American Ag Network had an opportunity to tour the industry’s first all steel swine barn in the country. It’s located at the Flyway farm in eastern South Dakota. The Flyway farm is owned by independent farmers in the Midwest and will be managed by Pipestone Management.
The use of prefabricated steel is designed to offer a more bio secure, flame-retardant and energy-efficient environment for pigs, while also being more durable and faster to build, compared to traditional wood structures. The buildings utilize unique polyisocyanurate (PIR) insulated plasterboard sandwiched between two sheets of metal in their sidewalls and ceilings. Wood livestock structures of this size and larger are becoming more difficult to insure due to the threat of catastrophic loss caused by fire and weather. Steel is more insurable and typically results in lower insurance premiums, making it a sound investment for swine producers.
We chatted with Dr. Barry Kerkaert – President of Pipestone Management, Chris Schmitz – Director of Construction Services for Ag Property Solutions, and Brian Rieck – Product Manager for AP.
Listen below to those interviews:
https://www.agcocorp.com/brands/ap-automated-production.html
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