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Prepare Your Barn for Winter: A Profitable Approach to Maintenance and Efficiency

As winter approaches, ensuring your barn is ready for the season is critical for maintaining productivity, reducing energy costs, and protecting your infrastructure. Proper facility maintenance is not only easy but also highly profitable when part of a regular routine. Here’s a comprehensive guide to tackling winter preparation while integrating long-term maintenance strategies.


The Value of Routine Maintenance

Facility infrastructure is a major investment, and neglecting it can lead to costly issues like inefficient energy use, damaged equipment, and even barn fires. Regular upkeep supports optimal pig performance, creating a healthier, more productive environment.

Steps for Routine Maintenance:

  1. Daily Inspections: Check penning, feeders, water systems, and ventilation daily for damage or clogs.
  2. Repair Scheduling: Address safety issues immediately and prioritize other repairs based on urgency and complexity.
  3. Documentation: Maintain a checklist for all inspections and repairs, ensuring nothing is overlooked.
  4. Professional Support: Engage specialists like electricians or engineers for complex tasks to prevent further issues.
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Trending Video

Validating Net Energy in Commercial Swine Systems - Gustavo Lima

Video: Validating Net Energy in Commercial Swine Systems - Gustavo Lima


In this episode of The Swine Nutrition Blackbelt Podcast, Gustavo Lima, PhD candidate at Iowa State University, explains how soybean meal net energy is evaluated using growth assays and calorimetry. He discusses caloric efficiency, validation under commercial conditions, and differences between controlled and real-world environments. Gustavo also highlights practical implications for diet formulation and ingredient valuation. Listen now on all major platforms!

“Indirect calorimetry provides a precise estimation of ingredient energy, yet validation under production conditions remains essential for accurate application in real systems.”

Meet the guest: Gustavo Lima / gustavo-lima-a9867127 is a PhD candidate in Animal Science at Iowa State University, specializing in swine nutrition, ingredient evaluation, and energy metabolism. With over 15 years of experience across Latin America, his work focuses on soybean meal utilization, caloric efficiency, and applied research for commercial production systems.