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Brad Hennen displays the Hennen Pig Chute which is designed to make inoculating hogs easier and safer.

Brad Hennen displays the Hennen Pig Chute which is designed to make inoculating hogs easier and safer.

MANKATO, Minn. — I was patrolling the exhibit hall at the Minnesota Pork Congress always looking for something new … and different. The Pork Congress took place Feb. 15 and 16 in Mankato, Minn. I wasn’t disappointed in my search when I visited with Brad Hennen of Hennen Pig Chutes.

It didn’t seem to matter to Hennen I wasn’t in the market for his product. He chimed in with his sales pitch all the same. “The primary objective is to improve the accuracy of the vaccination process,” he began. “As opposed to just jabbing the vaccinating gun anywhere in his body, the objective is to get that vaccination right behind the pig’s ear where it’s supposed to be.”

Hennen explained the original concept came about four years ago when he was on the National Pork Board Task Force — charged with trying to eliminate the many broken vaccination needles found in pork. “That doesn’t happen very often,” he admitted, “but even one in a million is 120 times a year in our industry.  So it’s a troubling issue; and my objection was to figure out how to properly restrain the pig so that we could be more accurate in the vaccination process.”

The chute in Hennen’s display looked like two stretched out metal containers with conveyor belts on each side and bolted into a metal base. “We funnel pigs into these chutes through this six-foot conveyor which allows the person, or team, doing the vaccinating a clear shot at the animal’s neck.”

Hennen said the chute has generated a lot of interest at the shows he has attended. “I will deliver my eighth sale next week,” he said optimistically. “Sure, still a little slow to adopt at this stage, but the ones already using the chute are providing some very good reviews.  Some like it because of the improved accuracy; some because it’s less stressful on the pig; some because it’s less stress and injury on the person doing the vaccinating. Many tell me it’s the fastest way to get pigs vaccinated.

Hennen Pig Chutes run $6,000 for the whole unit which includes delivery, set up and training of the crew. “Every finishing barn is a little different, so each setup might be a little different,” Hennen explained. “So I have to make certain that it works in this guy’s barn. Even if I tell them I have a hog finisher down in Texas who has run 3 million pigs through his Pig Chute already …  that doesn’t mean much if they haven’t seen it work on their farm. So that’s the reason we set it up and check it out before we depart the premises.”

A Hutterite colony in South Dakota manufactures the chutes. It was my good fortune that one of the colony members was also at Hennen’s booth. “We buy feeder pigs, 2,600 hundred at a time,” he said. “They all get two vaccine shots in the softer part of the neck. That’s actually the law in this feeder pig business. And broken needles are not tolerated, so that’s why the law. So injury-free vaccinations are a must. And this Pig Chute really makes a difference.  When we’re unloading these 2,600 pigs and getting them ready for vaccinating, it’s a five-guy crew: three guys moving the pigs into the chutes and two doing the vaccinating.  We can actually get 3,000 pigs through this chute in an hour. We’re saving at least one hour’s time with each batch of pigs. But you have to push them … nose to tail.

More information can be found at www.hennenpigchute.com. Hennen’s phone number is (507) 828-0276.

Being able to see properly is also important in raising hogs and my next stop in the exhibit hall was a visit with Pat Murphy of Algona, Iowa. Murphy represents ONCE Animal Lighting— a lighting company which produces LED swine and poultry lights.

Most anyone who uses electric lights is by now aware of LED lighting and its energy-saving qualities. Hog producers watching their budget are looking at lowering electrical costs in growing/finishing barns or farrowing and nursing facilities for newly-born piglets.

“These are rugged, robust lights that stand up to the rigors of washing, the dust, the humidity generally prevalent in livestock barns — especially hog-finishing facilities,” Murphy said. “They have an internal enclosed circuit board so moisture can't get to them which is usually the number-one factor in diminishing lighting performance.”

ONCE has been in business for seven years. Two years ago they were purchased by Signify (the new name for the Phillips Lighting Company). “With this new ownership, we have access to ever-more creative thinking — both in our livestock lighting equipment and our marketing,” Murphy said. “We already have a lot of good customers … both in finishing barns and producers just doing the piglet business. We have producers in Canada, and pretty much across the American hog belt from east to west.”

Murphy said farmers would have to hire locally for installation, but that is generally not a problem. Producers are pleased with the lower energy costs. “You should see a 40 to 50 percent savings in energy if you went from an incandescent to an LED bulb system,” he said. “Many electrical suppliers offer rebates to hog producers who upgrade to LED systems simply because that means less energy being consumed in their total grid. Our LED bulbs have a 50,000-hour warranty or five years.”

Headquarterd in Plymouth, Minn., ONCE offers a premium-line heat lamp bulb which producers use in their sow barns for their young piglets. Another product they offer is the Bio-Shift — a UBC disinfectant chamber especially convenient for those small items that can't go through a shower or a washing machine coming into a sow facility. Running these items through the Bio-Shift unit decontaminates any viruses.

Murphy explained there are the two different styles of ONCE LED lighting. “The one with the smaller heat sync is a 10-watt LED; the other taller heat sync is a 14-watt. The 14-watt produces 1,500 lumens; the 10 watt 1,100 lumens.”

The lights come with a dimmer which permits the producer to offer 'sunrise to sunset' lighting intensities.  Or a producer can set the timer to shut off all lighting at a certain time; plus relight at a certain hour. “Our swine lights dim to red,” Murphy said. “The red spectrum that swine see in the light is a vision of night time. So you could dim to red at night and still go into your farrowing facility, walk through and look at your piglets. This keeps the piglets sleeping as you walk through.”

I also had a chance to catch up with Lyle Lange of Lange Ag Systems. His entrepreneurial spirits fired up in 1980, so he’s had 42 years of experience improving the ease and life of hog producers across the Midwest.

Based out of Willmar, Minn. Lange Ag Systems also has a warehouse and parts facility in Fairmont, Minn.  “We market across America today and even a few overseas sales,” Lange said. “We like to say, ‘good products sell themselves.’ so it’s very important for us to pick quality products.”

Lange said the company’s number-one selling item is its ventilation systems. “We have an installation crew that rigorously attends to every installation — knowing exactly how to set up the systems on each farm,” he said.

With each system comes the teaching of every producer how the ventilation system should function. “And my guys know ‘exactly right’ is always a must,” he stressed. “There’s no such thing like, ‘well, that’s close enough’ in our operation.”

“We do dairy barns; even a few poultry barns,” Lange went on to say. “And now we are doing a lot of silage storage systems with these bagger machines. And we do a big business with the grain bagger and grain unloader to livestock producers and grain farmers.”

The current ag economy has supplied Lange Ag Systems with plenty of work. “Last year was the best in the history of our company,” Lange said. “We’ve got five more people working for us today than we did six months ago. I’ve a great staff of employees.  My three kids and their spouses work in the business; also one of my brother-in-laws and his son. 

“I’m there every day because I totally enjoy my work,” Lange admitted as I said goodbye. “Don’t have any idea when I might retire. I love my work and our livestock farmers are absolutely the finest customers. My hobby is working with farmers and it is indeed a most wonderful hobby.”

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