Take Precautions When Pumping Manure Pits
Reports of flash fires and explosions occurring recently in livestock barns while liquid pit manure was being agitated and pumped magnifies the need for farm safety when working on a hog operation...
Minnesota Pork Groups Look at PRRS Eradication
At a joint meeting recently, the board of directors of the Minnesota Pork Board and the Minnesota Pork Producers Association agreed to consider drafting a resolution for the eradication of the porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) virus from the state, according to David Preisler, executive director of the two groups...
Gestation Pens Fare Favorably to Stalls
When performance data is tabulated for sows housed in stalls vs. sows housed in pens at Dykhuis Farms, Inc. there is little difference in the overall...
Beware of Energy Thieves
Iowa State University agricultural engineer Jay Harmon says pork facilities often have less obvious energy leaks that they can correct without a large...
Energy Savers Earn Rebates
Energy-saving equipment can trim electricity bills up to nearly 50%. Lowering monthly electricity bills is probably motivation enough for most pork producers...
Energy Audits Find a Wide Range of Energy Usage
Energy use in Canadian barns surveyed differed by as much as four times. Energy audits conducted in 28 different swine facilities in Saskatchewan, Canada...
Fix These Costly Ventilation Mistakes
Ventilation system management is the key to trimming your energy bill. In the pork industry, there are few available for comparison of energy expenses...
Simulating Energy Use Variables
Simulation model helps sort through energy cost variables nursery vs. wean-to-finish housing. As energy costs escalate, many pork producers are asking...
Tweaking Grow-Finish Ventilation
At first glance, everything in the relatively new 2,000-head, grow-finish barn seemed to be in order. But as Mike Brumm, an independent consultant from...
Gas-Phase Biofilters Reduce Odor, Emissions
Alternative media are being tested for use in gas-phase biofilters in an effort to minimize pressure drop, lower operating costs and reduce the biofilter footprint....
