Winners' Profiles 2007 Pork Industry Environmental Stewards

Meadowlane Farms
Frankfort, Indiana

Mike Beard has a long history of doing great things for the environment, his industry and his community. His Frankfort, Indiana wean-to-finish operation produces approximately 33,000 hogs per year under contract with TDM Farms of North Carolina in three sites. Beard also farms 1,300 acres of corn and soybeans.

Meadowlane Farms uses deep pits to store manure under the barns. Manure is pumped from under the pits once per year for fall field application using technology that is not only environmentally friendly, but also technologically advanced. Tanker trailers transport the manure to the fields for spreading and connect to a flexible black hose or drag line that takes the liquid to the injection implement. Swine-derived nutrients are injected on no-till land, four to six inches into the soil with minimal disturbance to the surface. The tractor pulling the toolbar is equipped with the GPS technology capable of mapping the field, steering and recording the application.

To get the best possible payoff from the application equipment, Beard, his son David and son-in-law Chris, run a 30 million gallon per year manure application business. Their goal is to share their expertise and environmental philosophy with other pork producers and farmers in the area.

To protect the Kilmore and Wildcat creeks running through fields he farms, Beard has placed waterways and grassy buffer strips. Beard has encouraged landowners to enroll in conservation programs administered by USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service’s Conservation for Technical Assistance avoiding runoff, erosion and to encourage wildlife.

Beard’s philosophy on conservation is to start at home. “If it’s going to be, it’s up to me,” he once heard at a conference and has taken to heart. He hopes his children continue farming with this philosophy.

Keppy Farms
Durant, Iowa

The Keppy family owns and operates Keppy Farms, a 1,920-space feed-to-finish hog operation and 900 acre grain farm near Durant, Iowa. Loren Keppy and his wife built two barns on the site in 1995 and in 2005, started a hog finishing contract with The Maschhoffs. Today, the Keppys and their children, Kaylee and Jake, run the farm. Members of the high school wrestling team Keppy coaches come in on days when extra help is needed.

Manure from the pigs accumulates in 8-foot deep pits under the barns until Keppy empties the pit allowing effluent to run into an earthen basin usually covered with a layer of oats or wheat straw that helps to reduce odor emissions. Once per year, Keppy and a custom applicator, apply the nutrients from the basin on 900 acres of land where Keppy will plant Pioneer seed corn and soybeans.

To reduce the chance of spills when hauling the manure, Keppy lays a soft hose to the fields within 1.75 miles of the basin. He takes other precautions to avoid runoff and contamination of creeks in the vicinity.

The Keppys’ farm and fields are so close to Durant that on a Friday night you can see the school’s football field light up in the distance. People in town would not know the Keppys’ farm is there, except for the teenagers from town that come over to sit on the porch or around the fire after a game. If not told, they would not know pigs lived on the farm, too. It’s important for the family that people not involved in agriculture have this experience.

To reduce odor, feed spills are cleaned promptly; dust is not allowed to accumulate on equipment, gating or fans; and, production losses are picked up and composted in a concrete-lined and covered three-bay composting facility.

The Keppys feel that sustainability is the right thing to do for their land, for the environment and for the community.

M & J Farms
Hadley, Minnesota

Mike Haupert’s 3,120-space wean-to-finish operation, M & J Farms, was built parallel to Beaver Creek in 2003 as a Christensen Farms contractor. Today, Mike runs the facility day-to-day, but his father Harold, son Jake and daughter Desi all lend a hand when it’s needed.

Located in Hadley, Minnesota the area is surrounded by creeks and lakes and wildlife is abundant. Haupert took months to find the appropriate site to build his operation. He considered location, prevailing winds, access roads, distance to neighbors, etc., in his decision. Siting his farm correctly was the first way Haupert could reduce the possibility of being a nuisance to his neighbors. He also has made it his goal to farm in a way that coexists with nature and wildlife. He works with Natural Resources Conservation Service soil scientists on recommended seed mix for unfarmed plots in areas surrounding the barns; he has over six types of trees and shrubs serving as wind barrier and wildlife shelter in the winter; he places pheasant feeders in corners of his acreage and he plants buffer grasses on the banks of the creek that borders his property. His efforts not only foster his relationship with nature, but the farm is visually appealing to all who visit it.

Ron Scott of Scott’s Liquid Handling thinks Haupert’s farm may be one of the neatest he visits. As Haupert’s custom applicator, Scott’s service pumps out M & J’s pits once per year and applies the manure-derived nutrients, based on a manure management plan and using advanced metering technology, on land farmed by Haupert’s cousin.

Haupert hopes his farming practices create a space where he and son Jake can enjoy wildlife and nature for years to come.

Wakefield Farm
Turpin, Oklahoma

A seven-step swine manure treatment center sits between Seaboard Foods’ Wakefield Farm’s two 13,250 sow production sites near Turpin, Oklahoma. The treatment center consists of two settling basins, a mechanical solids separator, an anaerobic digester, aeration and storage lagoons. Don Owens, Seaboard Foods’ director of environmental, maintenance and construction operations, oversees all environmental efforts for Seaboard operations and is a spokesperson for the company on this environmental effort.

The resulting liquid effluent, free of approximately three quarters of the nitrogen, is transported through underwater pipes to neighboring fields where it is applied using three center pivots. Solids are composted into an earth-looking, odorless product similar to that sold for potted plants.

The tunnel-ventilated breeding and gestation sow barns have biocurtains over the fans to filter particles and redirect exhausted air from the buildings up, allowing it to dilute and to diffuse potential odors.

Inside, housekeeping is part of every employee’s daily routine. Dust control, barn pit waste management and water conservation practices are all part of every person’s job duties and audits of these practices are performed at least twice per year.

Keeping the grounds neat also is of great concern. The area is kept free of trash and clutter, and grasses and trees are maintained to make the farms not only appealing to neighbors, but enjoyable for employees to come to every day.

Owens speaks for the company when he states that protecting the environment is the right thing to do. He believes Seaboard Foods and all of its employees “take environmental stewardship very seriously.”

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