Goodhue County Pork Farmers

 Monica and Brandon Schafer with two of

 their four children, Max and Kenny.

Le Sueur County Pork Farmers

  David and Betty Braun raise hogs with

  David's brothers, Brian and Bob.

Pipestone County Pork Farmers

  JoAnn and Jim Veldkamp are crop and hog

  farmers in southwestern Minnesota.

Minnesota's pork farmers provide a significant value-added activity to the state's agricultural economy and are major contributors to the state's overall economy. They are nationally recognized leaders in the adoption of management practices that focus on animal comfort, swine well-being, worker safety and environmental protection.

The Minnesota Agricultural Statistics Service recorded 4,400 Minnesota farming operations with one or more hogs in 2008. In Minnesota, 84 percent of the hogs are raised on operations that market 2,000 head or more a year.

THIRD IN NATION

Nationally, Minnesota ranks third in the number of hogs its farmers' raise and second in the value of hogs that Minnesota farmers’ sell for processing into fresh and process pork products. Minnesota pork producers marketed 14.6 million hogs in 2009. Iowa ranks first in hog numbers, North Carolina is second, Illinois is fourth and Indiana is fifth.

VETERNARIANS

Also contributing to Minnesota's success in the raising of pigs is a well established and internationally recognized network of swine veterinarians and researchers who live and work in our state.

Why Southern Minnesota Counties?

There are several advantages to hog production in the southern third of the state, including:

• abundant corn and soybean production provides feed for the pigs
• cropland acres to utilize the nutrients in swine manure as a soil fertilizer
• innovative and experienced pig farmers and employees

EMPLOYMENT

About 22,500 Minnesota jobs are involved in various aspects of the pork industry. These job range from input suppliers to producers, to processors and handlers, as well as mainstreet businesses that benefit from purchases by people within pork production.

Examples of these jobs are hog management and care, accountants, nutritionists, agronomists, meat processing, construction and related building fields, trucking and feed mill operations.

PROCESSING FACILITIES

Minnesota pork producers are fortunate to have two major pork processing plants within its borders: Hormel Foods, based in Austin, Minn., and JBS (Swift & Company), with operations in Worthington, Minn. In nearby Sioux Falls, S.D., John Morrell has its largest pork processing plant.

Research shows that each job at the farm level in hog production creates two supporting jobs in pork processing.

In 2009, Minnesota pork farmers earned $1.6 billion in gross income from hog sales. (This is the revenue received by the farmer to pay expenses.)

Each $1 in gross income from Minnesota pork production generates another $2.80 into the Minnesota economy, for an annual 2009 economic contribution of $4.5 billion.

GRAIN CONSUMPTION

Pork farmers blend together a variety of feed ingredients to provide pigs a balanced diet.

In  Minnesota, it is primarily corn and soybeans converted into soybean meal. Vitamins and minerals, such as calcium and phosphorous, are also added to the rations.

Minnesota pigs consumed approximately 155 million bushels of corn and 55 million bushels of soybeans in 2009.

NUTRIENT CYCLE

SWINE MANURE AS A FERTILIZER

The nutrients found in swine manure are important to Minnesota crop production. These nutrients add beneficial fertilizers and organic matter to the soils on which farmers grow their crops. University of Minnesota research demonstrates significant economic and environmental benefits from using swine manure as a fertilizer.

The research finds that the organic compounds in swine manure:

• provide yield advantages for corn when compared to using synthetic, commercial fertilizers.
• help build and maintain soil structure, which aids soils’ ability to hold water.
  
• improves soil aeration.
  
• reduces soil erosion.