and operational stability of an environ-mental a joint initiative between Denmark, the Netherlands and Germany, protocols have therefore been developed to test and verify different types of environmental technologies for agricultural produc-tion. This initiative is organised within VERA Verification of Environmental Technologies for Agricultural Production. VERA was established in 2009 to promote an international market for environmental technologies for agricultural production. The overall purpose of VERA is to fill the information gap of central stakeholders by offering independent verification of the environmental performance and operational stability of environmental technologies determined by applying specific VERA test protocols.

10 This paper outlines the test Protocol for environmental technologies for livestock housing and man-agement systems. The objective of this Protocol is to specify the test procedures for the environmental efficiency of livestock housing and management systems. This includes definitions, requirements and conditions for parties involved in the test, measurement and sampling methods, processing and inter-pretation of measurement results, and reporting. Livestock housing and management system is defined in this Protocol as a unit with the primary func-tion of providing housing for a specified animal category, and with a specific design, equipment and management that determines its environmental performance. In principle, all elements in an animal house that affect the external environment may be included in a definition of such a system. In prac-tice, the major effect of animal housing systems on the environment is represented by emissions of ammonia, odour, dust and greenhouse gases.