The Rhodes Research Farm west of Ames is preparing to study techniques for raising swine developed in Sweden and Canada.

The Swedish method is called the deep, bed technique, and it involves using cornstalks or newspaper to provide a softer and warmer bed for hogs, said Dennis Shannon, manager of the outlying research center. He said the method would provide a warmer bed in the winter for hogs instead of a concrete floor.

The hope is that this will use an otherwise wasted resource and provide valuable humus and nutrients to the soil. This also holds promise of lowering the cost of raising livestock, he said, and enrich the soil.

The project should start with about 1,000 pounds of newspaper, and, if successful, it could use many thousands of pounds each year, Shannon said.

The current method mixes cornstalks with newspapers since paper tends to disintegrate when wet, said Mark Honeyman, an associate professor with Extension.

Shannon said the Canadian-designed structures resemble a quonset hut. The metal tubes have a 2.5-inch diameter and are covered by a heavy plastic tarp. The secret is stretching the tarp like a drum. The whole thing is woven together by nylon cord. No bolts are needed.

The dimensions are about 30 feet wide, 72 or 84 feet long and 14 to 16 feet at the top of arch.

The cost is about $10,000 each, with an estimated lifetime of about five to 10 years, which is about as long as current methods seem to be lasting. Honeyman said the structures are economically competitive with other methods.

“Hogs can get bored and this gives them something to do. They can have fun with it,” Shannon said. He hopes the newspaper can be put in whole and the hogs will chew on and tear up the bedding. “The hogs might even read the paper and get smarter,” Shannon said.

About 150 to 200 head of hogs can occupy the structures at a time, and two to three groups can be finished in a year, Honeyman said.

He said some 100 producers in Iowa are using the structures.