MCU14/0028 Appendix 3 chicken-meat-guidelines

Separation distances for the meat chicken farm complex are measured from the centroid of the
odour source, which is not necessarily the centre of the sheds. For tunnel-ventilated sheds the
measuring point is taken to be 25 m out from the exhaust end of each shed.




                                                                               Centroid




                                                                        25 m




Both the site-specific separation distances and the fixed buffer distances to other features must be
complied with.

A 2.3       S-factor formula for calculating separation distances

The separation distance formula only applies to farms with a maximum of 300 000 birds. For farms
larger than this, refer to Section 2.6. For farms with more than 300 000 birds, the formula is
unreliable for several reasons: more complex layout, larger spread of sheds around the site and
the increased distance of odour plume travel, which can begin to create more complex plume
patterns. The formula is designed to be used for simple farm layouts where a ‘centroid’ can be
easily identified and sheds are not located hundreds of metres from the centroid.

The separation distance provided between a meat chicken farm and sensitive land uses depends
upon a number of factors, including:
 size – defined as the number of birds in the complex
 meat chicken farm design and management, which for the purpose of the formula approach is
   assumed to comply with current best practice
 meat chicken farm site, considering:
   - proximity to a sensitive land use (within a rural zone)
   - proximity to a non-rural zone
   - topographic setting and features (hills, undulating valleys, etc.) between the meat chicken
       farm and the receptor
   - vegetation/surface roughness between the meat chicken farm and the receptor
   - terrain effects around the site, particularly on meteorology of the area.

Site-specific separation distances are based on the dispersion of odours from their source.

Different air quality objectives were chosen depending on whether the distance is to be calculated
to a sensitive land use in a rural zone or to a non-rural zone.




Queensland Guidelines Meat Chicken Farms                                                      47