More in Facilities

For many, particularly those in the 45- to 60-year-old age range, the relentless push to move gestating sows out of stalls and into pens “just doesn’t feel right,” explains Tim Loula, DVM, with the Swine Vet Center (SVC), St. Peter, MN....More

Without a doubt, the process of filtering a sow farm is a costly and time-consuming process, according to Jeff Feder, DVM, Swine Vet Center, St. Peter, MN....More

The University of Missouri Extension Commercial Agriculture (CA) program is offering a new three-day seminar for swine producers and design engineers entitled, “Professional Engineering Short Course – Design and Construction of Livestock Manure Systems to Meet Missouri Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) Regulations.” The short course runs Nov. 14-16 at the University of Missouri Bradford Research and Extension Center near Columbia....More

Often, producers and nutritionists are left with requirements to make the feeding program fit the constraints in the existing system, whether they are space shortages, small feed bins, small feed lines, old feeders that are difficult to adjust or other variables. This article will discuss facility design considerations that will minimize the constraints on the feeding program and maximize flexibility for management and diet formulation....More

Pork production facilities built and operated in the 21st century need to provide optimum environmental conditions to maximize production efficiency and provide a safe and healthy environment for pigs and workers while conserving energy. To accomplish these goals requires a fully integrated ventilation system that is specifically designed and installed for the specific barn and animals housed....More

University of Illinois Extension and the Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering (ABE) will host a “Ventilation and Air Quality for Livestock Systems Field Day” on Nov. 7, 2012. The program runs from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Agricultural Engineering Farm, located south of the campus at 3606 S. Race St., Urbana, IL....More

Know of someone looking to host an open house for his or her new hog facility? The We Care Open House Kits are designed to provide producers with the promotional tools necessary to gain media and community attention on the opening or redesign of their barns....More

Last year there were several documented cases of manure pit fires and explosions in Iowa. Not all of these incidents happened during agitation and pumping, nor did all of the pits have foam present when the fires or explosions happened. Iowa State University Extension program specialist Angela Rieck-Hinz and Extension agricultural engineer Shawn Shouse say these episodes highlight the caution needed when agitating and pumping manure from pits beneath buildings....More

Market forces are rapidly driving big changes in housing systems for pregnant sows. Pork producers are wondering how to successfully transition from gestation stalls to penned gestation systems within the confines of existing buildings. This general question was posed by a 5,000-sow, commercial, farrow-to-wean pig producer in North Dakota. Specifically, the producer asked how to retrofit their gestation barn from stalls to pens without changing sow inventory, and what the consequences of such a change would be. While there are many issues that could be studied related to this transition, University of Minnesota researchers chose pen size as the primary issue to consider....More

The National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) argues against animal-rights groups that would deny due process to livestock and poultry farmers who want to have input into national fire standards that would affect their operations....More

Sow numbers in the European Union (EU) are down slightly from 13 million sows, 2010 vs. 2011. “A number of big countries have seen limited change, while in a number of eastern and central European countries the change is massive,” points out Peter Kristensen, DVM, former general manager of animal health for Boehringer Ingelheim in the Ukraine, Belorussia and Kazakhstan....More

The recent vote by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) to amend its standards for animal housing facilities would require fire sprinkling systems in newly constructed and some existing facilities. The NFPA’s uniform codes and standards are widely utilized by state and local governments to set building and fire codes, and by insurance companies as minimum standards to maintain coverage and by international organizations.  ...More