Blog posts of '2015' 'May'

I have been in literally hundreds of hog buildings over the course of my travels. It really doesn’t matter who built them, the quality of the metal or the insulation value…..if they have a metal ceiling you will eventually have some rust occurring. The most typical spots to see this are around the air inlets (cold air hitting a warm ceiling) and the along the outside walls where the ceiling metal is rolled over the knee braces (insulation tends to slide down). Over time this metal rusts and needs to be replaced.

Huge job! The plumbing and electrical lines have to be dropped, metal unscrewed, rips in the vapor barrier repaired, replace insulation and slide and fastened new metal sheeting into place.

Those kinds of repairs are the ones that tend to get put off indefinitely. That’s where products from Vanberg Specialized Coatings come in. Rust Converter and EM-15 Epoxy Mastic are used to repair metal ceiling in place.

First, remove all the loose rust you can by scraping or pressure washing.

Second, apply Rust Converter to the visible rust areas. Rust Converter will neutralize the rust, you will see the rust turn from red to black in a couple of minutes.

Third, mix the two part EM-15 Epoxy Mastic together and either roll or paint it on the metal for a hard, moisture resistant coating that preserves the metal and protects it from further damage.

Vanberg produces a repair kit (EM15-1K) with everything you need to get started. You can go to www.hogslat.com and order it today.

American Humane Association\’s Seal of Approval

Just returned from the 2012 IPE in Atlanta. Great place to catch up with industry contacts and see the latest and greatest.

Stopped by the Potter’s Poultry booth where Mike Button was quick to point out the new Seal of Approval presented to Potter’s by the American Humane Association. The American Humane Association created the first welfare certification program in the United States to ensure the humane treatment of farm animals. Their Seal of Approval process verifies that equipment, housing designs and installation meet the standards of providing humane treatment in livestock production.

“A very pleasant surprise” said Mike.

Mike went on to comment, “When we first started coming to this show we were viewed as kind of an oddity. Producers really questioned whether or not eggs could be produced like this on a commercial basis. As we put systems in and the producers achieved success, interest in our systems has grown.”

“We estimate only about 5% of the total egg output is being produced in cage-free systems here in the U.S. We think that this will grow to over 25%, similar to the amount produced in the U.K. There is a growing segment in the United States of consumers demanding eggs produced by more humane practices.”

“What’s unique about Potter’s Poultry is that we aren’t a battery cage manufacturer that took the doors off the front and started offering them as cage-free systems. We have been designing and manufacturing aviary systems for over 20 years. It not something we are doing because it’s the newest thing to hit the market…it’s what Potter’s Poultry has always done.”

You can learn more about Potter’s Poultry systems by going to http://www.hogslat.com/cage-free-eggs or giving us a call at 1-800-949-4647.

Another item of interest at the 2012 IPE show was the Big Foot Radiant Tube Heater by Space Ray. Space Ray manufacturers some the best heating equipment on the market; Hog Slat and Georgia Poultry have carried their 40,000 Btu poultry brooder and tube heaters for years.

“The Big Foot is a hybrid heater that combines the best qualities of the standard brooder and tube heaters,” explained Space Ray’s Wilf Jackson. “Tube heaters have the advantage of less equipment to maintain but tend to produce a heating pattern that is oval in shape, while individual brooders produce a better heating footprint on the floor but require a producer to clean more pieces of equipment.”

“The heating footprint of the Big Foot is rectangular without gaps and the equipment can be installed close to the ceiling like a tube heater. Big Foot achieves its large, even footprint by utilizing a 19° angle on the reflector shield eliminating problems with convective wash as the heat waves are directed towards the house floor.”

Current plans are to offer the Big Foot in 60,000 and 90,000 Btu models and both single and dual stage ignition with emitter lengths of 15’ and 20’.

The Big Foot is being field tested by Hog Slat in a local farm and Space Ray is having independent tests conducted starting in February. We look forward to reporting on the results of those tests in future blogs.

