HAMPTON, VA — Dr. Mark Estienne, professor and swine research physiologist at Virginia Tech’s Tidewater Agricultural Research and Extension Center, was recently featured on Wisenetix’s The Swine Health Blackbelt Podcast in an episode focused on ammonia gas reduction, nursery pig performance, and barn air quality. The episode discussed a nursery study funded by Pancopia LLC that evaluated a novel nitrogen management system — now branded by Pancopia as FreshFlush™ — designed to treat lagoon effluent before it is reused as flush water in swine barns.
“Basically, the whole aim of the research was to improve the air quality in the barns and by doing that improve the health and productivity of the pigs,” Estienne said during the episode.
The study evaluated 192 nursery pigs over a 28-day post-weaning period. Pigs were placed in nursery rooms using either treated lagoon effluent or untreated lagoon effluent as the control. According to Estienne, rooms using the treated flush water averaged approximately 2 parts per million (ppm) ammonia gas, while control rooms averaged approximately 6 ppm, representing about a 60% reduction in in-barn ammonia concentration.
Dr. Estienne noted that this difference was especially meaningful because the control rooms exceeded 5 ppm ammonia, a level he described as a “red flag” where effects on pigs and caretakers can begin to appear.
The episode also highlighted performance improvements associated with the cleaner barn environment. Over the full 28-day trial, pigs in treated rooms grew approximately 8% faster and consumed approximately 9% more feed than pigs placed in the control rooms. The strongest effects were observed during the first week after weaning, when pigs in treated rooms showed 50% higher average daily gain, 16% higher feed intake, and 33% improved feed efficiency.
“What I think is most important is that the most extraordinary effects were seen the first week after weaning,” Estienne said. “Weaning is a very stressful event in the life of a pig, and anything that you do to add to that stress is going to compromise overall performance. In this case, they had better barn air quality after weaning, so they had one less stressor.”
In addition to growth and feed-intake results, Estienne discussed respiratory-health indicators measured at the end of the trial. Pigs housed in control rooms had higher levels of white blood cells, eosinophils, and monocytes, which Estienne described as consistent with respiratory distress. By reducing ammonia levels, the treated flush water supported a cleaner environment for pigs while also improving air quality for caretakers working inside the barns.
“From an application standpoint, we’re doing something to enhance the welfare of the pigs,” Estienne said. “By decreasing the ammonia, they’re going to have better growth performance and better overall well-being. But also, the people that are going into the barns to work are exposed to the same air quality that the pigs are exposed to.”
The study reinforces the expanded value of FreshFlush™ as both a nutrient management tool and an in-barn air quality solution. By reducing ammonia in the flush water before it enters the barn, Pancopia’s approach is designed to improve the in-barn air quality, support animal performance, and help producers address pressing nutrient management challenges on animal production farms.
The full episode, “Dr. Mark Estienne: Air Quality Drives Pig Performance | Ep. 202,” is available through The Swine Health Blackbelt Podcast on major podcast platforms and YouTube.
Media Contact:
Pancopia LLC
services@pancopia.com
Hampton, VA
www.pancopia.com
