Dr. Michael C. Brumm

University of Nebraska researcher Dr. Michael C. Brumm says he thinks automatic sorting technology looks very promising. “Everyone’s been looking at sort loss,” he says. “If you can go from $1.00 to $.50 or maybe even starting at $2 and go to $.50 and you are raising many pigs that starts adding up.”

Brumm views the next year as a discovery phase for the new technology. “We’ve got a lot to learn but the way we learn is by producers out there experimenting and modifying the layouts,” he says.

Farmweld is “ahead of the game” in the industry, according to Brumm. That’s because the company is the first in the Midwest to show people buildings with sorting equipment in place. “Other companies have told us what they have available and we’ve seen pictures of facilities but Farmweld has actually invited people to come to (barns in) Fairmont and Spring Valley (Minnesota) and take a look for ourselves.”

“I know he (Frank Brummer) is putting information up on the website and that will be one place everyone will go to see what’s working,” says Brumm.