Swine center friendly to pigs, environment
11:21 PM 1/19/04
Terry Morgan For the State Journal

PLATTEVILLE - A new "hog high-rise" at the UW-Platteville Pioneer Farm aims to make the production of pigs more environmentally friendly. <

The recently completed swine center features an upper floor where pigs will be bred and raised, and a lower floor that will collect their waste and begin an odor-free composting process. <

The $1.4 million facility was built on land donated by a local banker and paid for with donations and money borrowed by the UW-Platteville foundation. The foundation plans to raise money to repay the loan and then donate the center to the university, said Frank Friar, chairman of the UW-Platteville Foundation Board. <

Addressing pollution concerns is a main focus of the center. A primary feature is slotted floors that allow waste to fall through into a lower level. <

Concrete floors on the lower level have small holes allowing forced air to dry the manure. Other mechanical features and ventilation systems also were designed to avoid excess water accumulation in the pens. <

"It is thought that much of the odor (in hog operations) comes from water in the pens and manure pits," said Gretchen Brewer, an agricultural education major who leads tours of the building. <

The center also has a number of "biosecurity" devices such as showers, power washers, and windowed hallways to keep observers separated from animals. <

Being "pig friendly" is another goal of the swine center. Animals will spend most of their time in group pens rather than crates. <

Plans call for a 60-sow herd that will produce up to 1,400 pigs a year. Composted waste may be spread on fields or marketed by students, said Alicia Prill-Adams, assistant director at Pioneer Farm. <

Research and the education of students and producers will be important aspects of the center, said Prill-Adams. Ideally, she said, experiments at the center will help inspire others. <

"It is the creative people who survive in this business," she said. <