What is a hoop barn?
A hoop barn consists of 4-foot-high sidewalls fitted with steel tubular arches covered with an opaque UV-resistant polypropylene tarp. Most of the floor area inside the hoop is bedded with cornstalks or other crop residues. The remaining floor is a concrete slab where feeders and waterers are located. Finishing pigs typically are housed in groups ranging from 75 to 250 head, with each building holding one group of pigs. Occasionally the building is divided lengthwise to accommodate two groups. Sows also can be housed in hoop barns.
Research projects
Funds were used to construct a side-by-side comparison of a confinement system and hoop barns at the ISU Rhodes Research and Demonstration farm near Marshalltown. A modular confinement facility and three hoop structures have been the site of finishing pig trials. Gestating sow trials have been conducted in hoop structures at the Lauren Christian Swine Research Farm near Atlantic. Research projects conducted by Hoop Group members are designed to answer questions about pig performance, environmental impacts, odor, the effects of bedding manure compost on soil quality, pork quality, production costs and returns, and producer opinions on hoop production.
Research results
The Iowa State University Hoop Group is recognized internationally for its leadership in deep-bedded hoop swine production. Some research findings:
• Hoop pigs grow faster during the summer than confinement pigs, although they grow less efficiently during the winter.
• On an annual basis, there are no major differences in feed intake, growth rate, feed efficiency and mortality between pigs in hoop structures and pigs in confinement systems.
• The annual overall cost of pork production for finishing pigs is similar between hoop and confinement systems.
• Hoop-raised pigs fight less and respond to stress better than confinement pigs.
• The health status of hoop-raised pigs is similar to confinement-raised pigs.
• A May 2001 survey showed there are more than 2,100 hoop structures in Iowa used for swine production by more than 770 producers.
• A survey of consumers in four communities suggests some consumers may be willing to pay more per package for pork chops produced under a system that improves air and water quality.
• A survey of 2,600 stakeholders in the Iowa swine industry showed a belief that hoop production may help solve a variety of problems facing the industry.
• Hoop structures offer a viable system of swine production and an alternative for producers interested in pursuing specialty or niche markets.
Ongoing research
While the Hoop Group members have completed several research projects and published their results, other projects continue. These include:
• Work related to housing gestating sows in bedded hoop barns.
• Developing feed intake, growth and feed efficiency curves for pigs in both hoops and confinement during winter and summer. • The potential of Echinacea as a feed additive for nursery pigs.
• Feeding oats to finishing pigs in bedded hoop barns.
• Examining various pig densities to determine the optimum square-footage allowance per pig.
• An in-depth analysis of gas emissions and air quality of deep-bedded hoop barns.
• A case study with Niman Ranch Natural Pork Company.
New research gets underway
The recent USDA grant has made it possible for the research team to undertake some new initiatives. These include:
•Developing a comprehensive manual of practical applications and best management practices of hoop barn use for swine production.
•Collecting information on uses of hoop structures for species other than swine and developing fact sheets.
•Developing a nationwide network of hoop barn demonstration sites and planning and conducting a national workshop.
•Conducting a systems analysis of hoop barns as a total pork production system.
•Developing humane, medically acceptable and economically feasible protocols for using hoop barns to raise disadvantaged and lightweight pigs.
•Studying the influence of finishing pigs in hoop barns on the color, texture and water-holding capacity of fresh pork and the interaction of genetic lines and production systems on pork quality traits.
•Surveying producers who are experienced with hoop barn swine production to learn their opinions on the animal welfare benefits and limitations of hoop structures.
•Studying the feeding of triticale to finishing pigs in bedded hoop barns.
•Evaluating winter farrowing in bedded facilities.
Source: Iowa State University