Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Some Facts About Swine

By Lianne Derocco


Hog farming is a major food source for people worldwide and is actually the mostly widely eaten source of meat on the planet. Various food products are made and sourced from swine raised in the farms and practically all parts can be used to produce important food products. The following are some facts about hogs and pigs.

Words related to hogs are heard and used often interchangeably although these have different meanings and these words are swine, hogs, pigs and sows. Domesticated pigs are called swine and these are not the type of pigs found in the wild. Female pigs that are already matured are the sows and hogs are the adult swine in the pig farm. A male pig that has reached maturity is the boar although this can also refer to a wild pig.

The Chinese are known to be the ones who raised wild pigs for food source and they have been doing this for many thousands of years. The first form of bacon invented also is attributed to the Chinese. Ham is the most commonly produced pork product in the United States although bacon is a highly popular food product sourced from pork and is a close second to ham.

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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