“I Wouldn't Put Any Other Flooring In”

Mark Sturtevant (holding son Paul, at right) and his brother, Brian (holding son Jaxson) are shown in their new 3,300-head nursery. Brian’s son, Bryson, is standing in the center.

Last year a builder suggested to Mark Sturtevant that he shop around for looring for a new 3,300-head nursery he and his family were constructing. But Mark balked. The Sturtevants put the Farmweld Flooring System in a nursery they remodeled two years ago, and they couldn’t be more satisfied with the orange panels’ durability and cleaning ease.

“I wouldn’t put any other flooring in,” says Mark of Farmweld’s flooring. “It is built to last, and it is just manufactured better. Plus, it washes up so well,” Mark says.

Mark operates with his father, Dennis, and his brother, Brian, in Shannon, IL. In addition to raising hogs, they grow row crops. The Sturtevants receive weaned pigs from three different sow cooperatives in northern Illinois. They raise the pigs through finishing in conventional nurseries and grow-finish barns. They own nurseries and several finishers plus they contract out a portion of their production.

All in the details
Mark says it isn’t hard to see the quality designed into Farmweld’s flooring panels. “The plastic is thick where it should be thick and thin where it should be thin,” says Mark “I like the beveled edges underneath because there are no flat spots that are hard to get clean. Plus, with the orange color, any spots you miss show up.”

The Sturtevants also use Farmweld feeders, both in their nurseries and finishers. “We’ve had other feeders, but these (Farmweld) feeders are heavier and you can adjust them better than other feeders. There is no feed waste,” explains Mark.

“I can adjust them just the way I want them,” he continues. His standard practice is to adjust them to see almost no feed in the pan – just a line along the adjuster gate. “I can do that with these feeders without plugging them,” says Mark.