Saturday, July 26, 2014

Some Specific Information Regarding Swine

By Lianne Derocco


Among the food and meat related industries in the United States, the pork industry is one of the most profitable. The farms can range from the small and independent ones raising only a few pigs a year to the huge commercial farms, and these are reasons why millions of pigs can be raised each year for the consumption of people in the country.

There are about one billion pigs alive on the planet at any given time, making it one of the most prevalent mammals in the world. While the majority of these might be raised on farms, there are also millions of wild pigs running around all over the planet. You can find wild pigs throughout North America, Europe and Asia.

Pigs are also omnivorous animals, meaning they eat plants and also animals, although the diet of pigs in the farms is controlled carefully. Soybean meal and corn are primarily the main sources of food in the farm for these animals. Pigs are excellent foragers and they eat grass, roots, leaves, and others, and this is usually the pigs in the wild. They can help people find the wild potatoes, and they are sometimes used because of their excellent foraging skills.

There are about 10 different known species of pigs that currently exist on the planet. The most common of which is the domestic pig, which is actually part of its own species. Primarily, these pigs are raised for food although many other products are made using the parts of the pig that are not consumed by people. For instance, pig hair can be used to make paint brushes. Hog parts also are used to help produce nearly two dozen different drugs. Heart valves from pigs also can be given to humans, as the pig heart valves are quite similar to ours.

Swine can be a great food source for people, but also produces a lot of waste, although as a whole, swine farming produces huge profits for the farmers. For a swine farmer, there can be many problems that can occur with the wastes in the pits and lagoons, and dealing with this waste can be a huge problem. Common problems encountered with the hog wastes are crusts on the top and also thick bottom sludge found on the pits.

The use of an agricultural waste product like Agra Sphere can be a natural way to lessen the problems in wastes like sludge and crusting. These are biodegradable spheres that contain natural bacteria and the process is to eat away all the waste solids and thus the waste remaining in the pits and lagoons are liquid. This is a hog manure treatment that also reduces foaming in the pits and also the odor in the waste pits.




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