Title:
Poultry Farms With Unhappy Neighbors? Plant Some
Trees
Description: This is
a VOA Special English Agriculture Report.
See text below
Text:
Planting trees around poultry farms can improve air
and water quality -- and relations with neighbors.
Research has shown that just three rows of trees
near poultry houses can reduce the release of dust
and ammonia. They can also reduce the strong smell
of ammonia gas.
The trees capture dust, ammonia and odors in their
leaves. They also provide shade from the sun, so
they reduce cooling costs in summer.
And they act as a windbreak, so they reduce heating
costs in winter. Trees can also improve water
quality around farms by removing pollutants from
soil and groundwater.
Several years ago, people were objecting to the odor
of poultry farms on the Delmarva Peninsula in the
eastern United States. Delmarva is where the states
of Delaware, Maryland and Virginia come together.
Two thousand farms there can each house an average
of seventy-five thousand chickens.
Traditionally the farms used windows to provide
fresh air in the chicken houses. Farmers rarely
planted trees or tall crops around the buildings, so
there would be no barrier to the airflow.
But then farms began to use new ventilation systems.
Instead of windows, the new systems used tunnel fans
to circulate air. The fans directed airflow from the
poultry houses toward the homes of neighbors.
Researchers led by George Malone at the University
of Delaware began dealing with the problem in two
thousand. They found that over a period of six
years, planting three rows of trees reduced total
dust and ammonia by more than half. And they found
that odors were reduced by eighteen percent.
The scientists reported their findings in two
thousand eight at a meeting of the American Chemical
Society.
For the first row nearest the fans, they generally
suggested trees that lose their leaves in the fall
or trees with waxy leaf surfaces.
They suggested evergreen trees for the other two
rows. Some trees work better than others. And what
works in one area of the country may not work as
well in others.
Farmers may think trees will take too long to grow
and be effective. But some trees can grow quickly.
At least one-third of the Delmarva farms have
planted trees, technically known as vegetative
environmental buffers.
The idea offers a way to cut pollution, save money
and energy, and make the neighbors happy.
And thats the VOA Special English Agriculture
Report.
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Hi. I
personally reviewed this video and found it appropriate for
the news section of English Global Group. This
is a Voice of America video which covers an interesting
topic in Special English. I would appreciate some feedback from both
students and teachers about this video. You can comment in
the window below using any of a number of different services
including Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, and Hotmail.
