Odors Decline at Pig Farms in Hallim, Gimhae… Korea Pork Producers Association’s Nine-Month Results from “Voluntary Reduction”

In a 2024 commissioned survey by Gimhae City, complex odors at 43 sites in the pig-farming cluster in Hallim-myeon, Gimhae (42 farms and one joint resource-recycling facility) were measured at a maximum of 44 times and an average of around 25 times. These figures far exceeded the statutory emission limit of 15 times, and Gimhae City had been pursuing procedures to designate the area as an odor management zone on that basis. But in 2026, conditions in the area are changing. After the Korea Pork Producers Association secured a one-year grace period just before the designation and began voluntary reduction efforts, ammonia concentrations inside pig houses fell by an average of about 67% from March to June–September, and it was found that complex odors at most farms were being managed at 10 times or less, a grace-period condition stricter than the statutory standard.

On September 29, the Korea Pork Producers Association held an “interim presentation on the intensive odor-reduction project for pig farms in the Hallim area of Gimhae” in the main conference room of the Institute of Livestock Environmental Management in Sejong Special Self-Governing City, disclosing the progress and results to date. Officials from Gimhae City’s Environmental Policy Division and Livestock Division, the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment, and the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, as well as local Korean pork farmers, attended the presentation.
 

One-Year Grace Period Three Days Before Odor Management Zone Notice… Association Invests 200 Million Won

The project began on December 30, 2025. Korea Pork Producers Association Chairman Lee Ki-hong personally visited then-Gimhae Mayor Hong Tae-yong three days before the public notice that would group 42 farms in Hallim-myeon into an odor management zone, and after a meeting lasting more than an hour, secured a postponement of the designation. Gimhae City had effectively completed the research service and internal procedures that began in 2024.

Chairman Lee said, “There was a strong sense of crisis that the moment farms in a clustered area were publicly designated all at once as an odor management zone, it could spread nationwide,” adding, “I said that rather than controlling odors through regulation, the association would take direct responsibility, so please give us one more chance.” To keep its promise, the association invested more than 200 million won in resources, including consultant labor costs and odor measurement expenses. Lee emphasized, “Farmers are not doing it because they do not know how,” and “It is important to make stakeholders willing to do it themselves.”

In explaining the background of the project, Korea Pork Producers Association Executive Director Cho Jin-hyun presented three response strategies: the principle of voluntary improvement, cooperation with administrative agencies, and measurable results. Cho explained, “It is probably the first time that odors have been reduced by managing some 40 farms in a clustered area at once,” adding, “Since it cannot be called a success unless residents acknowledge it, we have formed a private consultative body in which village heads and representatives of the local council participate, and we are regularly sharing progress.”

The association divided reduction measures into three stages. The short-term stage optimizes internal management, such as improving cleaning and operation methods, without major costs; the mid-term stage introduces facilities that are effective while imposing a relatively low cost burden, such as microbial supply devices for drinking water; and the long-term stage pursues fundamental improvement through facility modernization. In 2026, efforts focused mainly on stages one and two.
 

Automatic Microbial Supply, Enclosure, Windbreak Walls… Customized Prescriptions for Each Farm

On-site consulting was handled by five professional consultants. Lead consultant Ha Deok-min of the Korea Pork Producers Association has visited Gimhae two to three days each week, meeting farm owners and managers and checking improvement items. Among the 43 target sites, 39 sites are subject to intensive management, excluding four where pigs have not been stocked.

Consultant Ha identified the way microorganisms were being used as the biggest problem revealed during the consulting process. He pointed out, “Most farms answer that they use microorganisms, but in many cases they are referring to probiotics in feed, and in practice they only pour them all at once into pits or onto floors after shipment, so they do not spread throughout the pig house,” adding, “In some cases, more gas is actually generated from the pit slurry.”

Accordingly, the association installed systems at 14 farms that automatically supply microorganisms throughout pig houses via drinking-water lines. Farms in the Gimhae area that were not part of the project also voluntarily installed the same devices. At joint resource-recycling facilities and other sites emitting high-concentration odors, enclosure work was carried out first, while 4-meter-high windbreak walls were erected at farms on flat land where odors spread with the wind. The association also encouraged the cleaning of bio-curtains that had been neglected after installation and provided training on how to properly produce liquid fertilizer. Gimhae City also provided support for 33 facilities and pieces of equipment in Hallim-myeon with about 1.59 billion won, including state funds from the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs’ livestock odor improvement public contest project. Civil engineering work on storage tanks and construction of deodorization facilities at one modernized farm are currently underway, with installation planned for completion within October.

