Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Farmer's Market Secrets

Farmer’s Market Secrets

Farmer’s Markets are great, but they aren’t all created equal.  Tonight, I had an opportunity to listen to Michele Aavang of Willow Lea Stock Farm talk for about an hour about all things beef. Michele and her husband care for 60 (mother) cows and raise their calves to finish weight. They sell their beef direct to the consumer through the Woodstock (Illinois) Market.

I presume that many of us go to the farmer’s market to support a farmer directly by cutting out the middle-man of our retail food chain, or to simply get the freshest produce possible.  In Michele’s talk, the biggest surprise to me was that not all the vendors at the farmer’s market are necessarily actually farmers. If a market is a “producers market,” like the Woodstock Market, the market committee verifies that each vendor is, in fact, the producer of the products they are selling. If the market is not a producers market, vendors may be distributors. For example, if you see a vendor selling bananas at an Illinois farmer’s market, you can be sure that is a distributor; and you could just as easily have purchased that product at the super-market. Bananas are a pretty easy one to figure out, but it could also be out-of-season vegetables or fruit  and even meat.

So, how do you know? Ask questions and talk to the farmer. Ask where is their farm located? If the vendor is a distributor, obviously they won’t have a farm. Also, each farmer’s market committee will have a different definition of “local.” If buying local is important to you, distance may matter and you can find out directly.  If you’re buying meat, ask where is their feed from? A good answer, according to Michele, would be grass/hay and grain (corn, possibly soybeans) along with added vitamins and nutrients. A not-so-good answer would be (Michelle has actually heard this one) left-overs from a local bakery. That’s just not a nutrient rich diet, obviously. Ask what is the age of their animals? The older the animal, the tougher the meat becomes and flavor changes.

If you are wondering about the “grass-fed” label, this is how Michele explained it to us. First of all, if the label says “100% grass-fed,” then that is all the animal ate. In northern climates, 100% grass-fed isn't attainable, because our grasses go dormant in winter months. Animals in the north can be labeled “grass-fed” and this means they were likely in a pasture April – October; and then from Oct – April, they were fed hay. Michele cited Nebraska and northern Texas, along with New Zealand and Australia, as having prairie grasses that are high in protein and the animals have access all winter long. Grass-fed beef is higher in CLA’s (conjugated linoleic acid) and Omega-3’s, but it is not well-marbled, takes longer to raise the animal to market weight (3-1/2 to 4 years), and the taste is different (usually perceived as a negative) than super-market meat.

If beef is not labeled "grass-fed," they should be eating grass, hay, corn, sileage, and soybeans mixed with added vitamins and nutrients. Each farmer works with a nutritionist to determine what the dietary needs are.

Michele also did some myth-busting for us. She talked about corn, GMO corn, growth hormones, and antibiotics. She also explained why the price of beef is so high.

She has never heard of anyone feeding only corn to their cattle; she said there has to be a mix of a long fiber (like grass or hay) in the mix to maintain the health of the animals. She told us corn does not make cattle sick, despite what we may have seen or read on the internet. Grains help make meat taste better and it increases the (USDA) grading.

She told us she raises non-GMO corn to feed to her cattle because that is what her customers request. She also raises GM corn to sell on the commodities market. She does not believe GM corn is unhealthy for us or the animals. If you want non-GMO meat, look for the USDA certified organic label.

She does not use growth hormones on her cattle, but said of those hormones, they are absorbed into the animal’s body and any trace remaining would be so minuscule it should not be a concern to us.

Of antibiotics, she said that beef farmers are not over-using antibiotics. They will use them on sick animals, but the farmers follow standard withdrawal periods for antibiotics before sending them for processing. In feedlot operations, a new load of arriving cattle may be given a low-dose to prevent illness. Again, if you want hormone-free or antibiotic free meat, look for the USDA certified organic label.

She said one of the reasons the price of beef is high is because of the drought in 2012. Many southwestern farms had to sell off their herds because there wasn't enough feed available. Cows don’t give birth until two years of age, and then a calf isn't ready for market until somewhere around 14-16 months of age. So, to build up the livestock again simply takes time.

Thursday, April 10, 2014

Hog Farm, Chapter 10: Mmm...BACON



Mmm...BACON. My husband quotes this every time we cook bacon (in his best Homer impersonation, of course). We do love bacon, especially wrapping dates or scallops. This is the story of bacon through the lens of a Field Mom. At the Gould farm, it all starts with an adorable pink porky piglet (and those ears!), weighing in at a mere 3 pounds. 

Newborn piglets

These are the basics of the meat we eat. The market pigs don’t ever live in a stall; it’s always open-pen living for them because there are no fighting issues. They are never given growth hormones. They are vaccinated when they’re just a couple of days old to prevent illness. Then, they are only given medicine when there is sickness, which is hopefully never. They drink fresh water and have access to an unlimited and highly efficient diet of ground corn (to supply heat and energy), soybean meal (to provide protein), vitamins and nutrients. Feed rations are tailored to optimize health and growth at each stage of their life.

Farrowing Crate

In the farrowing crate, usually ten to eleven piglets are born in a litter. They have teeth and curly long tails; the tails are clipped to prevent tail biting. The temperature in the farrowing room is about 70 degrees Fahrenheit to accommodate the needs of the mother (sow), but there is a heat lamp and heat pad in each crate for the litter to warm themselves. The piglets actually need about 90 degrees Fahrenheit. The bars you see in the photo on either side of the sow are to prevent her from crushing the piglets. They start life at about 3 pounds and grow very quickly on their mother’s milk for 2-3 weeks until they are weaned. At that point, they weigh somewhere around 15 pounds.

