Pig farming in Europe generates a significant portion of ammonia gas (NH³) emissions, impacting both human and animal health. Inhaling NH³ can lead to eye and respiratory irritation, appetite loss, and lethargy. NH³ released into the atmosphere reacts with acidic compounds, forming fine particulate matter (PM2.5), which poses severe health risks by deeply penetrating the lungs. Exposure to airborne particulate matter contributes to cardiovascular disease-related mortality. Therefore, monitoring and maintaining NH³ levels within acceptable limits are crucial for health and environmental reasons.
Research has shown that prolonged exposure to unhealthy levels of ammonia (> 40 ppm) can result in a 7 % reduction in daily weight gain of pigs and 9 % reduction in feed conversion ratio.
Advantages of wireless monitoring
SITIP, SAF Tehnika’s wireless communication integration partner in Italy, specializes in providing customized solutions for diverse requirements. They have successfully incorporated Aranet solutions into numerous industrial and agricultural projects, with a particular emphasis on environmental monitoring for livestock applications in agriculture.
Introducing new agricultural technologies in Italy poses challenges due to the traditional mindset of skeptical farmers. Hence, demonstrating tangible benefits is crucial to gain their confidence and approval for project implementation.
“Introduction of these sorts of systems is very slow, but we believe that step by step, showing the benefits and returns on time saved, we can manage to conquer this market. We believe in technical advances,” says Marco Franchi, the Technical Director of SITIP.
SITIP received and field-tested the inaugural Aranet Ammonia (NH3) sensor, part of a comprehensive solution featuring the Aranet PRO base station. The system also includes sensors for monitoring ammonia (NH3), carbon dioxide (CO2), temperature, and humidity levels. The installation was swift, taking only a couple of hours, and it functioned seamlessly.
“Through a market survey we discovered that the only truly ready-to-use and complete solution for our problem was the Aranet system – the sensors, base station and software. We looked for other potential solutions, but all of them were lacking in some way or another. They were not “ready to use”. This is the main reason we chose Aranet,” explains Marco Franchi.
Aranet addressed manual data collection challenges, notably on large farms like the one with 19000 pigs. Automatic data collection now provides continuous recording and access to historical data for analysis, trend identification, and future predictions. This empowers farmers with comprehensive insights into their operations, facilitating improvements through more accurate measurement.
As for going wireless, Marco Franchi recommends: “We would suggest Aranet to others because it is a complete system that is easy to install and has an intuitive user interface. It is not expensive, and for small installations the base station software comes for free – there are no recurring license fees which is a major argument for any farmer. The Aranet system is also growing constantly – new sensors, new ideas. There’s always something to look forward to!”