As the food industry responds to animal welfare issues, many producers have started to consider alternative options to stall-based gestation systems. We took a few moments to speak with Hog Slat’s national sales manager, Fritz Richards, about group housing systems.
Can you describe the options available and the advantages and disadvantages of each?
Hog Slat first took a hard look at the Electronic Sow Feeding or ESF systems. Sows are housed as groups and fed in stations that identify sows individually by means of RFID ear tags. This type of equipment seemed to offer slight advantages that would offset some of the management tools which producers would lose going to group housing from stalls. Such as the ability to feed animals as individuals and maintain dynamic farrowing groups. We looked at both domestic and international systems, touring and speaking with experienced growers. There were some differences that came to the forefront.

Like?
This type of system is a major paradigm shift for US producers. The US industry has developed a very straight forward system of handling gestation sows. Sows are weaned into a stall, bred there and sow condition is managed by individual feeding. ESF is a completely different management style. First, the animals must undergo a two to four week training process with up to five percent of them eliminated as untrainable. Second, because computers, scanners, RFID tags and low voltage lines are necessary for ESF equipment a highly trained staff is required to operate the system successfully. With many production systems experiencing high turnover of farm staff, it becomes very difficult to perform the necessary maintenance and training.

Where do you see ESF working best?
Farms where the owner works in the unit every day and is able to maintain and repair the equipment in-house. The U.S. landscape is not like the situation we saw in Europe where as many as six service technicians are available in an area the size of a U.S. county. Getting timely repairs when the equipment is down should be an important consideration when considering ESF systems.

What other options have you looked at?
Free Access Stalls. In this system, the sows are housed in groups but are provided with access to individual feeding stalls. The stalls have a lockout mechanism on the rear gate that allows sow access and prevents other sows from entering. She is able to exit the stall at any time to go back in the pen area. Most designs feature an option for the herdsman to lock the sows in the stalls for treatment. We feel this may be the ultimate sow housing system.

Are Free Access Stalls available from Hog Slat?
We offer this equipment to producers, but, they need to remember that this is the most expensive option they can install. The square footage requirements per sow are high, (as much as 37 sq ft per sow) and the stalls with a locking mechanism are more expensive than a standard gestations stall.

What other options are available?
Floor feeding in pens actually predates stalls. This system is designed with five to eight sows per pen, and the feed is dropped directly on the pen floor. This system is successful if managed correctly. Grouping of the sows by size is critical as the strongest animals tend to get the most feed. It is the lowest cost alternative to gestation stalls.

What seems to be the most popular option?
Stanchions are the most popular system we see for new and remodel projects. This is group housing with short dividers or stanchions to protect the individual sow at feeding time. This design lends itself to a wide range of group sizes with a lot of flexibility in pen and building dimensions, which is important with remodel projects.

Why do you think it is so popular?
Stanchion production methods adapt well to current U.S. production practices. A farm’s current staff can manage a stanchion system because it utilizes the same feed delivery system and penning equipment as they are currently using.

What criteria are used in designing a stanchion system?
The first decision is how many square feet per sow will be allocated. Obliviously, square footage in the building is expensive, and this can range from 17 to 24 square feet per animal. This is a business decision each producer must weigh against projected welfare regulations.
A group sizing of 10 to 20 head per pen is common. Equipment is standard 40-inch high rod panels with 18” long divider stanchions, creating a feed space for each animal in the pen. The stanchions are open rod style set at 18” to 21” width. Experience has shown it is not necessary to use solid dividers on the side or front of the stanchion. The rod style protects the ears and head of the sow from aggressive animals and doesn’t restrict air flow as much as solid panels. In addition, rod style penning is more cost effective and has a longer life span.
We also design a breeding area with stalls equal to 45 days worth of sow holding capacity. Sows are weaned into this area until bred and formed into gestation groups.

