More than 200 neighbors and local residents helped Brian and Karen Will celebrate the opening of their new 2,400 head wean to market hog barn near Sigel.  An open house and ribbon cutting ceremony was held on March 17.

“I have always enjoyed raising pigs and for many years have had several hundred head that I would purchase and then feed out until ready for market,” said Brian Will. “This new 2,400 head barn will provide me an opportunity to raise pigs for the long-term and involve my children, just as my dad did with me.” Pigs will enter the building weighing around 13 pounds, where they will be housed until they reach market weight of 280 pounds.

The Will family hosted an open house of their new 2,400 head wean to market hog barn. Brian and Karen’s daughter, Reagan, cuts the ribbon, along with brother, Dylan and sister, Brooklyn.

The Wills will contract with the Borgic family, Nokomis, to raise the pigs to market size. “FS Total Livestock Services helped connect me with Phil,” said Will. “Phil’s a great guy and I really like the idea of working with another farmer who has many years of experience and shares my passion for raising pigs.”

 “The new hog barn protects the environment, cares for the pigs and creates a safe place for our family to work,” said Will. “The new barn has many technologically advanced features that increase the efficiencies of raising the pigs, but will also improve the welfare of the pigs. The building is tunnel ventilated which improves air flow inside the building and thus improves the pigs’ health.”

The open house provided 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 deep pit under the barn,” said Will. “We will be injecting the manure to surrounding corn and soybean fields according to the crops needs based on our nutrient management plan.”

Open house attendees enjoyed a tour of the new hog barn and were treated to a free barbeque pork lunch.

“I was excited to show my neighbors and others attending the Open House my new hog barn. This is my family’s livelihood and an opportunity for the next generation of our family to be involved in the farm,” Will said. “We will work hard every day to ensure that we care for our animals, the environment, and our community.”