Hormel Foods to study pigs at UWP Pioneer Farm
PLATTEVILLE - The new Swine Center at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville's Pioneer Farm has caught the eye of Hormel Foods. The international food corporation headquartered in Austin, Minn., is partnering with the university to conduct swine nutrition and environmental research.
"Hormel is very excited because of the student involvement and the new facility," said Alicia Prill-Adams, assistant director of Pioneer Farm.
The UWP Swine Center's design and Pioneer Farm's involvement in environmental research, as part of the Wisconsin Agricultural Stewardship Initiative, was an integral part of Hormel's decision to first contact UW-Platteville. The primary goal of the joint research will be to find out what mix of ingredients will produce the best performance from the animals. At the same time, Hormel and Pioneer Farm researchers will be looking for management practices that lower the nitrogen and phosphorus content of manure and seeking to discover what ingredients in feed and bedding can reduce odor. Pioneer Farm researchers have already begun routine odor monitoring around the new facility.
Pioneer Farm's Swine Center is the only Hog High-Rise TM facility in Wisconsin and the only one nationally associated with a university. The concept of this pig haven involves drying manure, urine and excess water with fans to produce a low-odor, high-value solid that can be used as an alternative to chemical fertilizers either as is or after composting. Advantages of the facility's design is that researchers will be able to study odor better. Manure is kept in a controlled environment and different types of bedding can be used because each pit is a separate room.
"Very few places are building new [swine] facilities. Especially ones like Pioneer Farm has built," said Dennis Dietrich, Hormel Foods key accounts manager.
The two-year, renewable research contract begins on Jan. 1, 2005. The pigs will be divided into groups in five different wean-to-finish rooms that are located in the east wing of the facility. Hormel is supplying the premix (vitamins) portion of the feed, and has provided funding for the purchase of two new scales that will weigh the animals after they've been weaned and again when they are sold at market.
"We're really tickled to work with UW-Platteville. We've worked with a lot of people, and UW-Platteville has some really great people to work with. They have been very accommodating for what we're looking to do at Pioneer Farm," said Dietrich. UW-Platteville is equally excited to be working with Hormel on this project.
"We have been upgrading the facilities at Pioneer Farm to help us better serve our students and the public," said Duane Ford, dean of the College of Business, Industry, Life Science and Agriculture. "As part of that effort we are really looking forward to a long and productive partnership with Hormel Foods and other agricultural and food companies interested in working together in ways that are mutually beneficial to students, farmers, the company and us."
The UWP Swine Center is an ideal teaching and applied research facility. The complex has a walk in demonstration area, with windows opening into various production rooms to show firsthand how the facility design, technology and management practices work to solve key issues in the swine industry. The farm plans to market 1,400 pigs from wean to finish on a yearly basis.
A state-of-the-art facility, the $1.4 million UWP Swine Center was built without state tax dollars, and replaces the old swine center that was erected in 1960. The UW-Platteville Foundation funded the building with a loan from four local banks: Anchor, Clare, First National and Mound City. Bob Clare, local bank owner, donated the 30 acres of land where the Swine Center is located. The UW-Platteville Foundation is searching for additional donations.
If you would like more information or a tour of this facility please contact Leeann Lonsdorf, communications and outreach coordinator for Pioneer Farm, at 608-778-1884.
Contact: Leeann Lonsdorf, Communications & Outreach Coordinator, UWP Pioneer Farm, 608-778-1884, lonsdorl@uwplatt.edu
Prepared by: Leeann Lonsdorf, Communications & Outreach Coordinator, UWP Pioneer Farm, 608-778-1884, lonsdorl@uwplatt.edu; and Dan Lehnherr, UWP Public Relations, 608-342-1194, lehnherd@uwplatt.edu
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