Economic evaluation of misting-cooling systems for growing/finishing swine through modeling

T. C. Bridges, L. W. Turner, R. S. Gates

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

Abstract

The economics of investing in a misting-cooling system for growing-finishing swine [20-107 kg, (44-236 lb)] were evaluated for central Kentucky summer environments using the NC-204 swine growth model (Bridges et al., 1992a,b; Usry et al., 1992). The economic returns to misting were compared for different weather years (1995 and 1983) and two initial starting dates of 15 June and 5 July. The results of the simulation model found that for all instances the use of a misting-cooling system reduced the time of growth to market and produced a pig with less backfat. Depending on the potential for evaporative cooling in the weather year and the starting date in the facility, the economic returns for the misting-cooling system varied from $0.49 per pig in 1995 to $3.40 per pig in 1983.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)425-430
Number of pages6
JournalApplied Engineering in Agriculture
Volume14
Issue number4
StatePublished - Jul 1998
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Cooling
  • Misting
  • Simulation
  • Sprinkling
  • Swine Growth Model

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Engineering(all)

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