We also pledged to expand staff dedicated to managing and maintaining its waste treatment facilities to 142 a 10 percent increase from 1998. We're confident the number of people dedicated to monitoring our waste treatment program assures environmental integrity. A permeable lagoon cover was installed at one location and we're very happy with the results. We noticed reduced odor at the lagoon site immediately. We installed 200 new air dams at livestock facilities in Daviess, Gentry, Putnam and Sullivan counties.
Air dams are walls built at the exhaust end of the barns.
The wall helps disperse air as it comes from the barn and prevent odor plumes that could leave the property. A healthy environment is important to all of us. There are a number of other exciting new environmental programs we'll be unveiling in the new year and we look forward to sharing information with our friends and neighbors. The plan includes a comprehensive nutrient and odor reduction system at one complete farm as well as a host of leading edge systems in pilot projects at additional farms. The combination of proven technology in the 'White Tail' project and the many pilot projects will enable us to evaluate several high potential options at the same time.