ABSTRACT
Noise, dust and odor emission/pollution from outdoor piggeries has been acknowledged as a potential issue for the free-range pig industry, especially during the planning stage. However, data that can help the industry to assess the likely noise, dust and odor emission levels from free-range piggery facilities are not available in Australia. A well-targeted survey of sound pressure levels, as well as odor and dust concentrations, on representative free-range piggeries in three different states over summer, winter and spring seasons was executed. The associations between air temperature and sound pressure levels as well as between relative humidity and sound pressure levels were investigated using regression analysis. Most of the noise peaks were probably machinery related noise, but casual observation indicated that bird and insect noise contributed to the general noise levels on the farms too. In general, the pigs appeared to be contributing very little to general noise levels on the selected free-range pig farms.
