Waste Management on Hog Farms

The Hatton meeting regarding a proposed hog confinement operation brought up a slew of questions. In fact, a list of questions—which were somewhat answered—were handed out at the meeting.

So, with that in mind, how about a little Q&A? The following questions are from the community meeting and I will briefly answer them to the best of my knowledge and ability. 

What is the management plan for air quality and smell control?

While every farm is different, there are a few options. On our farm, we rely on trees to help control odor and fans to maintain air quality within the barns. Some farms also add air scrubbers, which basically ‘scrub’ the ammonia out of the air to reduce atmospheric ammonia. To my knowledge, these are not widely used yet because of cost but they are still in the development phase and I look forward to seeing how they develop in the future.

Another fantastic invention that is gaining popularity is digesters. Digesters convert methane gas into electricity. These are fascinating but again, there is a cost issue so not everyone uses them.

One last way we control odor is by knifing manure into the ground instead of using a traveling gun or running it through a center pivot irrigation system.

Explain how below-building waste pits work.

Basically, the pig does his business wherever and whenever he (or she) pleases. Then, their ‘business’ falls through the slat flooring and is stored in a reinforced concrete basement that is about 8 feet deep and the same length as the barn. Then, twice a year—in the fall and spring—they are pumped out and knifed into the field as a natural fertilizer.

Pit under construction.

What is the average nutrient value of the waste? Does it add organic matter to the soil or only nutrient value?

The great thing about manure is that it is basically a nutrient package deal. Just like the phone and TV companies, they bundle it. In most cases, manure provides all your phosphorus and potassium needs and the bulk of your nitrogen. Of course, only soil and nutrient testing will give a for sure answer to what is there and what isn’t but those are the three nutrients farmers always need and they are the three that are always present in manure. For farmers that don’t use manure, they have to purchase separate chemical fertilizers to cover each of these nutrient needs. Manure also adds organic matter that improves overall soil health. If you care to learn more about the nutrient and economic value here are a couple resources:

Nutrients and Value of Liquid Hog Manure
Economic Value of Liquid Hog Manure

 Will the hog urine be applied to the soils and what is the expected effect on soil quality due to urine?

I was surprised to see this question on the sheet, but it is a valid question. Yes, the poop and pee fall through the slats and into the same pit so it’s all mixed up together into one big pot of liquid gold. See previous question for soil quality concerns

How frequently will the waste pits be pumped dry?

Every fall and spring the fields get feed—by way of manure.

Do you have any questions about farming? Let me know in the comments and I’m happy to answer them.

Sustainable Farming...We do that!

I got this email with a website link on it and a simple message:

Thought you might find this interesting.

Les

 Well, I was interested...very interested. So interested, in fact, that I think it needs to be shared with anyone and everyone that cares about both pig farming and a healthy environment. The PorkCheckoff funded some research to evaluate whether or not pig farming has improved over the years and to see what areas needed further improvment.

The research shows that pork production is more sustainable now than ever before. The first sentence of this article was fantastic and it sums up what we've been trying to tell everyone from the beginning:

"A new study finds that while pig farms of the 1950s may be remembered as idyllic, they were not as sustainable as those of today."

The study found that today's hog farms have decreased their carbon footprint by 35 percent since 1959. Additionally, we (hog farmers) use 41 percent less water and 78 percent less land per pound of pork produced. That is a huge accomplishment in farming! We are able to produce more while using less and protecting our envirnment.

We are still looking for ways to improve farming across the board but I think it is also important to celebrate our current accomplishments. This study shows just one of those accomplishments.

What do you think? 

Fair Oaks Pig Adventure Center

Have you heard about the Fair Oaks Pig Adventure Center? It is fantastic! It is one of the best ideas and I cannot wait until it is up and running. The Fair Oaks Project is a proposed working sow farm with enclosed walk ways, an education center with exhibits and other educational tools, and is a way for the general public to see first-hand how a sow operation works. How proactive is that!

 The new Pig Adventure Center will be located in Indiana about a mile away from the main Fair Oaks campus. Currently, Fair Oaks has a Dairy Education Center that allows the public to view the daily activities involved with dairy farming.

 The new pig site will allow the public to view a 2,400-head sow farm from a viewing stations and walk ways. This is such a great idea because the average American is at least three generations removed from the farm. Not only does it allow a first-hand encounter with pork production but it also helps the general public to understand modern farming techniques and practices.



I am very excited about this project and hope to be present on opening day.

Check out this months Pork Checkoff Report to learn more about the Fair Oaks Pig Adventure Center.

City Folk Friends

Recently, Aaron and I had one of our city folk friends over for some BBQ and other assorted victuals. After some quality chit chattin' we decided to take her and her daughter on a mini-tour of the farm.

Down the deserted black top, past the old white church...

Beyond the big barn...

We arrive at the hog house.

She had to take pictures and text them to her husband...."Look where I am, Honey..."

This is Denise and the short blond is her daughter Alli. Shortly after arriving we ventured into the barn to show them the ins and outs of piggin'. She was thrilled but her daughter was very disappointed that they were not little teacup piglets. Nope, these are 100 pound snouts.

"Hey, what's up?"

My dear friend Denise has a thing for pig snouts. She can't get enough of them. She had to rub every snout that came up to sniff her dainty little hand. With a giggle and a smile she rubbed snouts until we finally cut her off. Enough is enough. 

My big farmer man explained how we care for the pigs....oh, and my husband did some explaining too.

Needless to say, Alli prefers teacup piglets to 100 pound snouts and wanted no part of her mother's snout rubbing fetish.

The Pooboy taught his new friend a thing or two about pigs. "Yep, I help my dad with these pigs. I'm a farmer." 

The explanation grows intense.

After we toured both inside and out, after all the questions were answered, after all the snouts were rubbed away we drove. Home again, home again, jiggety jog.

I hope we haven't scared them off with our country ways. I'm sure Denise will be back but Alli's thoughts on the whole farming/country business thing is still in question. Pooboy plays hard and I'm hoping he didn't rough up Alli too much. He isn't use to little girls.

Have you ever been on a farm tour? I'd love to hear about it.

 

CAFO Ethics Exposed

There are a ton of websites, blogs, and articles "explaining" what a CAFO is and how they operate. Unfortunately, the vast majority of these "explanations" are not by farmers or even rural inhabitants, they are by activists, radicals, and the misinformed John Q. Public. Instead of witnessing the majority, many folks are exploiting the minority. Every bushell has a few bad apples but that doesn't mean you can't still make apple butter. Guess what, we are the apples that made it into the steamy batch of cinnamony goodness and we are far from alone...the pork industry is full of good apples, we just don't get that much publicity.

This video is an explanation of modern pork production from the view point of actual pork producers. It shows how we care about what we are doing and we are just as responsible as the hog farmers in the days of yore. Sure, you could say we are biased, you could argue that we are only sugar coating the truth, you could even spit on your computer and pretend you didn't witness responsible farming and CAFO farming coming together in harmony but in the end I hope you will all simply see that pork producers are family farmers too--we're just doing it a little different.

Learn more about modern pork production by visiting the PorkCheckoff's site and watching the Checkoff's YouTube channel. You can also learn more about our farm by watching the BaconCam channel.