How is the stanchion system managed?
Sows are fed using an automated feed system with individual drops. Sows anticipate each feeding and start lining up before the feed drops. You don’t see much shuffling between stanchions as they become conditioned to eating their portion and realize the other feeding slots will not have feed after they finish. The earliest systems utilized a trickle feed system where over a longer time, small amounts of feed were dispensed to hold the sow at their feeding space. Trickle feeding was proven to be unnecessary and just added additional cost to the scheme.
While the sows are eating, a herdsman moves along the alley noting animals that are not at the feed trough. He can mark them for later treatment or movement to a hospital area.

Are there any disadvantages?
Yes, animals cannot be individually fed. Sows that “fall out” of a group because of sickness or injury have to be removed to a hospital pen or stall. Despite the disadvantages, this has been a popular choice for many producers desiring to move into group housing.

How many stanchions have been installed by Hog Slat?
Hog Slat has built and installed over 150,000 spaces of stanchion housing in the U.S., from individual farms up to large production systems. We have gathered a lot of field experience completing those projects and can help any producer considering group housing systems.

Just saw some interesting info from Billy Farmer. Billy is the store supervisor in Georgia, and had just attended the 2012 Poultry Tunnel Ventilation Workshop at the University of Georgia. They always put out great technical informational at their workshops and this piece caught my eye.  We all know that we should change v-belts on belt drive fans when they get worn but….why?

V-belts don’t actually stretch as is commonly referred. They get thinner as they wear. Because they get thinner, the belts will start to ride lower in the pulley groove. When this happens it’s just like the pulley becoming smaller. As the fan spins slower it moves less air. CFM delivery is directly proportional to the fan speed. Spin the fan 10% slower and it moves 10% less air. Reducing the CFM capacity of a building by 10% can spell disaster in terms of pig and broiler performance during the heat of the summer.

How do you know when to replace a V-belt? 

A quick visual check will determine if  a V-belt is worn and needs to be replaced. If the belt is riding above the pulley groove, it is doing its job. If the belt is bottomed out in the groove and/or riding below the top of the groove, it’s time to replace the V-belt.

While you have the V-belt off, you should take time to inspect to the pulley itself. A new pulley has a sharp V-shaped groove. A pulley that is more U-shaped is worn and needs to be replaced before you put on the new V-belt.

To make the job of replacing V-belts less expensive, Hog Slat developed our own line of V-belts called GroBelts. They are constructed of compressed rubber embedded with low stretch nylon cords. Hog Slat and Georgia Poultry stores carry a complete selection of the most popular sizes in stock. If you can’t make it to a local store, you can also order on line at http://www.hogslat.com/v-belts-grobelt-drive-belts and we’ll ship them directly to your door.

The 2012 Pork Expo is in the books.  Great weather this year and great food.  Especially the 260 lb pork burger Vinny and crew from Hog Slat cooked up.  This wasn’t just an inedible gimmick either…..the slice I had was very good.

Walking around the trade show, I noticed there were a few companies with products to address the bin bridging and feed outage problems caused by using DDGS and other alternative feed ingredients……mechanical bin whackers in other words. One rep explained that his product was a much better choice than his competitor’s model and “ours is only about $1200 compared to theirs at $2000.” Wow. The price of the anti-bridging device is almost as much as the bin.

Quite a few companies displayed their version of Electronic Sow Feeding (ESF).   One says each feeding station will handle 60-65 sows, the next guy’s will handle 300.   All the computerized systems are easy to use; intuitive I believe was the term they used.  Everybody had a “system expert” who probably lives several states away from your farm.

Remember when everyone had to hook up their ventilation controls up to a computer in their office? Going to run the barn from the house was the idea. Most ended up with the plastic cover left on after a month or two. A couple of years ago, sorting scales were going to change the way finishing pigs were raised. Most of those are sitting outside rusting away now.

No doubt some producers will successfully adopt ESF technology. One thing is guaranteed, not all the companies offering ESF will be at this show five years from now. Choose carefully.

