Response to oustanding issues Animal Husbandry MCU12/0184

               Mr David Milligan, W Donald Milligan Pty Ltd                                           11 September 2013
               Re: Response to Sunshine Coast Regional Council Outstanding Issues Request        -

                                                                                                     Proposed Poultry
                        Growing Sheds, Ridgewood                                                      L 18113/BH/12-002




               Detailed responses to each of the odour issues raised in the outstanding issues
               request are provided separately in the following sections. It is noted that for clarity,
               the order of response has been modified from the above request.


                      Provide   a   revised Air Quality Impact Assessment which         assesses   in addition to the

                      proposed sheds:

                          Provide all assumptions made for the odour modelling including the litter stock piling

                          times, footprint of the spreading area, spreading area timeframes, litter moisture
                          content with    respect to the storage areas and the spreading/breakdown of litter.
                          Where the modelling indicates that the relevant guidelines are exceeded, then the
                          report should make recommendations for amelioration accordingly.


                          The broiler chicken growing cycle is typically a 55 to 59 day period with                   a
                          break of approximately 14 days between batches to allow for shed clean-out,
                          maintenance and        preparation.     Five to six batches per year are generally
                          produced from broiler farms.

                          The preference of poultry processors is typically for all sheds at a farm to be
                          stocked with new birds within a period of 1 to 3 days to allow for efficiency by
                          way of synchronisation of feed, catch-out and cleanout schedules. There is
                          the potential to ’stagger’ batches (e.g. 4 sheds day 1 then 4 sheds day 31) to
                          minimise the peak odour emissions from a farm. This is typically a measure
                          that may be considered         as a   corrective action in accordance with           a   Site-
                          Based Environmental Management Plan in the event of a farm causing odour
                          nuisance.  For the purpose of this response, the standard stocking regime
                          has been considered.


                          Odour emissions from the sheds after final removal of birds and the clean-out
                          of the litter are negligible for the period between batches.               Similarly, due to
                          low bird    mass   and higher target temperatures, overall odour emissions from
                          the broiler sheds are minimal during the first 3 weeks of a batch cycle1.


                          In order to minimise the potential cumulative odour impact from the
                          stockpiling and spreading of the spent litter, the proponent intends to spread
                          within 4 to 5 weeks of the shed clean-out. Under this operational regime,
                          odour emissions from the stockpiling and spreading of the spent litter occur
                          during the period when only minor emissions are generated from the broiler
                          sheds. Overall odour emissions from the litter stockpiles are significantly
                          lower than from the broiler sheds and thus the stockpiling period is not
                          anticipated to generate peak odour impacts beyond that of the broiler farm.

                          A review of the required area for the litter stockpiling has been undertaken in
                          conjunction with Callaghan & Toth and a compost stockpiling / turning
                          machine manufacture~. The initially proposed 280m2 bunded stockpile area
                                                    to efficiently stockpile


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               1
                   Typically 10% to 15% of peak odour emissions during later stages of the batch cycle

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               2
                   Seymour Rural Equipment Pty Ltd                                                                         \
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