Could Duckweed Solve One of Hog Farming’s Biggest Challenges?

Jul 09, 2026

By Olivia Rogers

What if hog farmers could reduce the chances of lagoon overflow while also generating extra income?

North Carolina is the nation’s third-largest hog-producing state, and a big challenge hog farmers face is lagoon overflow on their farms. A new approach by an NC State University professor aims to make animal producers’ waste management practices more sustainable and less stressful. Ryan Sartor’s idea involves leveraging domesticated duckweed (Lemna) varieties in wastewater lagoons to prevent overflows on farms and harvesting the duckweed as a by-product.

Sartor, an assistant professor with a joint appointment in the departments of Molecular and Structural Biochemistry and Biological and Agricultural Engineering in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, has been working to domesticate duckweed since 2022. The North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services has awarded two grants to Sartor to help support the research.

“Breeding is one of the essential things that has to happen to make a new crop,” Sartor says, noting that one of the key advantages from domestication and breeding is yield stability. “The ability to predict what our yield’s gonna be, is super valuable in agriculture.”

Source : ncsu.edu

Video: What Does 20 MILLION Hogs a Year Look Like?

?? The Multi-Plant System Processing 20 Million Hogs Annually in the Midwest JBS USA operates multiple large-scale pork processing facilities across the Midwest, including major plants in Iowa, Minnesota, and Indiana. Combined, these facilities have the capacity to process approximately 20 million hogs annually.

Each plant operates high-speed automated slaughter systems capable of processing up to 20,000 head per day, followed by fabrication lines that break carcasses into primals, sub-primals, and case-ready retail products.

Hog procurement is coordinated through electronic marketing platforms that connect regional contract finishing operations and independent producers to plant demand schedules. This digital procurement system allows for steady supply flow and scheduling efficiency across multiple facilities.

Processing plants incorporate comprehensive food safety systems, including pathogen intervention technologies, rapid chilling processes, and integrated cold-chain management. USDA inspection is embedded throughout the harvest and fabrication stages to ensure regulatory compliance and product integrity. Finished pork products — from bulk primals to retail-ready packaged cuts — are distributed through coordinated logistics networks serving domestic and export markets.