Nursery Pen at Hagenbuch Farms
(photo by Kate Hagenbuch)

Upon weaning, they are moved to a “nursery” farm (or pen, if kept at the same farm) where the floors are usually plastic for comfort for the smaller weaning pigs. The temperature is kept warm, around 85 degrees Fahrenheit and they each get about 3 square feet of space. They had feed to taste in the farrowing crate and, upon arrival at the nursery, they have unlimited access to feed and water.

Finishing Pen, 50 lbs at Janssen Farm
(photo by Pam Janssen)

Sometime between 6-10 weeks, or 50 pounds, they are moved to a “finishing” farm (or pen) where the temperature is lowered to about 70 degrees Fahrenheit and they each get about 8 square feet of space. They continue to receive as much feed as they wish to consume and will grow to 250-280 pounds by the time they are about 6 months old. When they reach that weight, they are ready for market! I was surprised to learn the meat we eat comes from such a young animal.

Finishing Pen, 260 lbs at Janssen Farm
(photo by Pam Janssen)

At that time, they are loaded on a truck and taken to the processor. At the processor, the animals are harvested, packaged, and immediately shipped fresh to retailers.

One of the things I wondered, going into this tour, was whether there is any chance that our meat at the super-market is raised locally. The answer is, probably not. There are three states that make up about 50% of the U.S. pork production, Iowa, North Carolina, and Minnesota (Illinois is no. 4). So, if you live near one of those states, there is a chance you will be eating pork from a “neighboring” farmer. Otherwise, there is a good chance it has been shipped from further away. That’s not all bad if you believe in the economies of scale.

Every animal has a tattoo or tag. We learned that once the animals are harvested, tracking stops. So, looking at that package of bacon in the meat case, the store can determine what processing plant it came from, but as of today, there is no way to know what farm that specific meat came from.

Before our farm tour, I had heard about  “corporate” farming. I didn’t really have a good definition of what that meant, but was wondering if the pork I was buying was farmed by one of those very large top five pork processors. The answer to that is, probably not. The percentage of farms owned and operated by the hog processors/retailers is very small. Most pork is raised by independent family farmers, like the families we met - the Goulds, Hagenbuchs, and Janssens.

We learned some interesting things about super-market pork and Hormel. First of all, Hormel has something they call the “red box.” This “red box” is used by Hormel, at the time they purchase the pigs from the hog farmers, to achieve better consistency in the size, flavor, and leanness of the meat. This demand for consistency is driven by what the consumer has come to expect. A very specific weight range is one of the qualifications of the "red box;" and if the farmer is “in the box” he is rewarded with a price incentive. If he’s “out of the box,” the price is docked. In this day-and-age, I expected the farmers would weigh each pig to make sure it’s on target before sending it off, but that technology isn't available to all farms, yet. Many farmers actually choose the pigs for market by sight – and that is a very valuable skill. When the pigs get to the processor, the farmers find out how they did.

Most farms write a standards of practice (SOP) plan and comply with PQA Plus (Pork Quality Assurance Plus), which is an educational program for the continuous improvement of production practices. It addresses food safety, animal well-being, environmental stewardship, and public health issues. A few of the 10 Good Production Practices (GPPs) that are part of the program include, establish and implement an efficient and effective health management plan, use antibiotics responsibly, and practice good environmental stewardship. Assessments are done every three years by the farm veterinarian; and Hormel can do unannounced audits as part of their contract with the Gould Farm. Every employee must go through PQA training, even the weekend high school student.


Bacon-Wrapped Pork Medallions
from Pork Be Inspired

And last, but certainly not least, our tour ended with a delicious seasoned butterfly pork chop sandwich grilled by a local butcher who came to talk to us about different cuts of pork and demonstrate how to cut a pork loin into several different cuts. His part of the program was fun and we learned a few new things about cooking pork. His mantra to us was "Grill It, Don't Kill It!" That was to remind us we can turn down the heat and not cook dry pork chops like we all remember from our childhood. We no longer have to be worried about trichinosis in the meat we buy from the super-market. Look for 145 degrees Fahrenheit, he said. Or, grill it to 135, wrap it tightly in foil, then let it sit for 20 minutes and it will come up to 145 and be juicy and tender. Check out Pork Be Inspired for some great pork recipe ideas!

Thanks to being a Field Mom, I had an eye-opening tour of the Gould Hog Farm in Maple Park, Illinois, and learned a lot from the Farm Moms who joined us. Now I know where our super-market pork comes from and the background of our bacon! It’s actually pretty awesome knowing. 

----------------------------
More...
The Gould Farm is a “farrow to wean” operation, which means they specialize in the birth (farrowing) of the market pigs. The Goulds are investors in a local network of farms that retain ownership of the pigs until they reach market weight (about 280 pounds). When the piglets are weaned, they are transported to another farm that specializes in the “nursery” stage of the pig’s growth. There is a third farm that specializes in the “finishing” stage, which is the longest and final growth stage of the market pig’s life.

We had two Farm Moms on our tour with us; they were Kate Hagenbuch, of Hagenbuch Family Farm, and Pam Janssen of Janssen Family Farm. Both raise hogs and have crop land to support the hog farm, similar to the Goulds. Not all hog farmers specialize, like the Goulds do, and the operations vary as much as the people who own them. Kate’s operation is a “wean to finish” farm and Pam’s is “farrow to finish” farm. Thank you to both for sharing photos from your operations with me.

