Pork In Our DietPork is an important part of our diet! It provides our body with protein that builds strong muscles and helps our bodies grow big and strong. Pork is also a great source of iron, zinc and B-vitamins.

Modern technology, along with the work of farmers, have brought consumers the leanest bacon, ham, sausage and other pork products possible. Electronic equip-ment allows farmers to monitor the fat content of the pig and adjust the pig’s diet to produce very lean meat. This equipment, along with breeding techniques, allow farmers to choose leaner animals for breeding stock and to supply consumers with lean, tasty products they want. Compared to ten years ago, pork has 30 percent less fat, 14 percent fewer calories, and 10 percent less cholesterol.

• Illinoiscurrentlyranks4thintheU.S.forthenumberofpigsraised.

• In2009,Illinoisfarmersraised1.84billionpoundsofpork.

• Thereare2,900farmsinIllinoisthatraisepigs,andmorethan4.3millionpigs–480,000breedingpigsand3.82millionmar-ketpigs.

• ClintonCountyraisesmorepigsthananyothercountyinthestateofIllinois.Thereare263,000pigsinthatcountyalone!

• Theporkindustrycontributes $1.8billiontotheIllinois economyannually.

Number Talk

DuringtheWarof1812,aNewYorkporkpackernamedUncleSamWilsonshippedaboatloadofseveralhundredbarrelsofporktoU.S.troops.Eachbarrelwasstamped“U.S.”onthedocks,anditwasquicklysaidthatthe“U.S.”stoodfor“UncleSam,”whoselargeshipmentseemedtobeenoughtofeedtheentirearmy.Thisishow“UncleSam”cametorepresenttheU.S.Government.

&Pigs Their DietA pig’s diet is mostly made up of ground up corn and soybeans. Illinois and Iowa are among the top states for corn and soybean production, and the same is true for pigs. Could there be some connection to pigs, corn and soybeans? Corn and soybeans are important ingredi-ents in a pig’s diet, so many farmers who raise pigs will often grow corn and/or soybeans too.

Feed makes up for more than half the cost of rais-ing a pig! A lot of science and research goes into making sure the pigs get a balanced diet. Animal nutritionists look at many combinations of feed in-gredients to figure out which mixture of nutrients and minerals are best. The pigs will eat a variety of these mixes at different stages of their life so they get the nutrients that they need.

After the FarmYou’d be surprised at the number of things that are made from pigs! There are over 500 different types of important things besides meat that come from pigs. Examples of pig by-products are chewing gum, animal feeds, leather, glue, combs, buttons, plastics, paintbrushes, plywood, adhesive, insulation, uphol-stery, cosmetics, antifreeze, cellophane, floor waxes, cement, crayons, chalk, matches, putty and linoleum.

A number of helpful products are made from pigs. In-sulin, a medicine that helps people who have diabetes, comes from pigs, as well as dressings for severe burns and heart valves for human survival.

BladeShoulder

Side(Belly)

Loin

LegArm

Shoulder

blade roast

blade steak

sirloin chop tenderloin

pork chopbutterfly

shoulder roastarm

bacon

leg cutletspareribs

ham

This is where the piglets are born. A mother pig, or sow, is put into a special area called a farrowing stall. This stall has rails to separate the sow from her piglets. This way she won’t hurt the piglets when she lays down or turns over, but she can still nurse (provide the piglets with milk). Each stall also has heat lamps to keep the little piglets warm.

An average litter includes about eight to twelve piglets. Piglets weigh about two and a half pounds at birth. They will stay in the farrowing barn for three to four weeks or until they weigh 10-15 pounds. Most sows will give birth to two to three litters each year.

Farrowing Barn

Once the piglets reach the right age and weight, they are weaned from the sow and moved to the nursery. Here the pigs get a specially mixed starter diet of corn, soybeans and supplements of vitamins and minerals to help them stay healthy and grow quickly. The pigs will stay in the nursery until they reach around 50 to 60 pounds.

NurseryPigs HealthyFarmers Keep

Here in Illinois we have very extreme weather! Our winters are very cold and summer heat can be very hard on pigs. Pigs aren’t able to sweat because they don’t have sweat glands like humans do. Since they can’t sweat, pigs can over-heat very easily which can make them sick or even lead to death. We can’t control the weather, but barns can! Keeping the pigs in the barns keeps them out of these varied condi-tions. Modern technology allows farmers to monitor each barn carefully. Pig barns are kept at a constant comfortable temperature and humidity. Barns are well-lit, ventilated, and are kept very clean.

