As hog prices continue to drop, the Practical Farmers of Iowa and the Iowa Farm Bureau are teaming up with Iowa State professors to find low-cost alternatives in hog production.

On Aug. 23, area farmers attended the Central Iowa Swine Field Day at the ISU Rhodes Research Farm and discussed with ISU professors the labor requirements, costs, environmental issues and benefits of hoophouse swine production.

Hoophouses are built using wooden sides and steel hoops to frame the roof and then are covered by a plastic canvas to allow air ventilation, explained Jay Harmon, professor in agriculture and biosystems. The pens contained cornstalk bedding and hay bales for warmth, comfort and manure management.

Hoophouses are gaining popularity in Iowa for a variety of reasons, but specifically because of low building costs, Harmon said.

“People are afraid to take out loans for big concrete confinement buildings,” he said. “This type of building provides a low-cost alternative.”

Jim Kliebenstein, professor in economics, said hoophouses work for individuals who have limited resources.

“The amount of money invested to enter the [swine] industry is less with hoophouses than confinement buildings,” he said. “These low-cost buildings provide a way for young farmers to break into the industry.”

Another difference between hoophouses and confinement buildings is the way the manure is handled.

“There’s less liquid manure because it is absorbed in the bedding,” said Tom Richard, professor in agriculture and biosystems. Each pen contains a deep bed holding eight to 10 inches of bedding for the animal. Hoophouses do not contain the liquid manure system common in confinement buildings.

“Liquid manure lagoons are viewed as an environmental problem. Solid manure is a benefit,” Harmon said.

The hoophouses operate on an “all in/all out” system to market. After five months, the building is emptied, the old bedding is removed and the building is cleaned out, Richard said.

“This type of manure management is less prone for contamination of water supplies,” he added. “But either system can be abused and cause problems.”

Hoophouses also provide a more comfortable work environment for farmers, Richard noted.

“Farmers generally cite the air movement as an advantage,” he said. “There is also less odor with this system.”

Harmon added that farmers experience better air quality than with a confinement building.

“Farmers feel like they are working outside,” he said.

One of the downfalls of hoophouses is poor feed efficiency, since the pigs are produced in an more outdoors-like environment.

“They are generally fatter hogs,” Harmon said. “There is also the additional labor. The farmer needs to bed the hogs regularly, handle corn stalk round bales and sort the pigs.”

In light of the potential pitfalls, Kliebenstein said in a comparison of confinement buildings’ and hoophouses’ per-hog profit, “the numbers are basically the same.”

Currently, hoophouses are a growing trend in farming. “We have seen a dramatic growth in Iowa over the last five years,” Harmon said. “There were 1,000 to 1,500 built in the last five years and even more in the last three years.”