Tuesday, April 8, 2014

Hog Farm, Chapter 9: Moms, Farmers Employ Extreme Protocol Against Germs

Moms know a lot about germs or, at least, how they get shared. In mid-winter, we take our kids to the library, grocery store, or museum and usually a few days later said kids have runny noses – or worse. The battle rages on and we keep fighting, armed with our sanitation gear. “Wash your hands,” we dictate, before school, after school, after playing, before eating, after going to the bathroom – wash, wash, wash – “with soap and warm water, please!” Along with the tissues and wet wipes, we carry around two or three mini-bottles of hand-sanitizer in our bags. We use disinfectant wipes on all those nasty surfaces – you know the ones. Our mantra becomes “Cover your mouth when you cough,” “Sneeze into your elbow,” “We don’t share toothbrushes, drinks, or silverware!” We take our shoes off at the door. We keep sick kids home. And, oh, putting everything in their mouth before they turn two – yuck! We can’t see all the germs, but we sure do know they are there. Do some of us go to extremes? We can’t seem to do enough to stave them off, no matter how much "ammunition" we employ.



Farmers do even more than moms to prevent the spread of disease. I was surprised to learn that hog farmers (and other livestock producers, as well) go to extreme measures (by our "mom" standards) in their battle against pathogens. They refer to the germs by more scientific and specific terms like pathogens, micro-organisms, bacteria, or viruses. Their program is far more formal than ours, of course, and theirs has a name. It is called “biosecurity.”

Defined, “biosecurity” is a strict isolation and sanitation program practiced throughout farms to prevent the spread of disease between herds. The livestock farmers we have been talking to take this very, very seriously. In fact, when asked what the ideal hog (livestock) farm would look like, Eldon Gould said, as isolated and remote as possible. All in the name of disease prevention.

Newborn healthy piglets

I had no idea that pigs, especially young pigs (and all market pigs are young) were so susceptible to diseases, just like our own children. As an example, this past year, and especially this winter, there has been a virus called PEDV (porcine epidemic diarrhea virus) that has proven very difficult to control and has spread rapidly across borders, killing several million piglets. It’s not a new virus, but it is the first time it has been seen in the U.S. You may have seen in the news, there is a possibility that we may see the economic effect of this virus at the supermarket this summer in the form of higher prices for pork. It is just one of many diseases that a young pig can easily contract.

Some farmers in harder hit (by PEDV) locations, like Iowa, have stepped up their strict biosecurity protocols, even going so far as to ask farm-hands to not go into town to avoid contact with other farms (think shoes and tires); and they will avoid parking in parking lots that could fit a large farm truck trailer. It affects everyone’s daily life, on and off the farm.

The two Farm Moms who joined our group for the tour have hog farms of their own. As part of standard biosecurity protocol, they could not set foot in their barns for 72 hours prior to the trip to the Gould Farm. They actually extended it an additional day out of respect for the Goulds. They, in turn, had to wait 72 hours to set foot back in their own barns. They also brought a change of clothes with them to change into after being in the barn, in addition to wearing the protective gear we wore.

Walking to the hog barns in our coveralls 
(photo by IFF)

Here’s a standard biosecurity protocol that surprised a lot of us Field Moms. At the Gould Farm and Hagenbuch Family Farm (one of our Farm Moms), everyone who goes into the barn must shower in and shower out. You read that right. Hagenbuch’s have two barns and our Farm Mom is in and out of them twice a day – add that up, eight showers in the barn, every day. Yes, it is true! We couldn’t believe it. For our Gould farm tour, we were given a free pass on the showers, but we did have to wear Tyvek® coveralls, hair nets, and giant plastic bag boots over our boots. They went in the dumpster after we came out of the barn. Visitors to the farm are not the norm and biosecurity is the reason why.

Gould Farm aerial view, note physical separation 
(Gould photo)

Physically, the barns are separated from other parts of the operation like the farm house, field operations, and other barns. Part of a stepped up protocol may also include a series of steps to physically isolate delivery trucks (feed, supplies, fuel, etc.) from the hog housing. The Farm Moms explained a scenario I would not have considered. A truck that has been to an infected farm can pick up the disease on its tires. Then, the snow plow can spread the disease on the roads, taking the pathogens toward the next farms. A dog, or wild animal, walking on the road and back to the farm can bring along those pathogens.

The hog buildings are secure to keep out undesirable animals, both wild and domestic. Cats, dogs, birds, bats, and rodents of all kinds can carry the pathogens on their bodies.

Raccoons and deer used to spread trichinosis when the animals were housed outside. Trichinosis is extremely rare, now, and all but non-existent in supermarket meat. Moving the pigs inside has helped manage those types of risks.

The isolation barn is part of the biosecurity program to protect the herd health. The new-to-the-farm gilts live in the isolation barn, separate from the rest of the herd. Their health is closely monitored for at least two weeks. When deemed healthy, they are moved into the main barn with the rest of the herd. Some farms may also have a hospital barn to treat sick animals and isolate them.

Power washing and sanitizing the pens after piglets leave at 
the Janssen Farm (photo by Pam Janssen, Farm Mom)

Washing and sanitizing crates after pigs are moved out is standard procedure.
Keeping the animal living quarters clean and sanitary is part of the standard protocol.

Biosecurity focuses on herd health. It’s good for the pigs, good for the farmer, and ultimately, good for us (the consumer) as well. The farmers would much rather keep the pigs healthy than treat sickness.

