Bryan and Judy Bennett celebrated the opening of their new 4,000 head nursery hog barn south of Xenia in Wayne County by hosting an open house and ribbon cutting ceremony last week. More than 125 neighbors, rural residents, and local community residents attended the open house and enjoyed a tour of the new hog barn and were also treated to a free pork burger sandwich. 

The Bennetts currently raise 8,000 head of nursery pigs for New Fashion Pork. This addition will increase their capacity to 12,000 head of nursery pigs.

Bennett Family Opens Doors on New 4,000-Head Nursery Hog Barn in Wayne County

Bryan has been involved in pork production his entire life. He grew up helping on his family’s farrow to finish hog farm. Bryan purchased the farm from his father Richard Bennett and is the second generation to raise pigs on this farm.

“There have been pigs on this farm for 52 years,” Bryan Bennett says. “I’ve seen a lot of changes during that time in how we raise pigs. We have continued to improve the care that we provide the pigs and how we care for the environment.”

Bryan and Judy have been raising nursery pigs under contract for the last 17 years. Bryan’s nephew, Dylan Bennett, helps on the farm along with 2 part-time employees.

“We decided to build the new hog barn to expand our family farm. Pork production has allowed my family to continue to remain viable in agriculture and remain an active member of this community. I have enjoyed being a part of the pork industry and providing a critical and healthy protein for the world,” Bennett adds.

The Bennetts new nursery barn will house 4,000 head of pigs. Pigs will enter the building weighing about 13 pounds, where they will be housed for approximately 4-5 weeks until they reach about 40 pounds. At which point, they will be sent to a finishing building until they reach market weight of 260-270 pounds.

“This building project is simply an expansion of our commitment to the safe and humane production of hogs,” Bryan says. “The new hog barn has many technologically advanced features that increase the efficiencies of raising the pigs, but will also improve the welfare of the pigs. The floor is made out of composite plastic and there are numerous controllers and sensors throughout the barn to keep the pigs at the right temperature year round.”

The Open House and Ribbon Cutting was sponsored by many partners including: New Fashion Pork, Farmer Boy Ag, Manure Inc., Bean Capital Banking Center. DM Manufacturing, Gills Excavating, Illinois Pork Producers Association and the Pork Checkoff.

“IPPA helped to sponsor the open house to celebrate and highlight the role of Illinois pork producers as stewards of their community and the environment, as well as an important contributor to the local and state economy,” notes Tim Maiers, IPPA Director of Industry and Public Relations. 

The pork industry is very important to the Illinois economy.  According to a study conducted by Peter Goldsmith, associate professor of Agribusiness Management at the University of Illinois, the Illinois pork industry contributes $1 billion in direct impact and $1.8 billion and 10,533 jobs of total impact to the State’s economy in addition to providing $170 million in total taxes.  The pork industry is also important to Illinois agriculture as it consumes over 69 million bushels of corn and 22.5 million bushels of soybeans each year.

 “The new hog farm will bring additional economic activity to our local economy,” Bennett adds. “We will also be adding additional tax revenue to the county, of which a large portion will go to our local school district.”

The open house is also an opportunity to highlight the environmental stewardship implemented by today’s modern hog farms. Swine manure is a natural fertilizer that saves billions of cubic feet of natural gas which would otherwise be used to manufacture commercial fertilizers.

Pork producers are held to a zero discharge standard in the management of manure. “All of our manure is required to be completely contained in the pits under the barns,” said Bennett. “This manure will be an excellent natural fertilizer to the surrounding cropland. The manure from this barn will fertilize an additional 80 acres.”

“This is my family’s livelihood. I will work hard every day to ensure that I care for my animals, the environment, and my community,” Bennett adds.

Source: IPPA