Some Facts About Swine

By Lianne Derocco


Hog farming supplies people all over the world with an important source of food. Not only are farm-raised hogs used to make various food products, all of the parts of the hog are used to make a myriad of important products. Here are a few more interesting facts about hogs.

Words such as pigs, swine, hogs and sows are those we hear often but these are words with individual meanings. Swine are pigs that are domesticated and these are not the wild pigs or wild boars. Hogs are adult swine and sows are female pigs that are already mature for breeding. Boars are the male mature pigs ready for breeding but this term also is sometimes used as wild boar, which is a non-domesticated pig that lives in the wild. These also are often hunted for their meat.

Pigs have been domesticated for thousands of years, and it was the Chinese that first began raising wild pigs as a source of food. It was also the Chinese that invented our first form of bacon. While bacon might seem like the most popular food product from pigs in the United States, ham is actually the most commonly produced pork product in the country.

Pigs are also often thought of as dirty animals and this is generally because these are livestock who enjoy wallowing and swimming in muddy water. However pigs do not sweat which means they must find a way to keep cool and a soothing mud bath is an excellent way to relax and help them maintain a safe body temperature.

Pigs produce a lot of waste as this is also true for other animals and livestock that are domesticated. Waste pits and waste lagoons are the storage systems used in the typical pig farms. However, common problems associated with agricultural waste can occur and farm owners have to watch out for these in their waste storage systems. Crust can form on the topmost part of the pits and become a source of bad odors and also attract flies and the bottom portion can form into a difficult-to-manage sludge layer.

Farmers can use a natural product that uses bacterial microbes to eat away at these organic solids and liquefy this waste. For instance, Agra Sphere is a product that contains these naturally occurring bacteria and this chemical-free agricultural waste solution can prevent sludge formation and crusting, as well as foaming. Another helpful agricultural waste product to consider is Activator, which is an excellent option if your waste lagoon or pit already has some sludge or crusting. This can eat away at the solids and help keep the waste in a liquid form that is ideal for use as a fertilizer.




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