400 attend hog farm open house

FITHIAN, ILL. – The Parks Companies welcomed nearly 400 members of the community to an Open House at a new 8,200 head wean to finish hog farm on Monday near Fithian.

The event was hosted in cooperation with the Shepherd and Rademacher families, of Vermilion County.

The Illinois Pork Producers Association (IPPA) and the Illinois Livestock Development Group (ILDG) helped coordinate the event and provide a pork chop supper to attendees. A ribbon cutting ceremony took place to highlight the completion of construction.

Neighbors, community members, local officials, and more were invited to attend. Open houses offer a chance to see the latest products and technologies for swine care and environmental stewardship. Guests could see inside this new barn before the pigs arrive.

“The Rademacher family is a third-generation farm family that is blessed to have a long history in grain and livestock farming. This history is what has shown us the benefit of using hog manure for fertilizer. There is not a more natural way to fertilize crops. This is one of the many reasons we decided to partner with Parks Livestock in building more finishing barns. Through this partnership we are able to utilize the manure from the hog barns to fertilize more of our crop land,” says Kyle Rademacher, one of the Parks’ grower partners.

The pork industry is constantly adapting new technology and best animal welfare practices to raise healthy and nutritious animals. “Farmers are committed to raising their pigs in a safe and comfortable environment, and modern pig barns provide just that,” says Jenny Jackson, Director of Communications for IPPA.