One major source of roadway use is the transport of key, primary inputs to a new animal-confinement development. Feed, typically in the form of processed grains, and young animals are the non-labor inputs that require the most trips. Tables 2-8 document the raw amounts of these inputs, the modes of transportation, and the potential number of trips necessary for each of the seven enterprises considered. For each input and output there exist several different vehicles that could accomplish the transportation task. For example, feeder pigs could be moved by a 44-foot trailer with a capacity for 146 pigs per load or by a 44-foot, possum-belly truck with a capacity for 376 pigs per load. In Tables 2-8, we assume the largest vehicle is employed; the annotated spreadsheet allows for recalculation using several smaller vehicles commonly available.
| Table 2. Primary Input and Trip Requirements for 1,000 AU Hog-Finishing Enterprise. | |||
| Feeder Pigs | Corn | Supplement | |
| Annual Need | 7,000 pigs | 54,625 bushels | 269.5 tons |
| Annual Pounds (Million) | 0.35 | 3.06 | 0.54 |
| Transport Vehicle | Possum-belly truck | Semi-tractor trailer | Semi-tractor trailer |
| Load Capacity | 376 pigs | 1,000 bushels | 23 tons |
| Annual Trips Needed | 19 | 55 | 12 |
| Table 3. Primary Input and Trip Requirements for 1,000 AU Hog-Farrowing Enterprise. | ||
| Corn | Supplement | |
| Annual Need | 0.15 million bushels | 816 tons |
| Annual Pounds (Million) | 8.4 | 2.13 |
| Transport Vehicle | Semi-tractor trailer | Semi-tractor trailer |
| Load Capacity | 1,000 bushels | 23 tons |
| Annual Trips Needed | 150 | 47 |
| Table 4. Primary Input and Trip Requirements for 1,000 AU Hog Farrow-to-Finish Enterprise. | ||
| Corn | Supplement | |
| Annual Need | 56,250 bushels | 393.8 tons |
| Annual Pounds (Million) | 3.45 | 0.79 |
| Transport Vehicle | Semi-tractor trailer | Semi-tractor trailer |
| Load Capacity | 1,000 bushels | 23 tons |
| Annual Trips Needed | 57 | 18 |
| Table 5. Primary Input and Trip Requirements for 1,000 AU Steer Feedlot. | ||||
| Feeders | Corn | Supplement | Corn Silage | |
| Annual Need | 12,000 calves | 756,000 bushels | 750 tons | 40,800 tons |
| Annual Pounds (Million) | 6.6 | 42.3 | 1.5 | 81.6 |
| Transport Vehicle | Possum-belly truck | Semi-tractor trailer | Semi-tractor trailer | Truck |
| Load Capacity | 56 calves | 1,000 bushels | 23 tons | 20 tons |
| Annual Trips Needed | 214 | 756 | 33 | 2,040 |
| Table 6. Primary Input and Trip Requirements for 1,000 AU Dairy Enterprise. | ||||
| Corn | Supplement | Corn Silage | Hay | |
| Annual Need | 72,142.9 bushels | 1,001.4 tons | 3,985.7 tons | 3,785.7 tons |
| Annual Pounds (Million) | 4.04 | 2.00 | 7.97 | 7.57 |
| Transport Vehicle | Semi-tractor trailer | Semi-tractor trailer | Truck | Truck |
| Load Capacity | 1,000 bushels | 23 tons | 20 tons | 20 tons |
| Annual Trips Needed | 73 | 44 | 200 | 190 |
| Table 7. Primary Input and Trip Requirements for 10,000 AU Broiler-Chicken Enterprise. | |||
| Chicks | Corn | Supplement | |
| Annual Need | 6.5 million chicks | 731,250 bushels | 13,650 tons |
| Annual Pounds (Million) | 1.3 | 40.95 | 27.30 |
| Transport Vehicle | Truck | Semi-tractor trailer | Semi-tractor trailer |
| Load Capacity | 20,000 chicks | 1,000 bushels | 23.8 tons |
| Annual Trips Needed | 325 | 731 | 574 |
| Table 8. Primary Input and Trip Requirements for 10,000 AU Layer-Chicken Enterprise. | |||
| Pullets | Corn | Supplement | |
| Annual Need | 1 million pullets | 0.93 million bushels | 14,000 tons |
| Annual Pounds (Million) | 3.25 | 52.00 | 28.00 |
| Transport Vehicle | Semi-tractor truck | Semi-tractor trailer | Semi-tractor trailer |
| Load Capacity | 6,000 pullets | 1,000 bushels | 23.8 tons |
| Annual Trips Needed | 50 | 929 | 588 |
For example, Table 2 outlines the key inputs for a hog-finishing enterprise as feeder pigs, corn and a protein feed supplement. Operation at the 1,000-animal-unit threshold implies an output of 7,000 finished hogs per year. Therefore, 7,000 feeder pigs weighing 0.35 million pounds are necessary each year to sustain production. If transported via possum-belly truck, then total trips per year equal 19. Similar calculations yield the estimates of 55 and 12 trips per year to transport the necessary corn and supplement inputs for these animals.
Another primary input requiring transportation is labor. Table 9 outlines the labor requirements for each enterprise and the corresponding number of annual passenger-vehicle trips. Note that the labor requirements and corresponding annual passenger-vehicle trips generated are typically greater for those enterprises that produce a daily output, such as dairy and layer-egg operations, than those that produce a single end output, like broiler-chicken, beef-cattle feedlot, or swine enterprises.
The method for estimating the labor requirements was different for poultry and non-poultry enterprises. For non-poultry enterprises, we calculate labor needs from Ohio Livestock Enterprise Budgets (Ohio State University Extension, 1999). This per-unit coefficient was then multiplied to a scale of 1,000 animal units to arrive at the labor requirements listed in Table 9. Daily staffing needs for broiler and layer enterprises of 10,000-animal-unit capacity were determined by consulting with Professor Forest Muir of The Ohio State University's Department of Animal Sciences, a recognized poultry-production expert.
The number of passenger vehicle trips is then calculated, in the case of non-poultry enterprises, by dividing the total number of staff hours required by 10. This implicitly assumes that work is performed in 10-hour shifts and that each person travels separately by passenger vehicle to and from the site. In the case of the poultry enterprises, total passenger-vehicle trips are calculated by multiplying the number of daily workers by 365; this also assumes each worker drives separately to and from the production site.
For all enterprises, if personnel commonly share rides or if work shifts deviate from 10 hours, the number of trips should be adjusted accordingly. Also, if personnel live at the production site, they do not add vehicle trips while commuting to and from work and the total trip count should be adjusted accordingly. If the new enterprise attracts new personnel to live either on-site or anywhere in the jurisdiction, additional trips will be generated by typical shopping and pleasure trips around the jurisdiction. If the operation's personnel already live in the jurisdiction, however, such trips need not be added to the total count; this is assumption maintained for the rest of this study.
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