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At the end of September 2004, a new research laboratory was opened south of the Iowa State campus that will serve as the location for studying the gaseous emissions from animal waste. Associate Professor Wendy Powers (left) is the faculty member in charge of the lab, while Sarah Bastyr, assistant scientist, is the facility manager. Research at the lab will focus chiefly on testing how gaseous emissions from livestock may be managed by manipulating animal diets.
The new lab is equipped to monitor hydrogen sulfide, ammonia, nitrous oxides, nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxides, methane, carbon dioxide and volatile organic carbons. Air flow into and out of the animal rooms can also be measured to permit calculation of emission rates.
The lab includes eight animal rooms with pens, feeders, and watering and manure handling systems that can accommodate multiple species use. Each room is spacious enough to house one horse, one lactating cow, two growing heifers, six finishing pigs, 25 turkeys, 60 broilers, or 85 laying hens.
The first group of animals to occupy the lab consists of young pigs, which will be fed a low-protein diet into January 2005. During the experiment, protein levels in the pigs' diets will be varied, and both input levels of feed nutrients and output levels of excreted nutrients will be carefully recorded. For more information about the laboratory and its activities, please contact Wendy Powers, wpowers@iastate.edu, or Sarah Bastyr, sbastyr@iastate.edu.

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