Tuesday was not just another day in the 5j Design office. Nope, on Tuesday, we had the wonderful opportunity to see what one of our clients does...by taking a tour of a hog barn. Jake and I are the web guys for New Standard, and typically we don't like to call ourselves city boys. But let's face it, when in comes to farming and livestock production, we are definitely city boys. Tim and Ben from the New Standard Group were gracious enough to take us where we had never been before. Read more about our first journey through a group sow housing barn.

Installing new hog penning and gating systems into your existing or new swine barn has a large impact on the quality and efficiency of the barn. When deciding what products to install, you have to make tough decisions on the strength and lifespan of the panels, as well as the health risk each presents to your animals. After working with both PVC and polypropylene products, we strongly recommend Paneltim polypropylene hog pen panels. Read more on how these panels compare to traditional PVC panels when it comes to hygiene and biosecurity, product strength, and environmental friendliness.

Making the decision to remodel your existing sow housing barn may seem daunting. You will have to restructure your barn, buy new equipment, and train your pigs and barn staff on the new processes. We promise that making this decision is worth your time and investment, but we understand effort this transition takes. That is why we want to provide you with everything you need to know about a sow housing remodel before you make the decision.

You have many choices when it comes to the feeding equipment you select for your new or remodeled sow barn. When choosing ESF systems, think about what is unique about your farm and what you need to future proof your farm. Then, choose a management system that can support your individual operation. 

It is an uncomfortable question to ask yourself, but do you know if your swine barn is designed to keep up with the pork industry trends in the next 20 years? There is no doubt that the industry has been changing rapidly over the past 20 years, and the next 20 years will likely keep the same pace. As a pork producer it is vital to stay up-to-date with the latest trends, especially in sow housing. Hog barn designs from 20 years ago are quickly becoming outdated, and it is time to start considering what you can do so the rest of the pork industry doesn't leave you behind.

Converting to an Electronic Sow Feeding barn usually brings about many different thoughts and emotions. You may be excited for the change, frustrated about the social demands and regulations, or you may just know it is a necessary change. Whether you are frustrated, excited, or indifferent, you probably have the end goal of increasing production within your barn. One of the major benefits of ESF barns is their ability, with proper management, to reduce stress among your sows. By reducing stress, the pigs become happier and healthier. When the pigs are happy and healthy, they produce more piglets and increase your profits. Learn more about how Electronic Sow Feeding barns will reduce your sows' stress.

Including tunnel ventilation in turkey finisher barn designs has become popular among poultry producers, but does it regulate temperature any better than natural or other mechanical poultry barn ventilation systems? We believe tunnel ventilation systems are more efficient and less costly, and our team has a wealth of experience designing and installing tunnel ventilation into turkey finishing houses. Read more on why you must include tunnel ventilation into your next turkey barn design.

The Pig Hill gilt development unit (GDU) was built in Lester, IA, and is in its second year of operation. As we take you on a tour through the facility, notice how it was built to supply an Electronic Sow Feeding barn. In this GDU, the young sows are able to learn about the new equipment on their own time.

When choosing hog penning and gating products to implement in your hog barn design, you may struggle knowing what product your barn will benefit from the most. What products are the strongest, last the longest, and are easy to work with? At New Standard, our staff has an abundance of experience working with hog penning and gating products, and our team has found that PanelTim plastic hog paneling is the top product on the market. Check out these 3 reasons we suggest including plastic hog penning in your hog barn design.