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Blog posts tagged with 'hog slat'

Vent Notes #3 – Fan discharge cones
Vent Notes #3 – Fan discharge cones

Adding discharge cones to a fan increases its air delivery.  Do you know why?

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Reliable back-up systems are not an accident
Reliable back-up systems are not an accident

A well-designed facility includes back up systems to prevent losses from power outages or equipment failures. Maintaining this fail-safe equipment should be part of every manager's routine maintenance program.

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Slat U. 104 - Handling and storage
Slat U. 104 - Handling and storage

Follow these guidelines when slats are delivered and set on your next building project.

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Troubleshooting tunnel ventilation systems
Troubleshooting tunnel ventilation systems

Follow this step-by-step guide to diagnose and fix an underperforming ventilation system.

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Being a good neighbor is just smart business.
Being a good neighbor is just smart business.

It is a fact of life that the countryside around us is changing.  Places, where there were nothing but green fields and farm sites, have been replaced with new neighbors seeking a rural lifestyle.  Many of these new neighbors come without a rural background and are unaccustomed to the sights, sounds, and smells of modern animal production. 

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Slat U .103-Curing
Slat U .103-Curing

Slat University is a series of articles providing useful information on manufacturing, handling and maintaining concrete slats.

Concrete doesn't dry...it cures.

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Smart Farming requires smart evaluation
Smart Farming requires smart evaluation

Evaluating new technology should be based on three critical factors…does it fit, will we use the information, and will it make us more profitable? 

By Fritz Richards, Sales Manager, Hog Slat Inc.

We just returned from the EuroTier show held in Hanover, Germany.  Billed as the largest animal production trade fair in the world this year's theme was "Digital Animal Farming."   Many of the equipment manufacturers highlighted sensor technology designed to measure everything from humidity, lighting, behavior, estrous, etc. and link the data to Artificial Intelligence systems.

In the middle of this overwhelming display of "smart farming" it pays to take a moment to consider the real value of all this technology. “Smart Farming” does not mean that you have every piece of high tech equipment on your farm that is available.  “Smart Farming” is maximizing your profitability by utilizing the correct combination of technology and quality products.

Every production system is different, whether it's a single farm or a large integrated model spread over many locations.

First, each production system needs to evaluate new products with a critical eye to determine if it fits their system.

Sow stanchion

Let's take the example of group sow housing.  For a farm with a stable workforce and low turnover, electronic sow feeding could be an excellent choice for loose housing.   Forcing the same ESF equipment on a production system with higher employee turnover would not yield as good of results.  It would be easier to train employees and maintain the equipment with a less intensive system using stanchions and drop feeding — less technology but better results.

The second criterion for evaluating new technology is will the production system utilize this new information.

SowMAX & Electronic Feeder

Consider feeding sows for maximum performance in lactation.   Installing a trigger activated SowMAX dispenser will increase productivity and reduce labor and wastage compared to hand feeding.   Installing an electronically activated hopper will yield similar results and record the metered amount of feed to a central record keeping system.  The evaluation must then be, is this additional information worth the higher cost and increased maintenance?  How will this new information be used to make better management decisions?

The third and the absolutely most important evaluation for any new technology is it should LOWER COSTS AND IMPROVE PROFITS. 

The cost of computerized ventilation controllers is easily recoupled through increased growth rates due to the improved environment, but adding additional features only increases cost with little chance for payback.  Take the example of a recent project where the owner wanted to connect the ventilation control to his smartphone at a cost of $10,000.  This additional expense would not have significantly improved pig performance and would have only put him in a weaker financial position.

Now don't get this wrong, we're not backward thinking Luddites opposed to all new technology, but we think for "smart farming” to be truly smart it has to pass the following criteria.

1) Does it fit the current production system and personnel?

2) Will the information indeed be used to make better management decisions?

3) And most importantly does it increase productivity AND PROFIT?

Some new “smart farming” technology only increases data overload and offers very little new information to make smarter decisions.  Is it really necessary to individually monitor every animal on a 5,000-sow farm?

Careful and thoughtful evaluation will ensure all new products and technology contribute to a farm’s overall profits.

Fritz Richards is the sales manager for Hog Slat Inc.’s swine business division.  Fritz can be reached frichards@hogslat.com.

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Converting large fans to minimum winter fans
Converting large fans to minimum winter fans

A new control system allows larger fans to be converted to variable speed with improved accuracy and reduced energy consumption.

