NCEES PE Agricultural and Biological Engineering · USA · NCEES (ASABE is the content partner)
Original practice questions written to the published syllabus · not past papersPlanning a farmstead and designing its buildings, stores and animal houses, including the ventilation that keeps animals healthy.
In the exams: NCEES PE Facilities & Structures 12–18 questions; PRC ABE structures, environment and bioprocess (36%); ICAR AIEEA-PG Unit VI (farmstead planning, heating and cooling load); TNPSC Unit V
NCEES PE Agricultural and Biological Engineering
Facilities and Structures (12–18 questions): ventilation rates from heat and moisture balance using the supplied ASABE EP270.5 and psychrometric data, grain loads on bins (S433.1), wind and snow loads, post-frame and connection design, manure storage sizing. Problems are multi-step and unit-heavy, in SI and US customary units.
How our questions for NCEES PE Agricultural and Biological Engineering spread across the units of Agricultural Structures & Environmental Control. Difficulty: 7 easy, 33 medium, 28 hard.
| Ventilation rate from heat and moisture balance | 16 | |
| Design loads: dead, live, wind, snow and grain | 8 | |
| Structural design of bins and silos | 8 | |
| Space requirements for livestock | 6 | |
| Post-frame buildings | 6 | |
| Manure storage structures | 6 | |
| Dairy cattle housing | 5 | |
| Poultry housing | 5 | |
| Swine housing | 5 | |
| Farmstead planning | 3 |
Choose an answer, then open the working. Each explanation says why the right answer is right and why the others are not.
In which milking parlour do cows stand at right angles to the pit and get milked from behind, between the hind legs?
C. Parallel (side-by-side) parlour
In a parallel parlour cows stand at 90° to the pit and units are attached between the hind legs. In a herringbone cows stand at an angle and are milked from the side; in a tandem they stand nose to tail along the pit.
Further reading: MWPS-7 Dairy Freestall Housing and Equipment
A dairy farm in a hot, humid coastal region installed fine misters that spray into the air of the feed alley, but the cows still show heat stress. What change is most likely to help?
B. Wet the cows' coats with sprinklers in cycles and evaporate the water with fans
Humid air can absorb little extra water, so misting the air cools it little and raises humidity. Wetting the coat and then evaporating that water with fans takes heat directly from the cow. Saturating the air or closing curtains worsens the problem, and air movement increases heat loss.
Further reading: MWPS-7 Dairy Freestall Housing and Equipment
Free stalls for large-breed dairy cows are typically about what size?
A. About 1.1–1.25 m wide and 2.1–2.7 m long
A large cow needs roughly 1.1–1.25 m of width and 2.1–2.7 m of length depending on whether lunge space is shared. 0.6–0.7 m is a sow crate width; 2.0–2.5 m wide stalls let cows turn round and soil the bed; a stall shorter than it is wide cannot hold a lying cow.
Further reading: MWPS-7 Dairy Freestall Housing and Equipment
Why is a high eave or roof height recommended for naturally ventilated dairy sheds in hot climates?
C. It boosts the stack effect and moves the hot roof away from the cows
Height between inlet and outlet increases stack-driven airflow, and a roof further away delivers less radiant heat to the animals. Overhead hay storage blocks ventilation; wind through the shed is wanted in summer; dust is not the reason.
Further reading: MWPS-7; FAO Rural Structures in the Tropics
Under EU Directive 2008/120/EC, during which period must sows and gilts be kept in groups?
B. From four weeks after service until one week before farrowing
The directive requires group housing from four weeks after service until one week before farrowing, so individual stalls are allowed only for the first four weeks after service. Lactation is spent in farrowing accommodation, not in groups.
Further reading: Council Directive 2008/120/EC
Under EU Directive 2008/120/EC, what minimum unobstructed floor area is needed for 240 finishing pigs that will reach 100 kg live weight?
A. 156 m²
Pigs of 85–110 kg need 0.65 m² each: 240 × 0.65 = 156 m². 132 m² uses the 50–85 kg value; 240 m² uses the over-110 kg value; 96 m² uses the 30–50 kg value.
Further reading: Council Directive 2008/120/EC
A consultant designing a pig unit for export to several countries quotes a single 'international' space allowance per pig. What is wrong with this approach?
A. Space allowances are law in some countries and advice in others, and they differ
Minimum space is legal in the EU and some other jurisdictions and advisory elsewhere, with different values and weight bands. It rises with live weight in every system. There is no single international figure.
Further reading: Council Directive 2008/120/EC; MWPS-8
A bunker silo feeds 60 cows 25 kg of silage each per day. Silage density is 650 kg/m³ and the face must be removed at least 15 cm per day to limit spoilage. What is the largest face area that achieves this?
D. 15.4 m²
Daily volume = 60 × 25/650 = 2.31 m³; face = 2.31/0.15 = 15.4 m². 0.35 m² multiplies; 23.1 m² uses 10 cm; 10.0 m² skips the density conversion. Recommended removal rates vary (roughly 15–30 cm/day), so the stem fixes it.
Further reading: Silage management texts
A post-frame building has trusses spanning 12 m on posts at 2.4 m centres. The net roof wind uplift is 0.5 kPa and the roof dead load is 0.15 kPa. What net uplift must each eave post connection resist?
C. 5.04 kN
Tributary area per post = 12/2 × 2.4 = 14.4 m²; net uplift = (0.5 − 0.15) × 14.4 = 5.04 kN. 7.20 kN ignores dead load; 10.08 kN uses the whole span for one post; 9.36 kN adds the dead load instead of subtracting it.
Further reading: ASABE EP486; post-frame design texts
What mainly decides the minimum storage period for a slurry store in many countries?
B. Legal closed periods for spreading, plus the crop and soil spreading calendar
Storage lets manure be spread when crops can use it and soils can accept it; nitrate and water-protection rules in many countries forbid spreading in winter or the rainy season, fixing the minimum months of storage. Tanker size, milk yield and colour do not set the period.
Further reading: EU Nitrates Directive guidance; NRCS AWMFH
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