In 2005 Dustin Anderson and Paul Anderson came to an agreement on a  venture allowing Dustin to quit his job at the local coop and farm full time. Besides farming 1,500 acres, Paul also serves as a member of the Minnesota House of Representatives and wanted to devote more time to his political career.   Part of the agreement included each of them constructing a 2,498 head finishing house with Dustin managing the sites.

original sort barn

Dustin explained “The integrator that we fed with at the time spec’ed a sort barn system and we constructed the facilities according to the standard plan. The sort barn was different from what we were used to managing.  The pigs had to be trained to go through the sorting scale for about three weeks, we had to force them through until they learned where the feed was. Even with that type of training there always seemed to be a handful of pigs that refused to go through the sorting scale. They would literally starve themselves to death.  In addition, anytime the pigs became sick, the whole barn would refuse to go into the food court.  We would then have to open up the gates and give them access to the feeders. After a couple of days of that, we would have to retrain them all again!”

“Our death loss was a little higher than we would have like because it was hard to treat individual pigs. The pigs had a half a barn to run around in and giving a shot or separating a pig from the group was a job. The one thing I will say is that the pigs loaded for market like a dream. I could literally load a semi in 15 minutes. The pigs were accustomed to moving around in large pens, and they would run right up into the truck.”

Dustin continued, “Several years ago we changed companies and quickly found out our feed conversion and rate of gain were not measuring up.  In order to compete, we felt we needed to convert to a more typical pen layout.

“We called our local Hog Slat rep, Wade Finch, when we got serious about doing the retro.  Wade measured up the rooms and met with us several times before we decided on a final layout.  We set up the rooms with a center alley and 18 pens measuring 18’8” wide X 23’9” long holding 65 head each.

In addition, we created four “sick pens” that are 9’4” wide.

We also added extra gating by the feeders so we can shut off the front of the pen and presort for load out.

It took a lot of cutting and welding, but we were able to utilize most of the existing gating, feed system and watering equipment for the retro.”

Justin was just starting to sort pigs out of the first remodeled barn the day of my site visit.  When I asked about the results he replied, “We would typically start to sell out of the old system after 18 weeks and finish up with the last ones going out at 22 weeks. We’ll start selling the first group out of the remodeled barn at 13 weeks, and I’m sure the last pigs will be gone at 15 weeks. Chores are much easier; I can see all the pigs and treat sick ones without having to chase them around.”

“Now that I see the results, I wish I would have done it several years ago!”

90 degrees, bright sunshine, no rain in the forecast and a light wind; perfect conditions for a firsthand look at roof repair.   Last winter I sat in on a training session with Vanberg Specialized Coatings when they covered the basics on their exterior metal coating product, AMC-100L or Aluminum Moisture Cure Urethane.  The results in the training labs were impressive, and I wanted to get some field experience using the product.

The site chosen was not a livestock building, but a storage building erected in 1968.  The 44 year old galvanized roofing was structurally sound but was starting to show large areas of surface rust.   I greeted Jim and Steve from Vanberg Coating, and we started on the process.

First they sprayed the roof down with a power washer to remove any dirt, bird droppings or loose rust.  Any areas with heavy rust were hit with a wire brush and loose nails were hammered down.  Once the roof was dry, we moved on to the next step.

The second step of the process was to apply VSC Rust Converter to the rusty spots.  Rust Converter chemically changes rust to a stable, insert compound.  Jim poured the Rust Converter into a pump sprayer and applied it to the rust spots that Phillip rolled out behind him.  Steve finished the process by sweeping the semi-dried surface lightly with a broom to smooth out any bubbles.

The results were a little surprising.  In the training demos, the samples that we applied the Rust Converter turned almost immediately jet black.  On this roof, the color was more of a dark red with black edges. The areas with light rust colored up dark red and only the heavy rust areas that penetrated to the carbon metal below showed up as black.

