Hog Confinement
ABOVE: Cleanliness is of the utmost importance with hog confinements. We have to wash in and out before and after entering the barn to prevent potential infection of the pigs.
The Hog Confinement Barn
Our hog confinement barn is located two miles to the southwest of our farm. We built this barn in the late 90’s and have worked with seven different companies, Ponderosa Ridge, Furnas County Farms, Nebraska Pork Partners, Newsham, Maschhoff, Choice Genetics, and currently Pillen Family Farms based out of Columbus Nebraska. This company is great to work with and it also works out well for us as we do not have to own the pigs or purchase the feed. We just provide the building, upkeep, and utilities. Platte Center West (a subsidiary of Pillen Farms) provides the labor with Renee Brown from McCook as our site manager. Feel free to contact us if you are interested in working some weekends and we can get you in touch with her.
Our barn is split with two sides that are 150 feet in length and each have 30 pens. In the center we have all of our controls and an area to gather the pigs for shipping. Located next to our load out we have a shower/restroom/office where you have to go through the shower in to get into the facility. There are clean coveralls and boots to put on before entering the building as cleanliness is critical to preventing the spread of disease.
The feed system is automatically controlled by sensing when the feed is low and then filling all the feeders along the way. These feeders weigh the pig, weigh the feed it eats, and records the time of day and length of time in the feeder. This data is then sent over the internet to Columbus where it is analyzed. All the pigs in the barn are on this feed test to compare feed efficiency, rate of gain, and how each genetic line will compare for optimum profitability.
Ventilation and Waste Management
Curtains along the north and south sides of the building are controlled with a computer according to what temperature we want the room to be. This varies as it needs to be warmer when the pigs are smaller. Pigs do create a lot of body heat. Although we do have propane heaters to supplement heat when the pigs are small or it gets very cold. Each side has four pits that have a pull plug on each end of each pit. As the pits get full a plug is pulled on the opposite end as the time before.
The slurry then drains out to a lagoon that we then can pump out on the fields. That is when there is enough to do so. When we do pump out our lagoon, we hire a company that can inject the fluent into the soil using a drag line that connects to the injection implement. This is a very good fertilizer source.
Luke 15:15
The Parable of the Prodigal Son
15 So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs.
