Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Hog Farming: Some Facts & Figures

By Lianne Derocco


The world of hog farming might seem foreign to most people, but it is a huge industry in the country. In fact, the United States has more than 70,000 pig and hog farms. Some are huge factory operations, while others produce less than 50 hogs each year. Overall, more than 100 million pigs are raised in the United States, which ranks just behind Brazil and China in overall production.

Pork is in fact the world's most commonly eaten meat and more than 40% of meat consumption worldwide is pork, followed by beef and then poultry. What's your guess on what are the two most popular pork products consumed in the United States? If you guessed ham and bacon then you're absolutely right. There's nothing like and ham and bacon for breakfast, and ham sandwiches have been a top choice for lunches for decades.

While pork products are a big part of our diets, there are some issues associated with hog farming. A typical factory hog farm provides millions of tons of waste each year. This waste can produce many toxic gases and chemicals and these can be harmful to the local human population as well as harming the local ecosystem. However, the waste also can be used to produce fertilizer for crops and scientists are trying to find ways to create electricity and power from hog waste.

So what are those many typical problems associated with hog waste and how can you deal with them respectively? Often, sludge forms on the bottom of a waste pit or lagoon, and this creates problems. In addition, crusting often occurs on the surface, which creates excess odors and flies, both of which present problems for the surrounding environment.

In dealing with those kinds of problems mentioned above, there are natural products such as Agra Sphere and Lagoon Agra Sphere that farmers can use which you can just readily find in the market. The thing about these products is that they contain no chemicals and instead use naturally occurring bacteria to basically eat up the sludge and crust that often forms in a waste system.

Lastly, when it comes to dealing with especially difficult-to-treat top-level crusting, treat your waste management with an effective and well-known product called the Activator Plus. This product naturally eats away at the crust. Once the crust has liquefied, continue to treat with Agra Sphere and for sure you'll do just fine. Not only will this natural product keep problems at bay, it also improves the nutrient value of your manure for use as an efficient fertilizer product.




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