From the nursery, pigs are moved to the finishing barns. Here they will continue to eat grains like corn and soybeans until they reach a market weight of roughly 280 pounds. Pigs are one of the few animals that won’t overeat. A pig eats about 870 pounds of corn and 120 pounds of protein and minerals to reach market weight.

Finishing

Farmer TalkThere are many different terms farmers use to talk about pigs. Here are just a few:

• Boar is a male used for breeding.• Barrow is a male pig that is not used for

breeding.• Farrow means to give birth to piglets.• Gilt is a female pig that has not given

birth.• Litter means a group of piglets born at

the same time. Litter sizes are usually between 8-12 piglets.

• Piglet is a baby pig.• Pork is the food and products that come

from pigs. Pork chops, bacon, ham, sau-sage, and pork roast are some examples of pork.

• Sow is a female pig used for breeding. Pigs are pregnant for three months, three weeks and three days.

• Wean means that the piglet is big enough to eat on his own and doesn’t nurse from the sow anymore.

Farmer Wilkinson has pigs in his truck that he is taking to market. As he pulls onto the parking lot of the processing plant where he will sell the animals, he drives his truck over a scale.

For Farmer Wilkinson, the truck scale read 77,020 lbs.

The truck weighs 31,960 lbs.

Farmer Wilkinson weighs 180 lbs.

How much do the animals weigh? (a)_________

If there are 170 pigs in the trailer, what is their average weight? (b)_________

If the price per pound of pigs is $0.65, and the cost for Farmer Wilkinson to raise them is $0.60 per pound, how much does Farmer Wilkinson make on each pig? (c)___________

How much does he make on all 170 pigs? (d)___________

If he markets 20,000 pigs per year what is Farmer Wilkinson’s total profit for the year? (e)____________

What are some expenses that could affect the farmer’s profit? _____________________________________________________________

To Market . . .To Market

Farmers are always concerned about the environment around them. After all, their families live close to the farms too. The agriculture industry is always doing research that creates new ways to improve the quality of the environment and reduce odor.

Sometimes you can smell manure on a pig farm. Manure is a very important part of the agriculture cycle. As plants grow they pull nutrients up from the soil through their roots. Eventually, the nutrients need to be replaced. These nutrients can be replaced with fertiliz-ers – like pig manure. Manure is a great source of nutrients that plants need to grow – like nitrogen(N) and phosphorus(P).

Farmers inject manure into the ground about six to eight inches with a machine. This machine helps increase the nutrients in the ground and reduces runoff and odor. Before the manure is applied it is held in large underground pits, lagoons or other storage facilities. These holding areas are lined with clay, plastic or concrete to make sure that none of the manure leaks into the ground. When the farmer is ready to apply the manure it is pumped into a manure tanker and ready for application.

EnvironmentFarmers and the

NutrientCycle

It takes all kinds of people to raise healthy livestock. Check out a career in agricul-ture and help the world thrive. Some careers in the pork industry include breeding, veterinary medicine, meat packing, meat inspection, herd management, farrow-ing/nursery unit management, grower/finisher management, herdsman, breeding specialist, swine service specialist, banking, pig buying, futures trading, computer programming, geneticist, food science specialist and animal nutritionist just to name a few.

The pork industry in Illinois employs more than 10,500 people. Check out jobs you could have in the pork industry at http://www.pork.org/Resources/132/careersinporkproduction1.aspx

Chad Leman Leman Farms, Inc.Eureka, Illinois

1. Why do you raise your pigs indoors? Wouldn’t it be better if they were outside?It is much better to raise pigs inside a barn rather than outside. We can control the temperature in the barns. If our pigs were outside we would be constantly battling the elements. Pigs like mild temperatures and don’t do well with ex-treme weather conditions. Specially designed pig barns allow us to provide the ideal temperature for our pigs that will help keep them healthy.

2. What other careers help contribute to the success of Leman pig farm?Our consulting veterinarian and animal nutritionist are essential to our farm’s success. We utilize a veterinarian on our farm to recommend vaccinations to prevent diseases, just like school age students get their school shots to prevent illnesses. When the veterinarian visits, we walk through all the barns and he looks at the buildings and the animals. He then makes recommendations that allow us to provide the highest quality of care for our pigs. Our nutritionist and feed salesman are very helpful in our farm. We are careful to make sure the pigs get a well-balanced, healthy diet. The vitamins and minerals that the pigs need are mixed into the feed based on recommendations made by the animal nutritionist. He helps us to blend our feeds so they are the most beneficial to the pigs at all the different stages of growth. After all, we want to have a pig that is healthy and stress free, and a big part of that is what they eat.

3. What are some of the challenges in the pork industry that your family faces?One major challenge is the volatility of the market, or the price we receive for our pigs. A small fluctuation in our cost, such as a rise in the corn cost or fuel prices, makes a big difference in whether we can be profitable raising pigs.