Monday, April 7, 2014

Hog Farm, Chapter 8: Black Gold on the Farm!

Last August, we embarked on a new adventure. I decided to bring two new furry members into our family – house-rabbits. I did all my research ahead and learned what we needed to do to give them the care they needed; and then, I visited the family with the bunny and agreed to adopt him. He needed a companion, so I trekked around Chicago-land searching shelters for one that would get along with my new adoptee – not as easy as you might think. That’s another story.

As I was doing my research on house-rabbits, I learned that rabbit pellets are actually really great for your garden and can be put directly into your compost pile. “Black gold” is what they called it. Eureka! I was in need of another “pro” to convince my husband that two rabbits were better than one. This was it (although, I don’t think he bought it).

So, every time I emptied the hay and pellet-filled litter box onto my compost pile I felt really great. In go the kitchen scraps, on goes some hay and black gold pellets. Layer upon layer upon layer. There is just one problem. It’s been just eight months and my compost pile is over-full and spilling over. Oops. My garden isn’t big enough to absorb the amount of compost I’m creating! I need to take a page from the Gould farm playbook.

At the Gould farm tour, I was surprised to learn that the amount of acreage they grow (3,000 acres in corn, soybeans, and winter wheat) is directly related to how much manure their pigs are producing! They have enough land to spread all of their manure. And we were told that the crop of winter wheat doesn’t make money, the reason they have it is so that they have a place to put manure in the summer (when they can’t spread it on the corn and soybeans).

Their pigs produce 1.4 million gallons of manure each year. The 4-ft deep manure pits, located under the barns, collect the manure for about four months and then are pumped out and used on their crops three times per year.

Manure Injection

They use a piece of equipment that injects the manure 6 to 8 inches into the soil. The injection method reduces run-off and, in theory, odor for the neighbors. The manure is great fertilizer and reduces their fertilizer costs.

The Illinois Department of Agriculture issued the Gould farm a certificate called the “Certified Livestock Manager.” According to them, this basically certifies that the Gould farm knows how to manage the manure.


This makes sense to me! One of the more important things about having animals is managing the black gold! Now, to convince my husband to help me build a bigger compost bin...

Sunday, April 6, 2014

Hog Farm, Chapter 7: This Mom Has Learned a lot about Gestation Stalls in One Week

I didn’t know what a gestation stall was until about a month before our Hog Farm Tour. Among hog farmers, their veterinarians, and others in the hog industry, they are an acceptable method of sow containment. Among others, not in the hog industry, they have become a controversial topic of great debate.

Animal-rights activists are applying pressure on restaurants, pork retailers, and state legislatures to remove them from use industry-wide. “We the people” are voting on the matter. There is a lot written on the internet by both sides. In this post, I will share what I learned at the hog farm about them and relate it to what I’ve read online in the past week.

But first, this is what I’ve learned about the controversy. Under pressure by animal-rights activists, legislators in nine states have banned gestation stalls (Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Maine, Michigan, Ohio, Oregon, and Rhode Island). Hog production is very low in those states (all nine states make up about 6% of US pork production). By the way, the top five pork producing states are Iowa, Minnesota, North Carolina, Illinois, and Indiana. The stalls are also partially banned (they are allowed to use them for part of the gestation period) in the European Union. Also under pressure from the same activist groups, several restaurant chains have made public statements about phasing out gestation stalls in their supply chain. Under pressure from the animal-rights activists, a couple of the pork retailers have committed to changing to open-pens at their company-owned farms. Company-owned hog farms make up a relatively small percentage of overall production. I saw one figure that said it is in the 20% range.

So, who are the U.S. pork processors? The top five pork retailers in the U.S. are Smithfield Foods, Tyson Foods, JBS Swift, Hormel Foods Corporation, and Cargill Meat Solutions (Excel Corp.). As of this writing, I’ve learned that Hormel and Smithfield have announced they will phase out gestation stalls at their company-owned farms.

There are several methods of housing pigs, but the two most common that we learned about on our hog farm tour were the gestation stall and the open-pen. There are advantages and disadvantages to both methods of containment.

Open-pen is what the name implies. A group of pigs are contained in one open pen (a minimum square footage is allotted per pig). Disadvantages of the open-pen include the following:
  • I’ve learned that pregnant (gestating) sows (400-500 pounds), when placed in a new group, can be aggressive toward one another and try to establish hierarchy in the group. The bigger, older, or more dominant sow usually bullies the younger, smaller, or reserved sow. Pigs have sharp teeth and bite each other. They can cause minor scratches or more major wounds that require medical treatment to prevent infection.
  • Feed control is also an issue. The dominant sows will tend to get more feed.
  • The farm-hand needs to be well-trained and skilled at working in an open sow pen. It can be a more dangerous work environment. It also takes more skill to individually monitor each sow in a group.
An advantage of the open-pen is the following:
  • Freedom of movement. The sow can move about freely and stretch out on her side to lie down.
  • The sows can socialize.
Following is how I can best describe the physical characteristics of the gestation stalls at the Gould farm. They are metal. I’ve read they are 2’ x 7’ and I’d say that is about what we saw at the Gould farm. There may be some slight variations in size. The pigs I saw at the Gould farm had room to shift their weight, sit, and lay down. They were not tight against the front or back of the stall. There is a trough at the front of the stall where a rationed amount of food is dropped from a feed tube twice a day. There is a water spout at the feed trough for 24/7 access to fresh water.



