Retro of existing farrowing rooms adds square footage to accommodate larger litters without reducing the total number of crates.
The size of individual sow farms continues to increase; just a few years ago 2,400 head units were considered large, but new sow farms under construction this year range between 5,000 to 14,000 head in size.
Building cross-section comparison
Designing the central production facility into two o...
Here’s another selection from the 1960 edition of The Yearbook of Agriculture on the latest trends in farrowing.
Welfare-friendly farrowing pens
Caption in yearbook:
In this minimum-stress pen, the shape of the guardrail encourages the sow to lie with the teats toward the pigs. The pigs stay...
Hog Slat will be exhibiting at this year’s World Pork Expo with many new and further developed swine equipment products, highlighting Hog Slat’s GrowerSELECT product line.
At the show, Hog Slat will have a large variety of equipment on display in both the exhibition hall (Booth V165 VIB) and at ...
The main objective of this study was to collect lactation and rebreeding data from sows fed with SowMAX self feeders opposed to sows that ...
I recently caught up with Mark Daughtry of Prestage Farms in North Carolina to discuss his experience with SowMax farrowing ad lib feeders. Mark is the Sow Production Manager in North Carolina and oversees about 55,000 sows. He quickly corrected my terminology regarding the SowMAX.
“First of al...
Ever notice how some people or companies try to make a job more difficult than it has to be?
Today I read an article about a show case farm with an integrated computer system including electronic sow feeding. There is a picture showing a hand held computer programming in the amount of feed that a...
SowMAX ad lib dispenser
Claiming an Ad Lib Sow Feeder can save feed may seem like a contradiction of terms. How can allowing a sow unlimited access to feed save money on feed?
It’s simple really…sows are individuals with different eating and consumption patterns. Some days they’re extra hung...
A couple of weeks ago I received a call from Fritz Richards, Hog Slat’s national sales manager. Next time you are in North Carolina we need to run out to TDM #29 and take a look at the way they are utilizing a SowMAX feeder for feeding weaned sows.” It just so happened I was going to be in North Car...