After years with Iowa State University’s Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering (ISU ABE), Professor Steve Hoff answers questions reflecting on his career at ISU prior to his retirement in July 2019 With 29 years of ISU experience, Steve Hoff has defined his life work by the skills and knowledge he has shared with his …Continue reading “Ask a Cyclone Engineer: Steve Hoff”
Congratulations to the following ABE graduate students who were recently recognized by the Iowa State University Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering and the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE): Conrad Brendel – Iowa Section ASABE Outstanding M.S. student: Brendel grew up in Elizabethtown, PA and completed his B.S. at Iowa State in …Continue reading “ABE graduate students awarded scholarships”
Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering faculty, staff and students were once again a strong presence at the annual American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE) conference. More winners will be announced in upcoming Inside magazines (ASABE publication): 2016 ASABE Major Award Winners: Carl Bern: Sukup Global Food Security Award Mark Hanna: SMV Technologies Ergonomics, Safety …Continue reading “ISU faculty, staff and students win big at ASABE in Orlando”
A review of hundreds of academic articles on technologies to reduce odor and gas emissions from livestock operations shows that most such technologies undergo lab testing but never reach farm-scale study. A team of ISU researchers surveyed all the available publications on mitigation practices that focus on animal housing, manure storage and land application techniques.
Two Iowans who have made strong contributions to the success of the state’s pork industry have been honored by the Iowa Pork Producers Association (IPPA). Deborah Durham, director of the Iowa Economic Development Authority, and professor Dr. Steven Hoff of the Iowa State University Department of Agricultural & Biosystems Engineering have been named Honorary Master Pork …Continue reading “Hoff named Honorary Master Pork Producer”
A $1 million Iowa Pork Producers Association-funded research project on pit foaming has entered its third year. Researchers provided an update at the Iowa Pork Congress in Des Moines. “Our goal is to find and correct the mechanisms of foaming,” said Steve Hoff, an agricultural and biosystems engineering professor at Iowa State University and project …Continue reading “Pit foaming research continues”
A team of Iowa State University specialists has developed an online tool to help livestock and poultry producers compare odor-mitigation techniques. The Air Management Practices Assessment Tool is web-based, available at www.agronext.iastate.edu/ampat at no charge. “The website was developed to help livestock and poultry producers identify practices to reduce odors, and emissions of gases and …Continue reading “New tool evaluates odor reduction”
From July 13 to July 16, the hallways in Elings Hall and Sukup Hall were a little vacant. This was due to many in the Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering attending the 2014 ASABE (American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers) annual international meeting in Montreal. Faculty, staff and students were in attendance, and several were recognized …Continue reading “ABE recognized for achievement and advancement at annual conference”
Iowa State University will host a conference Aug. 20 covering 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, professor of agricultural and biosystems engineering at Iowa …Continue reading “Biofilter Conference to Present Latest Odor Mitigation Technologies”
As the temperature and humidity level rise outside, producer need to address animal comfort indoors. Iowa Pork Industry Center interim director Jay Harmon said it’s the combination of air movement and wetting that help pigs. Wetting pigs is imperative because pigs don’t truly sweat like humans so. Wetting pigs is like giving them some artificial …Continue reading “Keeping pigs comfortable during high heat and humidity”
Air Management Practices Assessment Tool Evaluation of polymer to reduce emissions from swine finishing facilities Estimating methane emissions Anaerobic digestion’s impact on odor, ammonia Diets that reduce ammonia emissions from hen houses Environmental assessment of laying-hen housing systems Quantifying emissions from swine facilities Community assessment model (CAM) for odor dispersion Biofilters conference and educational modules …Continue reading “Selected current ISU livestock odor and air quality research and extension”
Steve Hoff wishes he had a definitive answer to give pork producers about the problem of pit foaming. But, he’s not quite there yet. “We’re basically about nine months into a three-year study,” the Iowa State University professor of agriculture and biosystems engineering explains. “We’ve collected a great deal of data, but we don’t have …Continue reading “ISU professor researches cause of pit foaming”