Consultant Ha also introduced the case of one farm that had refused to install a microbial device, but after complex odors were measured at 20 times two months later, belatedly introduced the device, and the odor was brought under control within two to three weeks.
 

Pig-House Ammonia 11.5→3.8 ppm; 38 of 43 Sites at 10 Times or Less for Complex Odors

The results appeared in the numbers. According to the association’s tally of farmers’ self-measurement results, the average ammonia concentration by farm fell from 11.5 ppm in March 2026 (the first three weeks of measurement) to 3.8 ppm in June–September, and weekly average concentrations from June 14 to September 20 have mostly remained at the 3–5 ppm level. In addition, when an accredited odor testing agency compared and measured complex odors at the 43 sites in 2024 (first round) and 2026 (second round), all but five of the 43 sites were found to be at or below the target of 10 times.

Consultant Ha said, “An official from the accredited agency that measured this area two years ago said there was no odor from the entrance, which used to smell, and first asked what had been done.” Residents’ perceptions have also changed. He added, “Residents say that two years ago it was bad enough to make them vomit, and that now it has been greatly reduced, but they also say they are worried that if they say it is all right, people may pay less attention, so they still say it smells.”

Complaints generally declined for farms covered by the project, but in Yongdeok-ri they more than doubled from the previous year. Consultant Ha explained, “This was because odors were generated in the process of turning the entire storage tank of a large farm with about 10,000 pigs into liquid fertilizer,” adding, “This farm received complaints almost every day from March to June, but recently it is down to once or twice a month.”

In early October, the association plans to collect complex-odor samples at night (7:30 p.m. to 11 p.m.) in the presence of residents, while also conducting odor dispersion modeling. The final results will be disclosed at a year-end presentation.
 

Gimhae City to Decide on Designation in December After Two or Three Additional Measurements in Second Half

Gimhae City will decide this coming December whether to designate the area as an odor management zone. Cho Geun-young, an official in Gimhae City’s Environmental Policy Division, said, “We will make a decision after comprehensively reviewing whether the results of two or three additional measurements in the second half fall to 10 times or less, the grace-period standard, and whether facility and operational improvements based on consulting have been implemented.” Cho said, “At the beginning of the project, the willingness to participate was considerable, but it seems to have fallen somewhat after the summer heat wave,” and asked the farms to “recognize environmental standards not as regulation but as a goal for coexistence with residents, and make further efforts through the end of the year.”

Lee Hak-yong, head of the Livestock Administration Team in Gimhae City’s Livestock Division, pointed out that designation does not necessarily mean farms have been negligent in management. Citing the case of Juchon-myeon, which was designated in 2020, he explained, “Complaints, which numbered one in 2017, rose to nearly 5,000 in 2019 after the development of a nearby large apartment complex,” adding, “Nothing changed at the farms, but complaints can explode due to external factors such as urbanization.” Regarding financial support in 2027, he said, “We have been selected for the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs’ livestock odor improvement public contest project for six consecutive years, and the 2027 project has also been selected as a preliminary candidate,” adding, “We will decide on additional support for farms in Hallim-myeon in consideration of the final results and other factors.”
 

Remaining Tasks, Including Funding and Personnel

During the question-and-answer session and discussions on supplementary measures, various opinions were raised about the sustainability of the project.

In response to a question about plans to secure funding from next year onward, Consultant Ha answered, “Odors cannot be reduced without investment,” adding, “Automatic microbial devices cost about 15 million to 50 million won, and after installation, the part farmers find most burdensome is the price of microbial preparations.” Chairman Lee said, “Government support projects are often not tailored to the field,” adding, “Through this case, we want to show that budgets must be drawn up around projects that farms can actually carry out.” A shortage of consulting personnel was also cited as a challenge. Consultant Ha said, “Requests from other regions continue to increase, but we are in a situation where we cannot assign all the needed personnel.”

Son Hyo-rim, an official in the Livestock Environment and Resources Division of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, introduced the ministry’s experience in pursuing odor consulting for 45 farms on its own. Son said, “The voluntary consent of farms and post-project maintenance are most important,” adding, “If the final results present a reduction model that can be commonly applied, it will be possible to link it with policy.”

Jang Jae-hyun, an official in the Water Quality and Aquatic Ecosystems Division of the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment, said, “If the cost is burdensome, farms will not even attempt it,” and requested that “the final report include a detailed analysis by farm and by technique of how much complaints and odors were reduced relative to cost.” Jang also said, “The deadline for achieving the target of 10 times or less is not clear,” adding, “It is necessary to determine how many areas nationwide experience odors collectively, as in Gimhae, and to prepare a mid- to long-term support plan.”