Farm Structures and the Environment

Relation of rural structures and farm organisation. Design criteria to locate rural buildings in the landscape. Functionality of buildings in relation to farm organisation. General criteria for the design of structures intended for production. Functional aspects of structures for livestock farms. Sizing of rural structures in relation to farm demands. Placement of rural structures in the farm. Recovery and change of the use of rural buildings. Design criteria for rural building for farm activities Functional aspects of livestock and poultry sheds Design criteria of rural buildings in relation to animal requirements and to the environmental and landscape impact. Control of ambient parameters in rural buildings. Minimum requirements to guarantee animal welfare conditions. Design criteria to reduce emissions. Functional requirements and layout organisation in livestock buildings. Structures for cattle and dairy farms. Structures for pig breeding. Structure for poultry farms. Elements on design of other building for the farm. Rural structures in relation to surroundings. The problems related to environmental impact of agricultural activities.
Agriculture and environmental impact. The main emissions to the air from the agricultural sector. Emissions to the waters and the contribution of agriculture. The characteristics of livestock manure. Emission mechanisms towards the air of ammonia and greenhouse gases from livestock manure. Measurement methods for ammonia concentrations and emissions. Regulatory framework relating to emissions to water and air. Best available techniques for reducing nitrogen and phosphorus excreted by feeding. Reduction of emissions from housing areas. Manure transformations during storage and emission mitigation techniques. Main treatments for manure management and their effect on emissions. Visit to livestock farms and amnure treatment plants. Air emissions during the distribution phase. Evaluation of techniques for reducing emissions during distribution. Evaluation of the efficiency of nitrogen distributed on the ground and techniques to reduce emissions to water. Overall assessment of emissions in livestock farms