Keep your swine operation running smoothly with solutions that make a difference.
Swine production is a 24/7, hands-on job. It takes constant monitoring, training of labor, excellent record keeping and a host of other processes to keep pigs happy, healthy and ready to move on to the next stage of production.
With so many moving parts on a hog farm, it’s important to keep the entire operation running smoothly, and to proactively address as many concerns as possible, before they become bottlenecks that could slow you down. Every hiccup can mean lost time and money. So here are a few common issues swine producers face, and how AP is creating the solutions that make a difference.
Hog barns require constant oversight
There’s just a lot that can happen on a hog farm. You have hundreds or thousands of hogs, living in the same space. They need food, they need water, and they need to have ideal environmental conditions - and hogs can be pretty picky.
With extensive expertise in the field of hog barn operation, AP has created the EDGE 2 Controller. This system manages a farm’s ventilation system and allows producers to monitor and control the environment in the barn - what the temperature is, what equipment is running and manage air flow. Then, that information can be tied back to what it’s actually costing to run the barn.
NEW SMART TOOLS ARE GAME CHANGERS FOR SWINE OPERATIONS
While the controller lives with the barn and connects to a system in the office, it can also be accessed remotely. Now, basically anything that can be done while standing inside the building can now be done from anywhere in the world. So for a farmer planting corn or harvesting soybeans, he can grab the right windows of time to get in the field without worrying he might miss something that needs to be taken care of for the hogs. No driving back to the barn to flip a switch - he can control fans and heaters right from the palm of his hand.
It’s peace of mind and a better financial understanding of the everyday nuts and bolts of your operation.
Components in the system just wear out
It’s true - nothing lasts forever. Specifically not the plate in your bulk feed bin. As the auger drags the feed out of the bin, moving feed to the individual feeders, eventually, the plate under the auger can wear out. That auger wears the reinforced metal down a tiny fraction of an inch at a time - which means soon, you’ll be looking for parts, and possibly experiencing some frustrating downtime.
With this issue in mind, the engineers at AP designed a fiberglass-filled nylon wear plate for our Flex-Flo unloader. The wear plate features a thicker wall and provides up to 4X wear resistance compared to galvanized steel, making it incredibly durable. This adjustment can add years of longevity to the wear plate. The new wear plate takes something used every day and makes it just that much better - increasing its efficiency and adding to its life span.
Barn systems can be smarter
There are many options on the market for the various systems that are required to build a quality hog barn. Fans may have come from one manufacturer, a feed system from a different company, and your controller from another. But where does the buck stop when all those systems need to work together seamlessly?
AP is a one-stop shop for your hog barn systems and technology. Our unparalleled expertise allows us to support and integrate any components you need. We understand the big picture, and we help you develop a hog barn whose systems work together to create the best possible environment for your hogs.
