dustry’s ‘friend in PaS
breakdown.
Another innovation that Gruber
feels certain will boost his
production is snout cooling. During
the hot summer months, pipes
channel geothermally cooled air to
the front of each of the 20 new
farrowing crates. Though the
temperature in the rear portion of
the crate may be between 80° and
90°, air temperature at the sow’s
head remains at 70 s or less. Since
going to snout cooling, Gruber
claims a 20-percent increase in
feed consumption, with some sows
eating as much as 18 pounds per
day even in the heat of summer. He
feels that his sows’ hearty ap
petites result in more milk for the
growing broods.
Future plans at the Gruber farm
call for a gestation building for his
60 sows, as well as a boar test
station.
“The purebred breeder of
tomorrow is going to have to
provide commercial producers
with a lot of information in terms
of health, weight gain information,
and loin eye and backfat
thickness,” Gruber predicts,
adding that we’ve only begun to
explore “the tip of the iceberg”
with regard to swine production
technology.
“Within the near future we’ll be
-P -fy, ap, . m and keep them out of the
draft,” is Henry’s advice for successful farrowing. Coated
wire farrowing crate floors are equipped with heated mats in
new facility.
If we take a small amount of it, send it to
our lab and run the results through our
agronomic computer, we’ll give you reliable
information back.
No one knows more about agronomic needs for this area
than Chemgro. We have been soil testing and tissue testing
in this area for 17 years.
Soil test with us!
More Local Knowledge - More Local Experience
Ml DON'T SBi SERM&Jr COMES FREE WITH THE SAif
developing embryos in incubators.
Genetic engineering has only
begun and we’re very close to
being able to sex animals,” Henry
points out, adding that he doesn’t
know whether or not animal
production is headed in the right
direction.
“It used to be that one of the few
ways for young people to get
started in agriculture was through
the hog business,” says Gruber.
But with recent developments in
genetics, pharmaceuticals and
building technology ushering in the
age of the mega-producer, Gruber
fears for the future of the small
pork producer.
Though thinking big may pave
the way to big profits, Gruber is
confident that operations housing
thousands of sows entail an equal
proportion of risk with respect to
disease. Such an operation would
give him “too many sleepless
nights” to make the business
worthwhile.
Nevertheless, Gruber feels that
the large “swine factory” con
finement operations are here to
stay, and will be one of the
challenges faced by young aspiring
hog producers such as his 16-year
old son Seth, a Lehigh County 4-H
Swine Club member and partner in
the family operation.
FARMERS
Off to a running start in the
swine show circuit, Seth showed
his first Pa. Farm Show grand
champion swine in 1977 at the age
of nine, and duplicated the feat the
following year.
Plenty of encouragement on the
home front has also assisted Seth
in raising four county swine
champions and exhibiting the
lightweight champion steer at the
1980 Farm Show.
“One of the most pleasing ex
periences in our lives has been
watching our son grow through the
4-H program,” says his mother,
Marsha, the Gruber family’s chief
advocate, who also handles all
requisite business paperwork, as
well as the pigs, themselves, on
J
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IT
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A
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Lancaster Farming, Saturday, October 13,1984—A21
occasion.
Seth’s future plans include
college-hopefully in die field of
animal production-and then a
career in swine production at home
with his partner-father.
It’s a good industry,’’Henry
This 200-day capacity manure pit is covered with tran
sparent fiberglass. The result is less odor and increased
bacterial breakdown in the top two feet of sludge.
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concludes, “and it’s important that
we keep it here in the East where it
belongs: close to our markets. ’ ’
And froni the farrowing house to
the packing plant, Henry Gruber is
determined to do his part to keep it
here.
Inc.