HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Lucknow Sentinel, 1994-03-16, Page 63Good ventilation is important
by David Scott
How important is good ventilation
to your livestock?
According to Axis Products Ltd.
of Brodhagen, it can make the
difference to animal health and
animal efficiency to farmers.
Axis has been manufacturing
ventilation systems for livestock
buildings since 1977. Bill Scott of
Seaforth, a professional aeronautical
engineer, joined the company five
years ago. He talks about the
benefits of the Axis -Air blender
over a regular barn ventilation
system, comprised of exhaust fans
and air. inlets, operating in winter
conditions.
"A regular system brings in cold
air from outside which may just fall
down to the level of the animals. It
costs more in energy to heat the
cold air coming in from a regular
ventilation system," said Scott. "It's
difficult to bring in low volumes of
outside air and properly distribute it
with a regular 'ventilation system."
The Axis system blends outside
fresh air with inside air to produce
a constant temperature environment.
The blended air is constantly
injected across the room above the
animals and doesn't come in
contact with livestock until it is
deflected from the opposite wall. It
then returns at animal level back to
the exhaust fan of the ventilator.
"The Axis -Air system can handle
varying air volumes at minimum
ventilation rates and distribute it
evenly to all parts of the roorii;"
said Scott, co-owner of the
company with Stan and Eva Martin
of Brodhagen.
In winter test conditions with the
Axis -Air Blender, the temperature
.of the incoming air with the damper
opened 4-6 inches was only one or
two degrees less than the
temperature of the room air being
exhausted. "It's making use of
animal heatgenerated and
recovering it through the blender,"
said Scott.
Axis has on-site testing facilities
for all of their ventilation systems.
Systems for Various Livestock
Axis carries various sized. units of
air blenders and air inlets for walls,
ceilings or eaves. The local
ventilation company has installed
systems in hog, poultry and rabbit
operations, • horse barns,dairy
houses, beef and calf barns and.
even Emu barns.
For poultry requirements, the
blender can be fitted. with a total
light dark -out and fog unit for
evaporative cooling, medicating,
mold inhibiting and disinfecting.
Improvements to Air Systems
Over the past five years a number
of improvements have been made to
the Axis -air systems. Some parts of
the blender were replaced with a
high-density urethane foam as a
structural component. A stainless
steel door, panel box and fibreglass
nozzle on the blender unit were
replaced by urethane foam parts,
the same material used for the
housing of the air blender.
"The urethane foam doesn't
corrode in a hogrbarn atmosphere.
It has an insulation property and
doesn't build up water condensation
like a metal housing," said Scott.
Another recent change for the air
blenders are new electronic controls
with digital readout. In the past,
there were separate controls for the
damper and fan speed. Now there is
one integrated control for both and
contacts for a heating unit as well.
As far as installation goes, Scott
claims that installing art Axis -Air
Blender is , less complicated than
putting in a regular ventilation
system which involves making long.
slots inbarn walls for inlets.
Clean Air Research
Axis is •currently researching a
filtering system for barn air.
"There's always a lot of dust in
the air of any livestock building,"
said Scott. The University of
Guelph, a leader in agricultural
research, has said that wearing a
face mask when working in a barn
is currently the safest way of
preventing the inhalation of dust.
They also • claim that dust in
livestock barns is generated faster
than you can get rid of it, according
Bill Scott of Axis Products in Bfodhagen checks one of the new
digital readouts on the Axis -Air Blender, a ventilation system for
livestock barns which keeps a constant temperature and air
flow. (David Scott photo)
to Scott. But the research goes on.
Distribution
The Axis manufacturing facility is
located in Brodhagen, Ont. - "a
convenient distribution point for
sales and service of both our
domestic and export markets,"
according ` to the company. The
Brodhagen employs seven
people.
Axis -Air 93, Inc., a distributor for
the American mid -west, is located
in Shenandoah, Iowa and has four
employees.
Axis Products has a dealer
network established throughout
North America.
Farm Progress '94 -Page 3A
Reasons for good ventilation
Good Ventilation
The basics of good ventilation
are an abundant supply of fresh
air, adequate circulation of that
air and the elimination of
temperature fluctuations, Good
ventilation and a well-designed
confinement building results in
better control of odour, humidity
and gases.
Healthy Animals
Research has shown that
sanitation in animal housing is
the key to controlling most
outbreaks of disease. An
important and often overlooked,
part of sanitation is ventilation.
By providing a dry
environment, the conditions that
allow bacteria and disease to
proliferate can be reduced.
Building deterioration caused by
excess humidity can be slowed
down.
Efficient Animals
Heat stress depresses the
appetite of livestock and poultry.
The right ventilation system
which provides plenty of air
movement and less temperature
fluctuation can relieve that
stress. Controlled air movement
over livestock can make a
positive difference in the rate of
gain of livestock.
Ji
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