Another challenge that we face in this industry is from those in the media that would like to paint pork farmers in a negative light. Some say that all we care about is making money and that could not be farther from the truth. We are con-cerned with keeping our pigs healthy. If we are not keeping our pigs healthy and not caring for them, then we are most certainly not profitable. I have four young daughters and I am concerned with the quality of food they eat. I would not raise any meat that I would not allow them to eat. My girls eat the same pork that I raise on the farm and that you might purchase at the store.

Illinois Learning Standards:

to Animal InstinctsCareer Connections

To learn more about Illinois Farm Families log on to

www.watchusgrow.org

A pig’s squeal ranges from 110-115 decibels. The noise from a Concorde supersonic jet usually does not reach over 112 decibels!

Pork is the world’s most widely eaten meat.

Pig Points

to Animal InstinctsCareer Connections Yuanhui Zhang, PhD, PEProfessor Bioenvironmental Engineering University of IllinoisChampaign, Illinois

1. Tell us about your job.My job is teaching and researching at the University of Illinois in the area of bioenvironmental engineering. My main focus is on the environ-ment of living things, specifically the building environments for ani-mals, crops, and humans. My team and I design structures that provide a suitable environment for humans and animals to live.

2. Explain the importance of your research on indoor air quality and how it benefits confinement animals.Air is a critical element to all living things. People, for example, may survive for two weeks without food and for two days without water, but without air, a person may only survive for two minutes! In daily life, an average person consumes approximately one kilogram of food, two kilograms of water, and 20 kilograms of air! A market ready pig consumes double the amount of air that a person would. Raising ani-mals in a barn with poor air quality would negatively affect produc-tion and animal welfare and this is why my research is so important.

3. What advice or insights could you offer a student interested in pursuing a career in bioenvironmental engineering? Solving a practical environmental problem related to animal housing is a challenging job. Being able to apply engineering, economics, envi-ronment and animal behavior is all essential to success in the field of bioenvironmental engineering. Students interested in this field of study should know that math and science classes are necessary. Students that love math and science classes and want the opportunity to make an impact on your environment would love this job!

Answers for To Market... To Market(a) 44,880 lbs, (b) 264 lbs, (c) $13.20, (d) $2,244.00, (e) $264,000

This issue of Ag Mag has been provided by :Illinois Learning Standards:1.A.2a; 1.B.2d; 2.B.2a; 6.B.2; 6.C.2a; 7.A.2a; 7.A.2b; 12.A.2a; 12.B.2b; 13.B.2a; 13.B.2c; 13.B.2f; 15.B.3a; 15.B.2b; 15.C.2a; 15.A.2a; 15.E.2a; 17.B.2a; 18.A.2; 18.C.2Illinois State Assessment Framework: 1.3.12; 1.3.14; 7.3.02; 12.4.27; 12.4.29; 12.4.30; 12.4.31; 12.7.01; 12.7.25

Dr. Stacey Funderburk, DVMCountryside Veterinary ClinicTaylorville, Illinois

1. What might a day in your vet clinic look like?The really great thing about my job is there is no such thing as a typical day. Every day is a new day with new challenges and cases. I may start the morning out by pulling a calf and then come into the office for spays and neuters on dogs and cats, and then spend my afternoon consulting with a pig farmer. The best part about mixed animal practice is that you get to use all of your medical and surgical skills taught in vet school. However, it is a challenge to stay current on all of the information for all of the different species.

2. What measures can you provide to ensure the quality, safety and health of your customers’ livestock?We work a lot on client education. It is important for farmers to understand that preventing a disease is more effective than treat-ing one. We try to help farmers identify their individual risk fac-tors and then help tailor a vaccine program to fit their needs. We also try to stress the importance of good biosecurity, cleanliness of the facilities, and proper handling of the animals when they are moved. We strongly encourage clients to keep good records of vaccines and medications used on the farm. Good records help ensure that consumers are receiving a safe product.

3. What advice can you give a young person wanting to pursue a career in veterinarian medicine?This is a job for someone who likes to work with people. At the end of the day it is the clients, not the animals, who have to believe in your recommendations. It is a lot of long hours but an extremely rewarding career.

to Animal InstinctsCareer ConnectionsAnswers for To Market... To Market(a) 44,880 lbs, (b) 264 lbs, (c) $13.20, (d) $2,244.00, (e) $264,000

To learn more about Agriculture, visit us at www.agintheclassroom.org, or contact your county Farm Bureau®

office or Illinois Agriculture in the Classroom, Illinois Farm Bureau®

1701 Towanda Avenue, Bloomington, IL 61701.