The sow lives in the stall for the duration of her pregnancy (gestation), which is about 3 months, 3 weeks, and 3 days. Then, she is moved to a farrowing crate where she delivers her litter and remains with them for about 3 weeks. After those 3 weeks she moves back to the stall to breed again. Her life-span, on average, is 2 to 2-1/2 years; and she will deliver 2.3 litters each year.



Disadvantages of the gestation stall are the following:
  • Some breeds of sow can grow too large for the stall during pregnancy and develop lesions on their sides.
  • The most common concern by animal-rights activists is that the sow cannot turn around or walk around in the stall. (Activists accept the open-pen.)
Advantages of the gestation stall are the following:
  • It solves the fighting issues of the open-pen to reduce injuries and treatments.
  • Sow feed rations are consistent.
  • Individual sow care is easier to provide.
The first thing I wondered was, aren’t there studies that prove one system is better for the health of the sow? After digging around on the internet, it seems to me that more study needs to occur to determine how pen configuration affects optimum health and productivity. Most of the studies I read about claim that one is not better than the other in terms of maintaining sow health or productivity.

Then, I wondered if anyone has come up with solutions to the problems by designing a better system. In my online search, I saw a system that has both privacy stalls and open-pen space, and the sow can choose. I also saw an option for a modified stall that may allow for stall expansion for the larger sows.

Different farms use different methods. So, who is right? According to our Farm Moms, both are right and it depends on the farm. According to the Farm Moms, what works at one farm may not work at another farm. We could see, first-hand, that the pen is central to how the farm is operated and managed. It appears to me that it can be considered one of the major risk management tools of an operation (and one of the biggest investments).

The Goulds cited three benefits of the stalls that help them manage the health of their animals. They are the following: consistent sow feed rations for each sow, less injuries, and the ease of daily monitoring and care for each individual sow.


After hearing from several hog farmers on our tour last weekend and seeing the Gould Hog farm, I am convinced that the gestation stalls are a safe and healthy way to house the Gould’s pigs. It works for them. They have healthy and productive animals. 

For more facts, www.pork.org

Saturday, April 5, 2014

Hog Farm, Chapter 6: It’s a Good Idea to Bring Home a Baby Pig!



My two boys, ages 5-1/2 and almost 3, knew that I was going to visit a baby pig farm and were very excited. My older son wanted me to wear pink so that I would fit in with the pigs. They both wanted to go with me. I told them it was just for moms and they eventually relented; but, not without one final request. “Will you pleeeeease bring home a baby pig for us? Please?”

All day, the day before the tour, I heard reasons why it’s a good idea to bring home a baby pig. All day, my counter was, “A baby pig! Where would a baby pig sleep at our house?” “What are you going to feed a baby pig?” “Don’t you think it will miss its mama?” As I was putting them to bed, after hours of this, in my best effort to get them to sleep so that I could get to bed early for an early alarm clock of my own, I said, “We’ll see.” I was no longer looking for a dialog, it certainly wasn’t “yes,” but it wasn’t “no.”

So, when I came home from my hog farm tour, my 5 yr-old rushed me at the door, looking hopefully for there to be a cute little pink pig in my arms. “Where’s the baby pig,” he wanted to know in all seriousness. Fortunately, for me, the Illinois Pork Producers Association gave us a goodie bag full of pork literature and fun things for our kids like coloring books, a couple of DVDs, and – best of all – cute colorful erasers in the shape of a pig. That was my way out. Trying to not disappoint while also eliciting some enthusiasm, I said, “I didn’t bring home a real pig, but I did bring home a special surprise for you and your brother.” He took the bait. His eyes lit up and he asked, “What is it?” I showed him his pig and he loved it; except, he still wanted to know why we couldn’t get a pig.

I showed him my pictures of newborn piglets, 2-week old piglets, and a picture of me holding one. He thought they were cute. Then, I showed him pictures of the mama pig – all 400 pounds of her – and explained that in just 6 months the baby pig I was holding in the picture would take up half of his bedroom. I could see the gears turning in his mind.

That wasn’t quite the end. “And where would we put the poop,” I asked. “The poop really stinks,” I added. That is where our conversation about getting a baby pig ended, at least for a while.


Thanks, Illinois Pork Producers, for the erasers, they’re great; and the boys are playing pig farm.

Friday, April 4, 2014

Hog Farm, Chapter 5: The Healthier the Sow, the More Productive She Will Be!

The Gould Hog Farm raises 16,000 market piglets (the pork we buy at the supermarket) annually, or about 300 piglets per week. Their farm operation is called “farrow to wean” and that means they specialize in the breeding, gestation (pregnancy), and farrowing (birthing) of the sows.

Even though the piglets are sold, the most important animals on the Gould farm are the 650-700 sows that produce these piglets each day. The Goulds take the health of all the animals very seriously. This was conveyed to us when they described how they operate and it is also evident in the physical aspects of the barns.

All of the sows at the Gould farm have the exact same genetics. The Gould family has chosen this breed and genetic line for particular traits, such as body length, a stronger skeletal frame, and leanness. The sows are specifically breeding animals.

A sow is purchased by the Goulds as a “gilt,” the term for a young female pig who has not yet been bred, and is transported to the Gould farm where she lives for two weeks in the isolation barn while her health is monitored. They will ensure that she is not ill before they introduce her to the sow barn where she will be among all the other sows.

At the time she moves into the sow barn, she will begin breeding. The Goulds own several boars and they also use semen from a neighboring hog farmer. The boar has different genetic traits and genealogy than the sow. Traits they look for in him are leanness and good musculature.

