Independent Hog Producers

For the Staudts, that good life on the farm has come about by making some traditional practices work side-by-side with modern farming methods. They have continued the Staudt family’s 40-year history as independent hog producers, finishing 2,000 market hogs a year in a profession that is becoming increasingly rare.

They also discovered that ridge-till farming practices improve soil conservation and reduce crop costs on their 1,200 acres of corn and soybeans. The beans and 80 percent of the corn are sold on the commercial market. Their hogs are fed the remainder of the corn. A large garden helps feed the family of five throughout the year.

The Staudts also fit in time for recreation. Dennis sings professionally in a touring barbershop quartet, while Patty pours her creativity into lavish plantings of flowers and shrubs around the farm.

Hogs Make The Difference

“Most years our hogs are profitable,” Dennis said. “They’re a good supplement to the farming operation because if our farm was made up only of 1,200 acres of crops, it wouldn’t earn enough income to provide a living for our family. In addition, the hogs keep me busy in the off season.”

Save With Accurate Rations

Accurate rations also help keep this independent hog operation profitable. From the time baby pigs arrive until they are marketed as finished hogs 180 days later, they are fed a succession of 11 different rations, each balanced to meet the nutritional needs of their pigs at specific stages of growth.

Adjustments in protein and lysine, an essential amino acid, are the most critical, according to Dennis. Soybean meal supplies the protein, with lysine coming from a commercial supplement. Corn raised on the farm provides energy in the diets.

Modern facilities also contribute to profitability. “Confinement facilities improve feed conversion because they keep the environment more constant,” Dennis said. Hogs are kept indoors and fed in large pens with slatted floors. Large liquid manure pits under the floors are pumped out on a regular basis.

“Though independent hog producers such as ourselves are becoming rare,” Dennis said, “we like the independence. We believe being independent hog producers works for us because we have ownership in our hogs and in our whole operation. We have a stake in the pigs. We’re responsible for both the good and the bad things in our operation and our management. When we do something better or make any kind of improvements, we reap the rewards, not someone else.”

The Staudts sell their hogs to a processing plant 80 miles from the farm. The plant operates buying stations around the state, and one of these is only three miles from the Staudts’ farm.

Research shows that in many field conditions ridge-tilling can maintain or improve yields of corn and soybeans while reducing soil loss, labor, and machinery costs. The sweeps on the Staudt’s row-crop cultivator are fitted with wings which pile the soil to either side, forming the ridges. Each seed opener on their planter is fitted with a ridge cleaner, a tool that removes crop residue and an inch of soil on top of the ridge during planting. The seed is placed into this clearing.

“We’re well pleased with the seed-to-soil contact in this system,” Staudt said. “The seed is always planted into firm soil, the soil is not lumpy, and it’s not compacted. Because the ridge is elevated, it provides the seedbed with good drainage.” The ridge also warms up rapidly in spring, permitting seeding at an earlier date than in conventionally tilled fields.

“After seeding, we do two cultivations. The first one is done, when the crop is four to eight-inches tall, to simply kill weeds, so the shanks have no attachments. But for the second cultivation, three to four weeks after the first, we add the attachments so ridges can be rebuilt. Rebuilding is necessary because seeding and cultivating the emerging crop for the first time can reduce the ridges to some extent.” The fields are not tilled after harvest, so stubble is left to trap snow for moisture and to protect the soil from wind erosion.

Save On Chemicals

Chemical use is also reduced by ridge till. A banded pre-emergent herbicide is applied one time at planting. A sprayer attached to the planter puts down the herbicide in a 12 to 15-inch wide area over the planting zone. Any post-emergent spraying is also banded over the crop rows.

“We like ridge till because it protects our soil from wind and water erosion,” Dennis said. “In addition, it saves three tillage operations, two in spring and one in fall, on our corn ground. It saves two tillage trips on our soybeans.”

Ridge till farming has maintained yields while reducing costs. “Because ridge till lets us band herbicides, we can save $17 an acre. We’re able to save an extra $15 an acre by making fewer tillage trips around the field.”

Professional Singing

Surprisingly, here is a successful farmer who actually has time to pursue off-farm interests. Dennis sings in a professional barbershop quartet known as Surround Sound. The group performs up to 30 times a year throughout Iowa and nearby states. The quartet practices one evening every other week. Dennis also directs two church choirs.