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Why do pigs smell?
Odor is a challenge for everyone that raises animals. Ohio farmers work hard to manage odor, one way they do this is by keeping their barns clean. Since dust carries odor, clean barns means reduced odors. Trees and other windbreaks are also used to disperse any odor before it reaches our noses. New technology, including barns, has greatly decreased the amount of odor coming from hog farms.
Is the water near a farm safe to drink?
The most important thing to realize is that farmers and their families live on or near their farms, and their animals drink the water too, so the last thing they want to do is contaminate the water. Crops need three main nutrients to grow, nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium, all of which are found in manure. Thus, it is an organic fertilizer that a good business person is too smart to waste in today's economy of expensive commercial fertilizer. Pork producers are not allowed by law to discharge manure. Waste control is regulated by a series of laws on a federal and state level. So, not only are they conscientious for the sake of our families and animals, but also as law abiding citizens.
Why do farmers keep sows in stalls?
Individual housing allows for individual care. Should an animal require treatment she can easily be monitored and cared for in a stall. Stalls also help to protect pregnancy, especially in the early stages of fetus development. Stalls protect sows from one another. Just like most wild animal species, a dominant leader is formed within a herd, and a hierarchy follows. The "boss sow" can often bully and injure less powerful females. An example would be hogging the feed from smaller or weaker animals.
Stalls are a product of many years of work to improve farming techniques. Farmers did not move pigs from pastures directly into stalls; they recognized an opportunity for improvement, thus today's production systems have developed. Barns equipped with stalls are not the cheapest option; this expense is justified with improved animal care and efficiency. Stalls require less physical labor than traditional systems that involve much more hand work.
Stalls are not the only option for housing sows, an experienced manager can care for animals in many situations. Who knows how to care for a pig better than a farmer that spends hours every week in the barn?
If stalls are so important, why aren't all pigs kept in stalls?
While younger pigs in group housing may have an occasional scuffle, they're not as powerful and likely to hurt each other as mature animals. Growing animals require less individual care than gestating and nursing mothers.
Odor is a challenge for everyone that raises animals. Ohio farmers work hard to manage odor, one way they do this is by keeping their barns clean. Since dust carries odor, clean barns means reduced odors. Trees and other windbreaks are also used to disperse any odor before it reaches our noses. New technology, including barns, has greatly decreased the amount of odor coming from hog farms.
Is the water near a farm safe to drink?
The most important thing to realize is that farmers and their families live on or near their farms, and their animals drink the water too, so the last thing they want to do is contaminate the water. Crops need three main nutrients to grow, nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium, all of which are found in manure. Thus, it is an organic fertilizer that a good business person is too smart to waste in today's economy of expensive commercial fertilizer. Pork producers are not allowed by law to discharge manure. Waste control is regulated by a series of laws on a federal and state level. So, not only are they conscientious for the sake of our families and animals, but also as law abiding citizens.
Why do farmers keep sows in stalls?
Individual housing allows for individual care. Should an animal require treatment she can easily be monitored and cared for in a stall. Stalls also help to protect pregnancy, especially in the early stages of fetus development. Stalls protect sows from one another. Just like most wild animal species, a dominant leader is formed within a herd, and a hierarchy follows. The "boss sow" can often bully and injure less powerful females. An example would be hogging the feed from smaller or weaker animals.
Stalls are a product of many years of work to improve farming techniques. Farmers did not move pigs from pastures directly into stalls; they recognized an opportunity for improvement, thus today's production systems have developed. Barns equipped with stalls are not the cheapest option; this expense is justified with improved animal care and efficiency. Stalls require less physical labor than traditional systems that involve much more hand work.
Stalls are not the only option for housing sows, an experienced manager can care for animals in many situations. Who knows how to care for a pig better than a farmer that spends hours every week in the barn?
If stalls are so important, why aren't all pigs kept in stalls?
While younger pigs in group housing may have an occasional scuffle, they're not as powerful and likely to hurt each other as mature animals. Growing animals require less individual care than gestating and nursing mothers.
