Shallow injection and tire pressure help this hog farmer put a higher value on waste
Where some smell waste, Jake Kraayenbrink smells lost opportunity. Wise words from an uncle early in Jake's career in hog farming made a big impact and helped shape his lifetime outlook on the value of manure.
When Jake began farming in the mid-80s, broadcasting liquid hog manure on crop land was common practice.
At the time, Kraayenbrink had too much manure for his 100-acre farm, and manure had little value to others. Today, he and his family operate a 350-sow, farrow-to-finish operation, and sell high health breeding stock around the world.
As his hog herd increased he continued to seek innovative solutions to everyday situations. Kraayenbrink secured funding through the Farm Innovation Program (FIP) with the help of Ontario Pork, to explore two European-inspired, on-farm ideas related to manure. FIP is a federal-provincial-territorial program under Growing Forward.
With the help of industry experts, Kraayenbrink recently completed two FIP projects based on his ideas about injecting manure directly into growing crops and reducing soil compaction when spreading manure on neighbouring lands.
To read more about this project, go to:
http://www.ontariopork.on.ca/Portals/0/Docs/Programs/farm/FIP_1152&1035_story_FINAL.pdf
Source: OntarioPork