We spent time at my grandparents’ South Dakota farm this weekend. My sister brought my nieces to visit from Raleigh, NC. The little city girls loved running on the farm. In princess dresses, no less. Why not? The apple tree was still full of fresh,…
The barn was all clean and ready when the truck showed up. The back doors opened and the pigs started exploring the short ramp to their new home. Pigs are skittish about going down steps and ramps, so they’re a little nervous here. The driver…
We’re helping place pigs this morning. The barn has been power-washed and is all clean and ready. 1200 little pigs weighing roughly 10-12 pounds each will be delivered to the barn on livestock trailers. I am sort of ridiculously excited to see them all scurrying…
Leaves are starting to turn, corn is maturing in the fields, and the days are filled with blue skies. Autumn is bursting at the seams in the Midwest.
One hot topic in the hog industry these days (and for a while now) is the use of gestation stalls, or individual maternity pens, versus group housing for pregnant sows. Sows can be aggressive (hello, huge & pregnant!) and often try to bully each other…
Our meetings have taken us through Pennsylvania and across Maryland. It was a beautiful drive. We’re headed down through Virginia today. The Shenandoah Valley was just stunning this morning.
We flew into Philadelphia PA this morning. The sky above the clouds was brilliant blue and gorgeous. After an afternoon appointment with a vendor, we drove through Amish country in Lancaster County. Totally different, but just as pretty. America the beautiful, indeed.
Our first stop at the Clay County Fair was in the swine barn, naturally. Our friends’ daughter is showing pigs this year, so we stopped in to see Maddie and her hogs. Being a show pig is a rough life, let me tell you. Apparently…
We’re headed to the Clay County Fair in Iowa this week, and I couldn’t be more excited. I grew up with a pretty good county fair, complete with a demolition derby and the PRCA Wild Bill Hickock rodeo, along with plenty of snow cones and cowboys….
Chad and I visit hog barns a couple of times a week, checking on trials or helping producers find solutions. I’ve gotten comfortable being in the barns, wearing my (not so cute) boots and coveralls, and even the smell isn’t so bad anymore. I still…