Day two was a carbon copy of the first day only with a little more wind that steadily got stronger as the morning progressed.  The original plan called for applying the AMC-100L with an airless applicator, but Steve and Jim decided there would be too much over spray with the existing breeze.  So instead we applied paint with rollers and paint brushes.  With me straddling the ridgeline and painting it with a brush, Jim and Steve rolling out the slopes, we moved right along.  While I would suggest using an airless applicator for a project this size, the fact we rolled this on by hand does prove the versatility of the product.  The AMC-100L dried quickly into a BRIGHT silver colored surface.  You could feel the heat reflecting off the roof so I would think the attic would also stay somewhat cooler.

Probably no place is as tough on metal roofs as when they are used on poultry and livestock buildings.  AMC-100L is great option for repairing rusty roof areas before they have to be replaced.  AMC-100L also works great to repair rust spots on feed bins.  You can try AMC-100L in a kit by ordering on line from our web-store at http://www.hogslat.com/vanberg-coatings-amc100l-metal-repair-kit or by going to any Hog Slat and Georgia Poultry stores near you. They carry a full line of Vanberg Specialized Coatings metal and concrete repair products in stock.

One final note here.

You will probably be surprised at the consistency of AMC-100L; as you’ll be expecting a thick, heavy product like latex paint.  In fact, it’s actually more of a thin, watery stuff.  I didn’t wear gloves when applying the AMC-100L because it was a hot day and I planned on washing it off when we were finished.

Bad idea. Nothing would take it off my hands and arms.

Not solvent.

Not gasoline.

Not paint thinner.

Not even finger nail polish remover.

I ended up taking an 80 grit foam sanding block and literally sanding it off my hands!

So beware and wear gloves and long sleeves.  This is tough stuff!

While at Dustin Anderson’s site last week reviewing his sort barn conversion, one thing quickly drew my attention.  When the barn was constructed, the builder installed plastic slat mats which are considered “best practice” in our industry.  Look at the result 6 years later.

All the plastic slat mat did was move the problem out 12 inches!   Now, this is not terrible slat wear for six years of usage, but it will get worst.  A bigger mat could be placed under the feeder, but this would just move the problem out a little more.  The best solution to this problem isn’t a mat at all.  The ultimate slat saver comes in a bucket!  Hog Slat offers a product called Armor-Rock.  Armor-Rock is a two part epoxy with blended aggregates that form a wear and chemical resistant coating to protects the slat’s surface.   The liquid epoxy mixture is applied to the slat’s surface and then sand is broadcast on top to create a non-slip surface.

A huge advantage to using the Armor-Rock is it doesn’t cover the slat openings around the feeders.  Urine, water and feed wastes fall through because the normal slat opening remains intact.  Corrosive wastes are not collecting and just getting moved farther out on the slats, which is the problem with conventional slat mats.

There is one slight disadvantage to using Armor-Rock over standard plastic slat mats.  It’s not the cost of the material; if Armor-Rock is purchased in bulk the price is virtually the same.  The key issue is the time it takes to install it under a feeder. When mats are used they are placed under the feeders, the gating is installed, and the installation is complete. With Armor-Rock, the feeders and gating are completely installed and then the feeders must be removed.  The epoxy is mixed, placed on the flooring and allowed to dry.  After the Armor-Rock cures, the feeders are replaced in the gating.   Because of the extra labor the Armor-Rock option is not offered by most contractors.

The choice is yours to make.  Chose the Ultimate Slat Saver with Armor-Rock and do it once or chose standard slat mats and fix it later.  You can pick up Armor-Rock at any Hog Slat store or purchase it on line at http://hogslat.com/armor-rock-kit

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 all…” Mark said, “the SowMAX is not a sow feeder.  It’s a feed storage device that delivers feed to the sow on demand. It’s like having a bunch of MINI FEED BINS sitting above the feeders ready to deliver fresh feed on demand.

