It’s been a few weeks since I’ve been in a barn. I don’t miss the stink, but I have missed taking pictures of pigs. The barn we were in this morning has a large pen auto sort system. In this system, the pigs all live together in…
Have you watched the Crystal Spring Hog Equipment legacy video yet? You really should. This project was a year-long labor of love for myself, the guys at Crystal Spring (and their awesome wives and sisters and kiddos), and the creative team at Jordan Green Productions,…
Chad commissioned a new sorter system yesterday, which means he was training barn managers how to set up the computer program and scale settings for the Pro Sort large-pen auto sort system. The sorter weighs the pigs before they eat and then sorts them, sending…
ABC News shared a story over the weekend about sow housing and the challenges created by group housing. The article featured Fair Oaks Farms in Indiana, which is home to The Pig Adventure, an interactive, educational open barn that offers tours and exhibits. The article…
We started distributing a new product recently – the EPI Air system. Basically, it distributes ions throughout the barn environment, which makes dust, germs and gases stick to each other and fall to the ground or cling to any other surface, taking them out of the…
We spent a few days at Crystal Spring Colony last week and I stopped in for a quick visit to the Hog Equipment shop. Everyone was hard at work. Adrian was setting the specifications for a new laser job. Caleb was busy folding stainless steel…
Most of the hog barns we visit are modern indoor facilities. Confinement, some call it. 90% of all pork is raised indoors, in fact. And these indoor homes are actually pretty comfortable – they’re temperature controlled all year, the pigs are protected from sunburn (yep!),…
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…