When bred together, the genetics of this sow line and this boar line combine to make the characteristic market pigs that the Goulds desire. Perhaps more importantly, they produce the characteristics that their contracted processor, Hormel, demands. Hormel’s demands are for consistency of product size, taste, and leanness; because that is what we (the consumer) have come to expect at the supermarket.

View to our left as we entered the sow 
barn, feed tubes

The Gould farm is considered a “confined animal feeding operation,” which means the sows are housed indoors in individual pens. There is another housing option called an open pen that some farmers also use. One housing type is not considered better than the other and each has advantages and disadvantages. (more on that in my next post)

To start the breeding process at the Gould farm, a boar is walked in front of the sow to determine if she is in heat (estrous). The farmer will recognize signs that she is ready; she will stand still when pressure is placed on her back and she will hold her ears erect. When she shows the signs, there is a two-day window to successfully breed her.

Chris Gould demonstrated the “art” of artificial insemination to us Field Moms. We learned it is an art because some people are more successful than others. A long clear plastic tube, about 18” long and maybe 1/8” in diameter, is attached to a bag of semen. The boar was brought in front of her, she reacted as expected, and Chris gently inserted the rod. He caressed the sides of her belly and her back a little to relax her and in a matter of about a minute she relaxed and the semen drained from the bag. He gently removed the tube and it was done.

In about four weeks, they will perform an ultrasound on her to check for pregnancy (gestation). Gestation is 113 days or, easier to remember, 3 months, 3 weeks, and 3 days. In that time, the sow’s health is closely monitored. At the front of each sow stall, there is a card with all of her stats. Chris casually calls it her “baseball card.” On that card is noted every aspect of her health, such as any medications she may have received; and dates of important events, such as the artificial insemination. It also notes who performed the artificial insemination, so if a number of sows are not getting pregnant, they can look to see if the same person has been doing the job and if that is the problem, they can re-train him or her.

Feed trough and water nipple (lower right)

Each stall has a water nipple with unlimited water 24/7 and a “feed tube” that comes down vertically from a horizontal run of tubing at the ceiling. We didn’t get to see how it drops the feed, which would have been interesting to me, but somehow (I think by gravity) it drops her portion of feed into the trough at the floor in front of her. She receives limited feed (as opposed to unlimited) that is specially formulated with added vitamins and nutrients for a gestating sow for maximum health benefits. Her feed rations at the Gould farm consist of corn, soybean meal, dicalcium phosphorous, calcium, salt, sow vitamins and trace mineral pac, and amino acids. The corn and soybeans are grown by the Goulds on their farm and processed at the feed mill.

There is always a farm-hand (the full time employee responsible for the animals) in the barns and the sows are looked at, individually, at least twice a day. The farm veterinarian, Dr. Noel as they call him, visits the farm a minimum of every three weeks and sometimes more frequently.

Sow in farrowing crate prior to farrowing

A few days before her due date, the sow will be moved to the farrowing barn into a farrowing crate. When she moves into the farrowing crate, she will be very closely monitored and they will look for signs of the impending birth.

The farm-hand is present and will watch the birth (farrowing) to make sure all of the piglets are healthy and viable. Sometimes they are not. The Goulds shared some of their farrowing cards with us, which is where they record the stats of each birth. They record how many piglets were live born, stillborn, and mummified (rare). They track important dates, such as when the piglets are vaccinated.

Each litter contains 10-11 piglets. On the farrowing cards we looked at, however, it was not uncommon to see several more than that. We saw several with 18 or 20. As long as the piglets are proper size, that sow would be considered a very productive sow. On the farrowing card we also saw something called “fostering.” If a litter is very large and another litter is very small, the Goulds may transfer piglets between sows to even out the counts. They do this within a day or two of birth and the sows don’t notice.

According to the EPA, each sow raises an average of three to five litters in her lifetime. Each sow has 2.3 litters each year. At the Gould farm they have a number of sows on the far end of the spectrum that are very productive and are six or seven years old.

It is clear to me, after seeing this hog farm first-hand, why health is their number one concern. I’ve learned that the healthier the sow, the more productive she will be.

There does come a time when the sow’s productivity diminishes, usually as a result of age or illness. Some things that change may be inability to become pregnant, litter size decreases, or the size of the piglets diminishes. At that point, they are culled from the herd.

The sow pork does not meet the standards set by the retail processors, like Hormel. The meat is from an older animal, so the meat would be a different flavor, not as tender, and also less lean. The Goulds send the sows to a different processor where the meat becomes ground pork or sausage products.

With that said, at the end of our tour, the Goulds shared 3 pounds of ground pork, bratwurst, and sausage with each Field Mom. The pork was from a recent sow that had been culled and they sent it to a special processor to have the meat ready for us. My husband and I like to make our own homemade Italian sausage, usually from a butcher’s pork butt. We enjoyed the Gould’s sausage and it was tastier than any sausage we’ve ever made or purchased.

More to come about the piglets - the meat we eat!

Thursday, April 3, 2014

Hog Farm, Chapter 4: I Was Unprepared for the Cacophony of the Sow Barn

Our first farm tour, to a hog farm, was outstanding. I went from knowing nearly nothing about pigs, except that I really like pork, to knowing just enough to appreciate the hard work, thought, and care that these hog farmers put into raising them - all so that we can enjoy our bacon.