Most fans used for minimum winter ventilation rates tend to be smaller diameter fans.  It's necessary to use fans with a lower total cubic foot per minute output as the most common method of slowing the fan to reduce air volume is reducing the voltage going to the motor.  It is generally advised not to operate voltage-regulated fans at speeds below 40-50% of their maximum revolutions per minute to prevent the motor from overheating and stalling.

Although smaller fans are effective in delivering the correct minimum rates they do not significantly contribute to the total cfm rate needed to cool the building during maximum ventilation or perform at the highest energy efficiency.

36-fan-&-pit fan

A new method of controlling variable speed fans allows using larger, higher-capacity fans to accurately deliver lower cfm needed for minimum ventilation rates.

Variable Frequency Drive or VFD system uses a three-phase single-speed motor, and VFD controller.  A VFD controller receives a 0 to 10-volt signal from the house controller and sends a corresponding signal to the fan motor in frequency or hertz.  The full range of a VFD fan varies from full delivery down to nearly zero.  This lower cfm range permits a producer to replace several smaller minimum fans on existing facilities with a single, larger VFD fan also functioning as a tunnel fan in the summer. Varying the hertz to control fan speed has a significant advantage over using voltage including less motor overheating and improved energy efficiency because decreasing frequency also reduces power consumption.

VFD-&-Belt Drive

Most fans can be converted to the VFD system by swapping the motor with a three-phase motor and adding a VFD controller. Most whole house computer style controllers are capable of sending a 0 to 10-volt signal to the VFD control.  Older style controllers with on-off signals can also be used with a slightly different method.  The VFD controller features a manual speed control knob.  The operator can set the minimum ventilation, and the ventilation control can override the VFD control and run the fan at high if the building temperature increases.   As the building cools down, the control shuts off and the fan returns to the minimum rate set on the VFD control.

By Austin Baker, Ventilation Director for Hog Slat Inc.  You can contact Austin at jabaker@hogslat.com 

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Selling a building? Four things  you should know.
Selling a building? Four things you should know.

Following these four steps will help you get the best price for your production site.Finishing site

1) Hire the right realtor...you aren't selling a cornfield.

While a local ag realtor might be the right choice for listing farm ground, a realtor specializing in swine production facilities will be a better option.  This type of realtor will help you establish a realistic selling price for your facility by performing a comparison analysis against similar buildings. Firms regularly performing appraisals of livestock buildings will give you the most accurate evaluation.

2) Make a good first impression...and that starts with the realtor.  

"The first thing a potential buyer sees is the pictures I take during the initial site visit,” says Dale Kenne, a realtor with Agri-Management Services located in Marion, Iowa, "No one expects a manicured yard and gravel borders but at least the grass should be mowed, and the trash picked up.  I recently visited a finishing building that had been remodeled several years earlier and still had the old equipment laying around with weeds growing through it.  It was hard to take a picture without some discarded equipment showing up in the background."

 

3) What about remodeling...how do you get your money back? 

"We generally feel the building should be capable of functioning with its existing equipment," Dale explained.  "Even if the feeders are needing replacement, and the ventilation system an upgrade it doesn't make much sense for the seller to do the remodeling. In most cases, the new owner will probably need to make those changes based on the requirements of their chosen integrator."

Slat repair

"The existing equipment doesn't have to be new, but it should be in good working order, Kenne says "Patch any badly worn slat areas around feeders, and waterers with Con-Korite™ and replace any severely damaged slats. Treat and cover any rust spots on the ceiling with a repair product like WMC-100.   Tighten the legs on the penning and replace any missing gate rods and latches.   Replace curtains with holes or tears, repair the curtain ropes and rehang missing curtain pockets.  Doors, especially those on the exterior, should fit tight and have any missing knobs replaced."

Curtain-Repair

4) Little things make a difference... and they aren't expensive. 

"Getting a building ready to sell usually doesn't cost a lot of money," Kenne says. "Some simple things include replacing the burned-out light bulbs, knocking the cobwebs down and washing the alleyways.   You wouldn't believe the number of buildings I go in and see missing fan shutters and electric covers, ceiling inlets hanging open without counterweights, etc.  In the office area, the showers and restrooms should be clean enough your mother would be OK using them!"

Dale Kenne can be contacted at dale@agri-management.com

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Direct cooling with stir fans and sprinklers.
Direct cooling with stir fans and sprinklers.

Stir fans and sprinkler systems remain a cost-effective method to reduce summer heat stress for finishing pigs. 

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