06/22/06 Trees Fight Odors

Too often we make things complicated that don't need to be. When it comes to farm pollution, literally millions are being spent in research in the hopes of creating cleaner, greener farms. Manure disposal is becoming big business often accompanied by massive start up expenses for the farmer, especially in the case of anaerobic digesters. Yet for some chicken farmers the solution to curbing odors neighbor find offensive could be as simple as planting a tree. Really! Researchers at the University of Delaware discovered that surrounding chicken houses with tree's actually reduced the odor substantially as the trees captured smelly chicken emission. The USDA awarded a 52,000 dollar grant to the Delmarva Poultry Industry that will fund the planting of many trees around chicken processors in their region. Some scientist also believe a shield of trees could act as natural barrier to avian diseases like bird flu. So if you have a smelly farm, a simple and inexpensive solution could be to plant some trees