Ohio State University Extension Bulletin

Transportation Demands of Livestock and Poultry Enterprises

Bulletin 889-01


Calculating Total Trips

Transport of most inputs and outputs takes place by some type of heavy vehicle: semi-truck; large-scale, tractor-drawn spreader; or possum-belly truck. However, the transport of labor and management to the production site normally occurs via some type of passenger vehicle. These different vehicles have differential impacts on the roadway congestion and roadway wear-and-tear. Therefore, Table 17 lists total trips broken down into total annual passenger-vehicle trips and total annual heavy-vehicle trips by manure system. In all cases featuring heavy vehicles, however, it is assumed that the largest feasible vehicle was used. In the case of manure, it is assumed that poultry manure is handled in semi-trucks while for non-poultry manures it is assumed that manure is handled in large, tractor-drawn spreaders.

The number of passenger-vehicle trip totals ranges from 240 (beef feedlot) to 5,472 (layer operation). Generally, solid-manure systems require more trips. On a per-animal-unit basis, dairy and hog-farrowing operations typically have the highest heavy-vehicle requirement while broilers and layers (calculated in the tables at 10,000 animal units vs. 1,000 animal units for other enterprises) have the smallest requirement.

Table 17. Heavy Vehicle and Passenger Vehicle Trips Generated by New Animal Confinement Operations.
Enterprise Passenger
Vehicle Trips
Heavy Vehicle Trips by Manure System
    Liquid Manure
System A
Liquid Manure
System B
Slurry Manure
System
Solid Manure
System
Hog Finishing (1,000 AU) 280 1,932 125 928 2,534
Hog Farrowing (1,000 AU) 2,000 4,531 301 2181 5,940
Hog Farrow-to-Finish (1,000 AU) 425 1,928 100 913 2,537
Steer Feedlot (1,000 AU) 240 2,238 345 1,186 2,869
Dairy (1,000 AU) 2,643 3,861 890 2,211 4,851
Broiler (10,000 AU) 730 NA* NA* NA* 3,340
Layer (10,000 AU) 5,472 NA* NA* NA* 3,052
* Because of the low liquid content of poultry manure, it is assumed the manure is handled only by solid-manure handling systems and only in semi-trucks; non-poultry livestock manure is assumed to move in large spreaders.

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Keith L. Smith, Associate Vice President for Ag. Adm. and Director, OSU Extension.

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