With that said, our hog farmer tour guides may not have realized how dramatic our barn tour was going to be to someone who’s never been around pigs. For me, from a sensory standpoint, it was intense and raw, unlike anything I've ever experienced. I had a high level of sensory awareness – smell, hearing, and sight; and the powerful extremes of each hit me one after the other.

When we first walked into the barns, my sense of smell was overpowered as our air turned into an intense odor of poignant ammonia-like manure. My eyes were at the ground minding where I stepped as I followed the field mom ahead of me. We were walking single-file through a long and narrow, metal enclosed passageway. We had on a white Tyvek® suit over our clothes, hair nets on our heads, and giant plastic bag boot covers over our more stylish footwear (mine was a pair of rubber barn boots). I was a little worried I was going to trip over the plastic bag boots if they came loose, but they didn't. As we walked, about 10 of us, our bag boots made a swishing noise as they scuffed the floor; and our suits, of course, swished as we moved. It was noisy and we had to speak up to talk to the person near us as we walked.

After this long noisy walk, we finally arrived at the sow barn where we began our tour. The sow barn is where the full-grown breeding mothers, probably around 400 pounds each, are housed. I had no expectations of what I was going to see (and hear) and I don’t recall anyone warning us, either! 

Before my eyes looked up from the ground where I was stepping as we entered the barn, my ears caught the loudest cacophony of clanking metal and raucous rumbling and grunting I've ever heard. And the noises were echoing off the metal barn walls amplifying this harsh and discordant swine symphony all the more. Our swishing boot bags now had nothing on these pigs! It was so loud that we could barely hear each other speaking.  For a few seconds, I was a little frightened, to be perfectly honest. I thought pigs were quiet and calm like at the fair! I am here to tell you, they are not quiet animals. They can be loud and raucous! I learned, first-hand, on this tour that pigs make a lot of different sounds – and I don’t even know how to describe all that we heard. There were a lot of voices bouncing around and it wasn’t just oink and grunt!

It was explained to us that a natural behavior of pigs is to chew. They were chewing on their bars making them clank. And they were probably “talking” so much because we were there just as they were about to be fed – all 650 of them.

Immediately after my ears caught the noise, my eyes looked up from the floor as we entered the barn. I was overwhelmed for a moment as I took in the view to my left, and then to my right. It didn’t seem to end – an army of them – one after the other, in several rows, all facing the same direction; all the same size, pink color, shape, and with perky big ears. It was so very orderly, and repetitive, and seemingly endless. I could barely see the far end of the barn which was a long way down. 650 pigs is just a lot of pigs - to hear and to see.

It was a dramatic sequence. I took it all in - the smell, the noise, and the sight; and within a moment or two, I came out of my state; or at least moved into the next one.

Wednesday, April 2, 2014

Hog Farm, Chapter 3: Not Your Grand-Father’s Pig Barn!

Image from the film, The Wizard of Oz (1939)

If someone asked me three months ago to describe what I thought a pig farm (raising market pigs) looked like, I probably would have naively said a long barn with big open pens inside, dirt floors, and some outside exercise area for fresh air and sunlight. I would have expected to see a slop trough and a lot of manure. The scene from the Wizard of Oz film (1939) where Dorothy loses her balance and falls into the pen is an image that is ingrained on my mind, as well. The only place I’ve ever seen a pig in real-life is at the state and county fairs with usually one sleepy pig per huge pen.

What I saw at the Gould Farm last weekend was a very different picture and more enlightened than the one in my mind. Farming has progressed since the time of the very small farm and a few pigs – the farms that make up most of the picture books I read to my two boys, by the way. I’m learning that the very small operation farmers are few and far between, mostly serving an urban niche market (like Farmer’s Markets). The farms that are producing the meat we buy at the grocery store are still largely family-owned farms (94% of farms in Illinois are family farms), but there are a lot less farms and they have to supply more food than ever before. A small farm by today’s standards is producing a lot more food in comparison to an average size farm 40 years ago.

Upon touring the Gould farm, I learned that pigs cannot survive outdoors in the extreme ups and downs of our northern climate. They need a mild and constant climate; otherwise, they become susceptible to illness or disease.

Another problem with outdoor areas for pigs is rodents, birds, and other animals can easily bring parasites or viruses to the pigs. Preventing illness is always preferred over treating sickness.

Today, pig farming at the Gould farm, and many other farms, has been updated to be exclusively indoors because it is better for the welfare of the animals.

Aerial view of the Gould Farm (3 parallel hog barns on right)

The Gould farm has three long and narrow metal barns that are linked by enclosed passageways. They sit parallel to each other, but are physically separate from each other in order to reduce the opportunity for disease transmission from barn to barn. And each barn serves a specific purpose, housing a different group of pigs.

The first barn is called the isolation barn and it is where new-to-the-farm adult gilts (a female that has not yet been bred) are housed for two weeks in quarantine to assess their health before exposing them to the healthy animals in the other barns. The Goulds take animal health very seriously.

I am standing in one of the farrowing rooms 
with several farrowing crates on each side

The second barn houses the newborn market piglets and the mothers. The sows are brought to bear their young in a pen called a farrowing crate and that is where they stay with their piglets for three weeks until the piglets have been weaned from the mother. This barn was very clean, as were all of the pigs we saw. After each litter of piglets, the farrowing pens are pressure washed with very hot water and sanitized.

