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MINNESOTA PORK PRODUCTION

Minnesota Pork: A leader in pork production

Nationally, Minnesota ranks third in the number of hogs its producers’ raise and second in the value of hogs that Minnesota farmers’ sell for processing into meat products. Minnesota pork producers marketed 14.6 million hogs in 2010. Iowa ranks first in hog numbers and North Carolina second.

1	Why is Minnesota a state made for pigs?
2	What is the economic contribution of pork production to the state?
3	How do crop farmers benefit from the production of pigs?
4	Does pork production create employment opportunities?
5	Where does the manure from the pigs go?
6	What do you mean manure is a soil fertilizer?

Minnesota Pork: Why it’s a state made for pigs

Abundant corn and soybean production provides grain for high quality swine rations
Cropland to utilize the nutrients in swine manure as a soil fertilizer
Innovative and experienced pork producers
Internationally recognized network of swine veterinarians and swine researchers

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Did You Know?

Pork Quality Assurance Plus is a producer education program funded with Pork Checkoff dollars. It emphasizes food safety, animal well-being and prudent use of antibiotics and health maintenance products. Most U.S. packers require pork producers to be certified PQA Plus before they will accept producers’ hogs into their plants for processing.

Minnesota Pork: $6 billion in economic effect

Pork production is a major economic contributor to the Minnesota economy.
This previous year’s gross income from Minnesota hog production was $1.6 billion. (This is the income received by the farmer to pay expenses.)
In 2009 the swine industry’s total economic generation in Minnesota was $6 billion

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Did You Know?

Technology such as Global Positioning Systems (GPS) allow pig farmers to apply various amounts of manure to the soil as the applicator moves across the field. GPS makes it possible to efficiently and economically match the manure application rate to the soil test of specific spots within a field.

Minnesota Pork: Job creation

In addition to Minnesota’s pork producing families, swine production creates another 22,500 jobs.
Examples of these employment opportunities are swine nutrition and care, construction and related building services, trucking, feed milling, accounting and consulting.

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Employee moving pigs

Did You Know?

Confinement barns protect pigs from disease, predators and environmental extremes.

Minnesota Pork: Value-added

Corn and soybean acres serve a dual purpose to the success of Minnesota hog production.

First, the crops provide an excellent, locally grown feed for hogs. A hog will eat about 3.8 bushels of soybeans and 10.5 bushels of corn in its lifetime.
Secondly, the acres where corn and soybeans grow are replenished with nutrients that are naturally found in swine manure.

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Did You Know?

Swine manure is an economical, locally available replacement for imported, commercial fertilizers.

Minnesota Pork: Value as soil fertilizer

The nutrients found in swine manure are important to Minnesota crop production. These nutrients add beneficial fertilizers and organic matter to the soils on which farmers grow their crops.

University of Minnesota research shows significant economic and environmental benefits from using swine manure as a fertilizer.

A 12-year-long university research project found that swine fertilizer produces a significant yield advantage for corn when compared to using synthetic, commercial fertilizers. This means that swine manure helps corn growers increase their profits through higher yields and reduce their fertilizer costs.

Another University of Minnesota study highlights the environmental benefits of using swine manure. The research shows that the organic compounds in swine manure:
- help build and maintain soil structure, which aids soils’ ability to hold water
- improves soil aeration
- reduces soil erosion

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manure management equipment

Manure management equipment

Why is manure applied to cropland?

Application of manure to cropland is a benefit to crops and soil. Every living thing needs nutrients to grow. Plants require nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and 10 other chemical elements. Most of these nutrients enter the plants through soil.

Application of manure, which contains nutrients including nitrogen and phosphorus, is an important part in completing the natural nutrient cycle of agriculture.

For farmers, the cost of properly applying and managing manure as a fertilizer is returned many times over in the value of increased crop production. Fertilizers are a costly input to crop production; therefore, the most beneficial use of manure nutrients is important for economic sustainability.

Farmers must develop nutrient management plans to address the complexities of extracting the fertilizer value of manure in modern cropping systems. Those plans ensure that manure is being applied in an environmentally sound manner.

The organic compounds in manure help build and maintain soil structure, which in turn helps maintain soil tilth, adds waterholding capacity, improves soil aeration and reduces soil erosion.