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Agriculture This Week: Farming always evolving

When you have grown up on a farm in the 1960s and ‘70s it is almost beyond belief the changes in farming we see today. 

It was a mixed farm for me, and that meant pigs and grain. 

In my youth I hauled a lot of ground grain to feed the pigs using cleaned five-gallon pails that originally were filled with some weed spray, or another. 

Looking back over some 40-years it seems like it was such a crazy thing, but repurposing the pails was pretty standard. I’m pretty sure potatoes came from the garden to the cellar bin in similar pails. 

Of course I clearly recall Dad taking plugged nozzles off the sprayer, his gloves getting soaked in the process, and then simply blowing out the nozzle with his breath. 

Knowing what we do now it’s a wonder what health problems were caused in a time we didn’t know better, or were reluctant to change. Dad lived to a considerable age, his heart giving out one day, but one wonders. 


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From Barns to Better Solutions: PigTek’s Producer Perspective

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At the 2025 World Pork Expo, Rachel Fishback spoke with Michelle Workman of PigTek, who shared how her production background helps shape real-world solutions. Michelle emphasized the value of hands-on experience in understanding producers' challenges and creating equipment that truly works in barns. One example she shared showed how her insight improved animal flow — proving PigTek isn’t just building equipment, they’re building with purpose.