Inside the sow barn

The third barn houses about 700 sows (the breeding adult females). There are several boars that live in this barn, as well. This is where our tour with Chris Gould started. He demonstrated how they artificially inseminate a sow and how they care for her leading up to and during her pregnancy. Just prior to giving birth, she is moved to the next barn to deliver her litter. We saw the metal stalls that are commonly called gestation stalls. Not all farms use this type of containment, but it is common practice and preferred by the Goulds. They place a strong emphasis on the health of their animals and they believe this system allows them to provide the highest level of individual care for each sow. He then pointed out the feed tubes and water spouts that are part of the system. He explained the “baseball card” stat sheet attached at the front of each sow’s pen. This barn was very orderly and clean.

All of the buildings are climate controlled and we were told they maintain 70 degrees Fahrenheit. There are ventilation windows with fans connected to timers and sensors. An adult pig is very sensitive to extreme heat; a baby piglet is very sensitive to extreme cold. In the farrowing barn, the newborn piglets need a warmer temperature than their mother, about 90 degrees Fahrenheit, so in each crate there are heat lamps and heat pads that they cuddle up to if they’re feeling cool.

The floor of the barns has slats that allow the pig manure to fall down through into a manure pit of a specific depth. The Gould’s pit depth, we learned, is four feet, but it is different farm to farm. Until it is pumped out for use on the crop fields, which occurs three times per year at the Gould farm, the manure is held in the pit. I learned the ventilation fans help exhaust some of the odor and dust in the air.


It seems to me, after seeing the barn structures first-hand, that current hog housing responds to animal welfare problems of the past and it is doing a good job solving those problems. Over the decades, the Goulds have updated their facilities to make improvements based on science.

Tuesday, April 1, 2014

Hog Farm, Chapter 2: Meet the Farmers!


Meet the Gould family! Eldon and Sandy Gould have two adult children, Chris and Lynda. Lynda is a mixed animal veterinarian and married to a farmer. On the day of our farm tour, Lynda had a busy day at work caring for dogs, cats and even a horse, so she wasn’t able to join us until the very end of the afternoon. Chris and his wife, Dana, have two teenage children, a boy and a girl. Chris has joined his parents to run their family business, the Gould Family Farm, which is just 50 miles west of downtown Chicago.

Chris, Eldon, and Sandy graciously opened their doors to us and welcomed us onto their farm and into their family for the day to give us a first-hand account of their hog farm operation, our first farm tour of the year. They showed us historical photos of their farm, displaying how it has physically changed over the years with barns being added and a manure lagoon being filled in. Eldon shared with us how pig farming has changed since he was a teen in the 50’s and 60’s. Sandy has a degree in education and was a kindergarten teacher for some time before raising her family, and she clearly has a passion for teaching us moms about what they do on the farm. She keeps the records on all of the pigs, entering the data for each sow and litter of piglets. She has also successfully passed on her chocolate chip cookie baking skills to her grand-daughter; thank you, they were delicious! Chris thoroughly, yet succinctly, explained to us how the crops are managed and how they are related to the swine operation. We had an excellent overview of their operation before heading out into the barns to see the sows and piglets.

94% of Illinois farms are family farms, like the Goulds. Chris emphasized a point to us - that we should not define the farm as land and buildings; instead, the farm is defined as the business, the family business. It was an interesting point and I was glad he made it, because I had not considered that distinction.

Eldon grew up on a rented farm. In 1966, he and his father bought a neighboring farm that happened to come up for sale. Chris and his parents have expanded that farm operation and had an opportunity to purchase land several years ago during the real-estate market crash, but their crop land is primarily leased. Chris manages the crop side of the farm where they grow 3,000 acres of corn, soybeans and winter wheat. His father manages the livestock side where they care for 650-750 sows and raise market piglets (16,000 annually) in a "farrow-to-wean" operation. They are contracted with Hormel in Austin, Minnesota, where their market pigs are sold.

I’m learning what the big mid-west agricultural universities are and the University of Illinois is a big one around Chicago. This family seems to have a U of I legacy going! Eldon graduated from U of I in 1963 with a degree in Animal Science. Chris graduated from U of I with a degree in Agricultural Engineering with a focus in Mechanical Engineering.

I was surprised to learn that the Gould farm employs six full-time employees; three on the crop-side, two on the swine side, and one trucker. They employ at least one high-school student who works on weekends and occasionally additional help during pig weaning. They also have a farm veterinarian who works with about 24 area farms. The Gould family members on this farm are largely farm managers; meaning they do all of the record-keeping, attend seminars, and manage day-to-day workings from their office full-time. I had an image in my head of the family running the farm and doing all of the physical labor themselves, but this farm is different than others I’ve been learning about.

Every one of the Gould family members we met cares about the welfare of their animals and also the welfare of the land they are farming. Chris proudly regards Illinois soil as the “best” soil. He said it is fertile and very good soil; and acknowledged that farmers in Iowa and other mid-west locations probably consider their soil the best. He explained that his interests are to manage that fertility and maintain it to the best of their ability utilizing the most current technology available to them.

To describe their character in a list of words from the few hours we spent with them, I would use diligent, deliberate, thoughtful, honest, and respectful. They seem diligent when it comes to following regulations, striving to always improve, and being responsible neighbors. They seem deliberate about how they operate the farm. Every action has a reason and a purpose. They are thoughtful people. Their actions are thought-out. They collect data, analyze it, and then use it to move forward in a positive direction. They appeared to be very open and honest with us moms about how their farm business is run. We asked a lot of questions and they were all answered openly. They seem respectful of each other, the people that work for them, their animals, and the land they cultivate.

It was a privilege to be with the Gould family and learn about their life and work.