“I’m not sure exactly what you mean.”

Look I’ve been working with sow herds for 24 years in one way or another. The BIGGEST challenge I’ve faced in that time has been training farrowing house personnel to feed lactating sows.  It is extremely difficult to feed sows correctly by hand.

Sows are individuals and depending on their genetic makeup some sows are capable of eating much more feed on a daily basis than the group.  If you were to look at daily feed intake per sow, you would see a normal bell curve.  The bulk of sows will eat somewhere between 18-22 pounds per day, but some of those gals will eat as high as 30 pounds a day! Those are the sows that normally don’t get fed correctly with hand feeding.

If we decide that 20 Lbs is all we will ever feed any sow, then those high appetite sows are going to get short changed.  Those are the sows that will typically wean desirable large litters of heavy pigs.

I like to think of today sows as being like high performance race cars.  If we don’t fuel up a race car, it will not run.  Same with sows, they are capable of high performance as far as producing large numbers of pigs, but we have to get the feed/fuel in them.

How does that change with SowMAX?

SowMAX allows us to feed sows to full appetite without guess work.  Our feeding regiment in farrowing goes like this:

For three days prior to farrowing we feed four pounds of feed through the SowMAX.  We instruct the farrowing personnel to place two pounds, twice a day in the SowMAX hopper.  This gets them up each time and gets them accustomed to activating the trigger lever on the SowMAX.

After farrowing, we continue to hand feed for two more days.  On day three, we fill them up and monitor feed disappearance.

Feed disappearance? What does that mean?

Simply put it means that we fill the SowMAX up twice a day and look the amount feed that is gone in the hopper.  As long as the sow is eating over half of that amount we just fill it up again and go on.  We are only concerned with the sows that aren’t eating; that’s the one that’s having trouble and needs our attention.

“You know Mark, feed is very expensive; what about a producer’s concern that SowMAX may be getting more feed into the sows but that it’s also wasting more feed?”

Our experience has shown the exact opposite.  We waste less feed with SowMAX than hand feeding, and that’s easy to figure out.  With hand feeding if you guess wrong and put more feed in the feeders than she can eat, it spoils and you end up dumping it out.  The SowMAX delivers fresh feed to the feeders….on demand….whenever a sow is ready to eat.   Human judgment is eliminated….we don’t have to try and outguess mother nature. Again, we have those MINI FEED BINS sitting there ready to deliver feed whenever she’s ready to eat.

Do you have farms with other types of systems?

Yes, we have automatic systems where feed is dumped from drops into the feeders several times a day.  There is less physical labor but it really isn’t any better than hand feeding.  You still have to guess on the amount of feed each sow will consume each day.  Plus, as the systems get older they take more maintenance; it seems like we are always fixing a switch or replacing a motor. SowMAX works everyday; no timers, no motors, no switches, nothing to wear out.

With SowMAX, we fill the hopper, and we have some flexibility if something goes wrong.  In a dire emergency, we still have almost a day’s worth of feed storage at each hopper.  We have other systems that use a plastic tube and have almost no storage.  We have a lot more cushion with SowMAX than the other systems.

So with SowMAX, you are able to “fuel up the race cars” What differences do you see in performance?

First, there are only two things that make milk, feed and water.  A sow produces more milk per body weight than a milk cow.  Can you image a dairyman limit feeding a milk cow?  That would never happen, yet we expect a sow to produce to her full genetic potential on limit feeding!  SowMAX allows us to fully feed sows according to their individual appetite and they produce heavier litters.

Second, we quit condition scoring sows coming out of the farrowing crates that are using SowMAX.  Rarely would we have a Two score, they consistently scored as Threes. Because of their better body condition rebreeding is improved.

We have SowMAX in about 5,000 crates in North Carolina.  You can bet that any updates or remodels that we do in the future will include SowMAX feeders also.

To learn more go to http://hogslat.com/sowmax-feed-dispenser on our web store.