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Technology has played a leading role in the progression of raising pigs on a modern farm.
Equipment and buildings are not all that have changed in agriculture; today's farmers are
educated and intuitive business people who work to continually improve their farming operations.
Hog inventories were 1.55 million head in December of 2005 compared to the highest inventory
on record of 4.133 million head in 1944 during WWII. Many rural families in the 1940's had a few
hogs, cattle, chickens, etc. and raised them using very labor intensive methods. As society
developed, incomes increased, and there was less incentive for masses of people to raise their
own food when they could buy it at the grocery store.
Postwar opportunities for children of farm families were often greater off of the farm. Off farm jobs
had the lure of weekends off, paid vacations, benefits and retirement. With other options in sight,
the hard work and variable income of a rural lifestyle became less attractive to much of society.
With fewer people interested in farming, technology was implemented to fill a void. People did
not lose jobs because of technology.
One example of technology is slatted floors in hog barns. Slats are cement slabs that have gaps to allow manure to fall and be stored under the living area of the animals. A pig's basic need is a clean, dry place to lie. Slats have taken the place of bedding, or straw. Straw soaks up moisture and manure, increasing pounds of waste and labor involved in cleaning the pens. Straw is like a diaper, when changed promptly after soiling, it works well, yet when a change is delayed the situation can get messy. Slats have greatly decreased the amount of labor needed while maintaining a cleaner, drier, and healthier overall atmosphere for the pigs.
Slats are also an example of farmers having a need and addressing the need with technology and innovation. Concrete isn't cheap and the slats require hog barns to be designed, built and managed differently. Farmers are smart, they didn't implement these changes without a just reason, they realized it was better for the pig and required less labor.
Advances like these allow each of today's farmers to feed 143 people. Improving efficiency makes it less costly to produce pork and other high quality proteins. Taking advantage of the efficiencies afforded by technology allows those with lower incomes to afford the luxuries of eating foods of high nutritional value (protein, iron, B vitamins).
Continue reading 'Raising Hogs' to see how other technologies have helped the industry and society.
Equipment and buildings are not all that have changed in agriculture; today's farmers are
educated and intuitive business people who work to continually improve their farming operations.
Hog inventories were 1.55 million head in December of 2005 compared to the highest inventory
on record of 4.133 million head in 1944 during WWII. Many rural families in the 1940's had a few
hogs, cattle, chickens, etc. and raised them using very labor intensive methods. As society
developed, incomes increased, and there was less incentive for masses of people to raise their
own food when they could buy it at the grocery store.
Postwar opportunities for children of farm families were often greater off of the farm. Off farm jobs
had the lure of weekends off, paid vacations, benefits and retirement. With other options in sight,
the hard work and variable income of a rural lifestyle became less attractive to much of society.
With fewer people interested in farming, technology was implemented to fill a void. People did
not lose jobs because of technology.
One example of technology is slatted floors in hog barns. Slats are cement slabs that have gaps to allow manure to fall and be stored under the living area of the animals. A pig's basic need is a clean, dry place to lie. Slats have taken the place of bedding, or straw. Straw soaks up moisture and manure, increasing pounds of waste and labor involved in cleaning the pens. Straw is like a diaper, when changed promptly after soiling, it works well, yet when a change is delayed the situation can get messy. Slats have greatly decreased the amount of labor needed while maintaining a cleaner, drier, and healthier overall atmosphere for the pigs.
Slats are also an example of farmers having a need and addressing the need with technology and innovation. Concrete isn't cheap and the slats require hog barns to be designed, built and managed differently. Farmers are smart, they didn't implement these changes without a just reason, they realized it was better for the pig and required less labor.
Advances like these allow each of today's farmers to feed 143 people. Improving efficiency makes it less costly to produce pork and other high quality proteins. Taking advantage of the efficiencies afforded by technology allows those with lower incomes to afford the luxuries of eating foods of high nutritional value (protein, iron, B vitamins).
Continue reading 'Raising Hogs' to see how other technologies have helped the industry and society.
Download the PDF here!
Information provided by: National Pork Board
