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Minimal Retrofit Cost with FAST II Alley™ Design

When Mason, IL, contract grower Tom Jansen recently converted an existing conventional facility into a FAST II™ 'Farmweld Automatic Sorting Technology' barn, he didn't move any feeders or cups or make major changes in the gating layout. Pigs remained in the barn during the entire process. The result was minimal disruption to the feeding cycle and Jansen's work flow.

			Tom Jansen

The conversion was seamless because Jansen installed the FAST II scale in the barn's existing alleyway. In the alleyway? Yep, that's right. Jansen recently incorporated the new FAST II Alley™ Design, Farmweld's latest innovation in the design of automatic sorting facilities. There is no food court in Jansen's remodeled sorting barn.

The FAST II Alley Design works well for most existing barns, with a center or side alleyway and pens that hold as few as 25 pigs. Small pens can be left intact but small openings or one-way gates are placed between the original pens. Pigs are given access to the center alley. As pigs explore their environment, they learn to walk through the scale in the alleyway and then back to the pen area where the feeders and cups are located. Minimal training is required.

During sorting, gating is repositioned slightly to create a sort pen at one end of the barn. The scale sorts "heavies" into this pen and “lights” back into the remaining pens. At the time of load-out, pigs are moved out of the sort pen, into the chute and onto the truck.

Using the FAST II Alley Design requires less construction investment and time than retrofitting into a single large pen. The FAST II Alley Design was showcased at this year's World Pork Expo.

Click here to learn more about FAST II Alley