PRE-WEANING MORTALITY DROPS
with wider creep areas, Farmweld crates

Randy Koehl, right, and nephew Kevin are shown on a farrowing room floor built at Moore Lean, LLP. The crate platforms feature the new Farmweld Flooring System 24” x 24” Panel.

Randy Koehl took a moment in early 2009, during construction at Moore Lean, LLP, to discuss how Farmweld's quality, customer service, and willingness to adapt led to his family’s repeat business.

The Koehl family of Hancock, MN, offers a good example of a modern, diversified farming operation. Brothers Ken, Harvey and Randy, plus their sons Byron, Eric, Kevin and Mitch, grow crops, operate several swine enterprises, own a feed business called Boy’s Supply, and have interest in a local dairy operation.

The Koehls manage four sow units, in three of which they are part-owners. A fifth unit, Moore Lean, LLP, was built in late 2008 by a network of producers who will receive pigs for finishing at their own barns.

Standout quality
The Koehls’ first experience with Farmweld products came in 2006 when they expanded an existing sow unit, Valley Pork, LLP, from 2,500 to 5,000 sows. They selected Farmweld EuroStyle Crates with Modular Cast Center Platforms and Farmweld LaborSaver Sow Feeders.

Randy Koehl says the first thing that stood out about Farmweld equipment was the quality of construction and obvious durability. “I could tell whoever built the equipment had been around pigs,” says Randy.

Features, such as the EuroStyle’s quick-release back gate and Swinging Rump Guard, are both “employee and pig friendly,” he says. “With the current trend toward full-feeding lactating sows, the LaborSaver feeder works really well.”

The Farmweld Flooring System plastic panels also get high marks from the Koehls. “I really like the flooring,” says Randy, adding that veterinarians who visit his facilities often comment about the positive health impact of using Farmweld’s plastic panels. “There are no perforations for holding disease,” he says.

When it was time to choose equipment for the new facility, the Koehls again opted for Farmweld, this time purchasing gestation stalls, feed troughs, gates and Jumbo Feeders, in addition to Farmweld’s farrowing crates, platforms and sow feeders.

“Up front, we thought it would be expensive to ship the equipment up here to Minnesota (from Illinois), but Farmweld was priced competitively,” he says.

Wide creep areas
The Koehls were aiming for wider creep sections for their baby pigs when they expanded in 2006. At that time, they worked with Farmweld to configure the cast centers and Farmweld’s 18” x 24” (458 mm x 610 mm) plastic panels for 5’9” (1.753 M) wide platforms. (Most standard platforms are 5’ (1.524 M) wide with 18 inches of creep on each side.) This increased the creep width by three inches on one side of the crate and six inches on the other.

Randy believes the combination of the wider creep areas and Farmweld crates helped lower pre-weaning mortality rates. “There was a one to two percent drop (in mortality rates) versus our old farrowing rooms,” he says.

When the Koehls began drawing up plans for the new 3,500-head Moore Lean, LLP, facility, they wanted to trim overall floor space slightly but still provide for wide creep areas. That’s when Farmweld committed to engineer an entirely new 24” x 24” (610 mm x 610 mm) plastic panel to accommodate the Koehls’ wishes. This provided the flexibility to design 5’6” (1.676 M) wide platforms, with 21 inches of creep area on each side of the crates.

A commitment to customer service is, indeed, an important factor in the Koehls’ satisfaction with Farmweld products. Randy is impressed with the entire Farmweld team, but especially sales representative Kevin Schnarre, who recently traveled to Moore Lean, LLP, to help install equipment.

“He was here, showing us the ins and outs, and making sure we’ve got it done right. For a sales representative to do that is tremendous. It’s something that’s unheard of,” concludes Randy.