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www.thelandonline.com — “Where Farm and Family Meet”
THE LAND — MAY 1/MAY 8, 2020
FFA leadership camp was a building block for Bakken By KRISTIN KVENO The Land Staff Writer ALBERT LEA, Minn. — Out on the farm near Albert Lea, Minn. Andrew Bakken developed a strong appreciation for agriculture. His family grew corn, soybeans and alfalfa as well as had a farrow-tofinish hog operation along with raising cattle. “I always loved agriculture,” Bakken said. That passion led to his involvement in FFA. It was attending Greenhand Camp in ninth grade which fostered Bakken’s interest in leadership roles in the organization. “That was a turning point for me.” Bakken’s FFA advisor at Albert Lea High School, Kim Meyer, encouraged Bakken to take part in the creed speaking contests as well as other involvement opportunities. While at Greenhand Camp, Bakken set goals for himself. One of those was to run for a state FFA office — and four years later, he did.
Andrew Bakken, Sentinel Bakken recalled there were 24 or 25 people that ran for state offices in 1994. “At the time it was a bit stressful,” he said. When it was announced Bakken was named state sentinel, happiness abounds. “It felt great, overwhelmed with joy. It was a goal I worked on for four years.” Bakken was attending the University of Minnesota while serving as state sentinel along with all the other state officers. “All of us had strong personalities.” While that could be a challenge, Bakken was quick to point out those personalities complimented each other well. His fondest memories as a state officer was running the leadership camps and having the younger FFA members look up to him.
Bakken now farms as well as runs his own farrowto-finish hog operation. He purchased his hog operation from his father in 1999. He currently markets about 4,000 pigs as well as 100 cattle a year. He also grows wheat, corn, soybeans, oats and has a haying enterprise. He’s been married to his wife, Jody for 20 years and they have four children: Brennan, 16; Blaine, 14; Brielle, 12 and Bryant, 9. Bakken’s son Blaine is in FFA. “He has a passion for showing livestock,” Bakken said. His daughter Brielle also has a strong interest in animal showmanship. He encourages those who are interested in leadership positions in FFA to give it their all. “If you reach that goal, it will change your life forever.” Bakken is grateful he made that life-changing decision to try for a state officer position all those years ago. The memories and the life lessons from that time has stayed with him to this day. v
Swine production choices to help cope with Covid-19 The overall global impact of the Covid-19 outbreak remains to be seen. But here in Midwestern farm country, it has ramifications far beyond human illness and mortality. Crop farmers have been able to get to the field and begin planting, and that kind of feels normal. The livestock sector is far from normal. Beef, dairy, poultry and swine are all affected by this disease which doesn’t make them sick; yet has changed 2020’s livestock management, meat supplies and farm profitability irreparably. Swine producers have pivoted and adjusted to the daily changes surrounding their feedstuff availability, management techniques and market access. Alongside them, Minnesota’s Department of Agriculture, Pollution Control Agency and Pork Producers Association have nimbly provided assistance and support. In the swine sector, harvest plant closures have taken the bloom off of any highlights there might have been in pricing and supplies. As farmers address this absence of a market for their pigs, they’ve adjusted their management strategies to focus on keeping the pigs on the farm for a longer period of time. Managing pigs whose market has closed No pigs are harvested today who don’t already have an appointment. Swine producers work with buyers representing the packing plant, and loads are scheduled to be hauled at specific times. That producer-buyer relationship is now a key to pig farmers knowing what may come next. Packers who have multiple processing plants across the United States have attempted to continue to receive a portion of their farmer-supplier’s pigs. The loads are sent to alternate sites, but they are purchased and processed. Packers who are still open have added shifts of employees and have added days of work in order to accommodate pigs who normally are processed at other sites. This re-
UniversityofMinnesota
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SWINE &U
routing of pigs will not accommodate all normallyscheduled pig delivery, but it can help. Buyer and farmer communication is critical to assisting the farmer’s plan for what may come next. SWINE & U Back at the farm, producers can adjust their manageBy Diane DeWitte ment strategies to reduce pigs’ growth rate. Instead of being ready to go this week, maybe the pigs will reach market weight next week. University nutritionists and related swine industry specialists spent early April assisting producers to make educated decisions. All of the strategies offered to producers are meant to be temporary and with the understanding that producers are in emergency situations. As always, when deciding how best to manage pigs in the face of harvest plant closures, producers consider the wellbeing of the pigs the number-one priority. Emergency management practices require additional observation of the pigs to ensure their safety and welfare. Adjusting the diet Revamping the pig’s ration to retain important nutrition while slowing the pig’s gain has been a primary management choice. Reducing the amount of energy in a diet while adding fiber is a common method which lengthens the pig’s time on feed. Nutritional fiber comes in many forms and is measured as neutral detergent fiber (NDF), and the
most commonly used ingredients in today’s swine diet are dried distillers grains with solubles, wheat midlings, corn germ meal, soybean hulls, and sugar beet pulp. Producers, working with their swine nutritionists, re-formulate the diet with 20-25 percent NDF. That amount of fiber in a diet makes the pig simply too full to eat enough feed to meet its energy requirement. While the low-energy/high-fiber diet is a successful short-term solution to reducing the pig’s growth rate, these fiber sources may be in short supply. Demand has increased and this is not the optimal time of year to obtain some of these ingredients. Other diet manipulation methods are also in play, including removal of all sources of dietary fat — a common energy source. From University of Minnesota Extension Swine Educator Sarah Schieck Boelke’s recent management summary, “What to do if your pork packing plant is closed,” reducing crude protein and essential amino acid levels will reduce growth rate and feed intake. That nutrient reduction has to be in the range of 30-40 percent. Also from Schieck-Boelke, using a type of salt called anhydrous calcium chloride can be added to reduce feed intake. This is a very technical strategy, so a qualified swine nutritionist needs to formulate these diets. It is a strategy not advised for use in lower-weight pigs. Iowa State University researchers are currently conducting a limited pig growth study comparing See SWINE & U, pg. 9
