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Rock Valley Bee from Rock Valley, Iowa • Page 19

Publication:
Rock Valley Beei
Location:
Rock Valley, Iowa
Issue Date:
Page:
19
Extracted Article Text (OCR)

Bernard Groeneweg Prefers Buying Feeder Pigs To Farrowing How has the hog producer who chooses to buy feeder pigs instead of farrowing done in recent years? For Bernard Groeneweg, who farms three miles north and one-and-one-half miles west of Rock Valley, it appears to be working pretty well. Groeneweg, 27, has been buying feeder pigs for the past four or five years and he says he prefers the fattening phase of hog production over farrowing, mainly he says because the latter requires "so much more time." And there's the constant battle with baby pig disease and mastitis in sows. Most of his feeder stock comes from a neighboring hog raiser. Herb Dykstra, who sells his pigs to Groeneweg and his father, John. Together, the two Groene- wegs normally market about 2,500 hogs yearly.

Besides the hog-production unit, the Groenewegs (John, Bernard, and his brother, Harlan) farm 920 acres and market aproxi- mately 1.200 fat cattle each year. And they're still expanding. At Bernard's 220-acre farm, where he's been for the past three years, they're in the process of building still more cattle yards. There are also plans to construct a new building for hog-finishing which, according to Bernard, is expected to be completed sometime this winter. "We expect to build a unit that will handle about 200 hogs," young Groeneweg explains.

Like other young farmers, he's found it "easier to get into the hog business, mainly because it doesn't require such a large initial investment." Asked to explain the current cheery market picture, Groeneweg makes no applo-v giesfor the $60 prices, pork liver bacon, sliced bacon, slab ham 1-2 1-1 1-3 1-3 Pork should be stored in wrapping made especially for freezer use. It needs to be resistant to moisture and air to prevent meat from becoming dry and spongy, lighter in color and flavorless. Ordinary wax papers, lightweight aluminum foil and butcher papers are not good Rock Valley Bee, October 15, 1975 SectionB, Page Three freezer papers. Lean pork cuts protected by some fat freeze well. Fat becomes rancid over a period of time so excess fat should be trimmed off.

But too little fat lets the meat dry out. hog market has finally caught up with inflation," he says. How long will it stay that good? "1 think the market is likely to stay pretty good at least through the end of the year," he predicted. "The high feed costs appear to have driven some hog producers out, and naturally that's resulted in a better market," he explains. "And while there appear to be as many hogs as ever around Sioux County, that's not so elsewhere." Groeneweg says he looks for stiffer competition at the meat counter for hog producers, particularly because of the price of beef.

"The lower beef prices could contribute to a downturn for hogs later on," he says. A member of the Sioux County Pork Producers Association, The Sioux County Cattleman's Association, the Farm Bureau, and Our Savior's Lutheran Church in Rock Valley, Groeneweg and his wife, June, have two children, a son Bruce, 8, and a daughter. Dawn, 3. FROSTY IDEAS FOR STORING PORK Having a well-stocked freezer is like having a mini- grocery store just seconds away. Cooks are fortunate in that most foods freeze well.

But one food that is often overlooked when buying for the freezer is pork. Pork does freeze well. It just has a shorter recommended storage time than many beef cuts or poultry. If pork products are correctly prepared, handled and stored at 0 degrees F. the following storage times are suggested: PRODUCT Mnths 1 ALLIS-CHALMERS We Take Our HATS OFF To the Area Pork Producers PARTS you need SERVICE you can count on Rock Valley Implement Highway 18 Ken A.

Kooima Rock Valley, Iowa WAYNE FEEDS Sioux County PORK WAYNE FEEDS PRODUCERS We are Proud to Serve Our Pork Producer Customers and Friends Thank you For Your Business pork sausage FEEDS "Satisfied Customers Are Our Best Salesman" ROCK VALLEY, IOWA OE.

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About Rock Valley Bee Archive

Pages Available:
5,596
Years Available:
1897-1975