Kevin,(l) and Bryon (r) say FAST reduces the work of loading, helps in planning nutrition programs and reduces sort loss. They are pictured here with Kevin’s son, Brandon.

When Kevin and Bryon Voigt, Wells, MN, emptied seven wean-to-finish barns last August and converted them into grow-finish FAST facilities, they immediately saw signs of future relief from power-washing. “We took out so much gating,” says Kevin. Prior to the conversion, the buildings housed 800 pigs in 200-head pens. With FAST, pigs are raised in one super large loafing area with access to adjoining food courts. Kevin says the new configuration eliminated about 50 percent of the gating used in the 200-head pens and 80 percent less compared to conventional 25-head pens.

Washing was a huge issue for both brothers, who operate independently from each other but work closely together to evaluate technology and other management decisions. Bryon relies on hired labor to clean his four barns and says there has been a significant positive impact on his labor expenditures for cleaning since converting to the FAST system.

Kevin, who prefers to wash buildings himself, agrees the transition to giant pens and the FAST system greatly reduces the time spent cleaning. “The time savings by having less gating and all the feeders in one area is huge,” he says. He estimates it takes him about eight hours to fully wash a barn today -- four hours less than before FAST.

Loading pigs is also less labor-intensive since the change to FAST. Kevin, whose oldest son, Brandon, 22, is involved in his operation, says 100 pigs can be loaded in less than 20 minutes by two people. Before FAST, it took three people about 45 minutes to an hour to load the same number. As Kevin observes, the pigs “load themselves” because they are “just so used to moving.”

Loading “is much easier and less stressful for me and the pigs,” agrees Bryon. “When they get on the trailer, they are quiet and not stressed.”

FAST barns are divided into a loafing area and food courts. Pigs learn to walk single file through an electronic sorting scale in order to make their way to feeders. Learning to walk single file as part of their normal routine means they should more easily load onto trucks via a narrow shoot, according to behavior experts and producers who have used the FAST system.

The Voigts emphasize the importance of exposing the pigs to the scale early in the feeding period in order to give them adequate opportunity to learn to use it. “The more they use it the better,” says Kevin.

A FAST Basic Training Protocol is available from Farmweld to help guide training procedures.

“We are paying close attention to how pigs learn to use the system, and we will continue to update the formal protocol as we work with producers to discover the best training methods,” says Farmweld’s FAST Specialist Patti Uhrich.

Large pens are often applauded for offering several social advantages because pigs in large groups don’t create the social hierarchies like they do in small groups.

“They don’t have a pecking order,” says Kevin, who has seen this play out in his FAST barns. “At the beginning there may be a few skirmishes, but I have yet to see pigs fight. Even when we reintroduce a pig that has been out because it was sick, the pigs don’t do anything to bother it,” Kevin says.

Incorporating FAST has also provided for greater flexibility in managing the Voigts’ feeding programs. “I have two bulk bins and we feed two rations,” says Kevin. “Now I can move the bigger pigs to one side of the barn and the smaller ones to another. That way we aren’t wasting expensive feed on pigs that don’t need it and it helps bring the bottom pigs up. That means you get the barn emptied sooner.”

Kevin says the FAST system also helped with diet budgeting. Rather than going by the calendar or eyeballing weights, Kevin says the scale gave him a more accurate measure of when to move pigs to a new ration. “I’ve been raising pigs for 30 years and I found my eye was off by 30 to 40 pounds,” says Kevin. With the scale, “I can schedule my feed budgets according to the actual weights in the barn.”

The system affects marketing planning as well. Kevin explains that he must alert his packer about ten days to two weeks prior to when he wants to ship. He says the scales help him project when pigs will be ready.

Finally, FAST helps the Voigts accurately select and sell pigs in the weight range their packer wants. Kevin was elated soon after incorporating FAST when he learned that 95 out of 96 pigs from one trailer load hit the packer’s top premium offering or “red box.” Of the entire feeding group of 3,500 pigs, over 88 percent earned top premiums. “That’s better than we have ever done before,” says Kevin.

While marketing accuracy is important, Kevin says the thing he likes best about FAST is the less personal wear and tear it causes. “Physically sorting pigs from conventional barns will beat you up,” Kevin says. “With this they sort and sell themselves. There’s no work to it.”