Iowa farmers who raise pigs in hooped structures gave the Leopold Center a reality check in June: keep up the good work and don't stop answering our questions.
Members of the Center-supported hoop research and demonstration project that began in 1998 met with producers and other agribusiness people to share research results and gather opinions. The meeting will help researchers develop the next phase of work and draft important questions that they-as well as producers-want to answer.
"We like hoops. They help us with our waste management and we can be better neighbors," says northwest Iowa producer Mike Frankl. He operates 16 hoops as well as several confinement facilities. More than half of his hogs are raised in hoops.
Hoop project enters third year
The hoop project at the Iowa State University Rhodes Demonstration Farm is one of the Leopold Center's five long-term interdisciplinary research efforts. The hoop group, headed by ISU professors Mark Honeyman and Jim Kliebenstein, has collected two years of data by from side-by-side conventional and hooped structure production systems.
Producers related their on-farm experiences, many of which confirmed findings from the Leopold Center research. Per pig production costs for the two systems appear to be about the same. Feed and bedding costs were higher for pigs raised in hoops, while facility costs were higher for pigs raised in confinement. Hoop pigs gain quicker in the summer and slower in the winter, compared to pigs in confinement. Hoop pigs also seem to be healthier and suffer fewer stress-related problems compared to pigs in confinement.
The producers, however, were quick to add their personal perspectives.
"I admire the work you've done but the top issue is the owner's attitude," said Vic Madsen of Audubon who sells some of his pigs directly to consumers in southwest Iowa. "The work is just more enjoyable. It comes down to the farmer being able to sleep at night, getting along with his family, and having kids who want to come back to this type of occupation when they get older."
Teach more alternatives
"I'd like to see more exposure in vocational classes at the high school level," added Wayne Fredericks of Osage. He's been keeping track of labor spent caring for pigs in his two hoops as part of a Leopold Center project. He said that students, usually taught that "bigger is better," need to learn about alternatives that are not "high-tech solutions."
Other producers had more specific questions, such as the most efficient building size and shape for temperature control, and ways to compost and use manure from the hoops. All producers wanted help expanding markets for hoop-raised pigs, comparative information about nutritional value and taste, and how hoops fit into an overall farming operation.
Producer participants
Producers who participated in the discussion were Jude Becker, Dyersville; Mike Frankl, LuVerne; Tom Frantzen, New Hampton; Wayne Fredericks, Osage; Jim Hoefling, Marcus; Larry Jedlicka, Solon; Jim Krier, Ollie; Archie Kunz, Brooklyn; Don Lewis, Washington; Vic Madsen, Audubon; Paul Mugge, Sutherland; Dave Struthers, Collins; Fred Tilstra, Steen; and Dan Wilson, Paullina. Also present were Dave Stender and Terry Steinhart, Iowa State University Extension swine specialists; Rick Exner, Practical Farmers of Iowa; Marty Schwager, Iowa Pork Producers Association; and veterinarian Kurt Van Hulzen, Sac City.