A good idea catches people’s attention. Maybe that’s why the Flip-to-Clean™ System is causing such a stir. Producers, engineers, veterinarians and other industry folks have been touting Farmweld’s new invention ever since it was introduced at last year’s World Pork Expo.

			Farmweld Jumbo Feeders can be cleaned-in-place with the new Flip-to-Clean™ System.

“I saw it and I thought it was a really good idea,” says Mark Bousema, a Ramona, CA-based producer of grower pigs for specialty markets. He says he immediately could see how the Flip-to-Clean System, which enables Farmweld feeders to be rotated in place and secured for washing and drying, makes cleaning a lot easier.

Bousema says that the clean-in-place feature is an added benefit to Farmweld’s already good product. Farmweld Jumbo Feeders are widely recognized for their outstanding feed savings and feed conversion results and ease of adjustment.

Dr. Richard Collins, a swine veterinarian from Dixon, IL, agrees the new Flip-to-Clean System is a great idea. “From a bio-security standpoint, anything to make cleaning easier means it will tend to get done better,” he says.

Collins stresses the importance of cleaning a feeder from all angles, which prevents the buildup of organic material. He says that if barn workers see a task, such as lifting a feeder to clean underneath, as a huge effort or time consumer, it may get skipped or done inadequately. “Compliance is a huge factor in hog units anymore,” says Dr. Collins. With the Flip-to-Clean System, the heavy work is eliminated.

The Flip-to-Clean System may help bolster employee morale. “If it is a laborious or monotonous job, employees don’t usually like doing it,” says Dr. Don Levis, extension swine specialist at the University of Nebraska. With today’s tight labor market, tools to ease the workload are worth consideration. “I don’t know that I’ve talked to a person that said ‘I quit because I didn’t like cleaning feeders’ but if you can make it simpler and easier, employees will be more likely to enjoy doing it,” says Levis.

Carl Swinford, of Swinford and Frantz Farms, Inc., Hillsdale, IN, recently installed several Farmweld Jumbo Feeders with the Flip-to-Clean System in a finishing barn. Swinford says the system will make it easier for his crew to wash the heavy five-hole feeders used in his large pens with 80 pigs. “With other feeders, you have to take the pins out, move the feeders, turn them over and then reinstall them when cleaning is done,” says Swinford. “With this system you don’t have to move the feeders to clean them out. It makes sense this will speed cleanup.”

Ag engineer Terry Feldmann, East Peoria, IL, agrees that because time spent cleaning feeders can be a significant part of cleanup, the Flip-to-Clean System will greatly impact total cleaning time. “I see this as being a real time-saving device and I commend Farmweld for being creative and coming up with another idea that helps producers be more efficient,” says Feldmann.