Livestock Industry with Dan Severson

Livestock has always been something I have been quite passionate about, I enjoy showing animals at the Delaware State Fair and experiencing the responsibility of caring for these animals all throughout the year. One piece in listening to Dan speak was his section on hogs. It wasn’t a very lengthy topic or one we went into detail on, but it was the pure numbers that really interested me. My great grandfather was a hog farmer. He had a rather large piece of his farm dedicated to raising and selling his hogs. Today however, there is a staggeringly low number of hog farmers still around in Delaware. Another thing I found interesting while listening to this specific topic were all the different ways hogs are classified for selling and disbursement. These categories include farrow to finish, farrow to feeders, feeders to finish, genetics and show, direct market, and pasture; which all require many different processes in order to maximize profit in the industry. I never realized that there were so many different ways to raise hogs and it is sad to see the dwindling number of farmers in this industry in Delaware. I am glad, however, that Dan made this an apparent and memorable part of his presentation, it allowed me to carry this information past the classroom and apply it in my own life.

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