Environmental Management Systems for Pork Producers

The Pilot Farms 

The pilot farms were selected through a competitive process and ranged in size from 1 to 13 full-time employees and from 720 sows to 36,720 finishers. The farms include nursery, sow farrow to wean operations, sow to finish, and finishers. The following producers participated in this project. Their cooperation, eagerness to improve their operations, and persistence (even when they were not sure of the benefits), was essential to the success of this project. 

Beaver Dam Farm 
Lee (Sam) Hosking, Owner
Cumberland County
Contract nursery
5,200 nursery piglets
1 full time, 1 part time employee

“Each EMS is different in design and nature because each application is different. EMS enables you to look at your overall operation while examining the effectiveness of specific components that allow your farm to function daily. EMS allows us to incorporate a system of checks and balances that will hold us accountable to ourselves and others that will result in a more environmentally efficient farm." 
- Chuck Stokes

Cowan Farms 
Doug Cowan, Owner
Craven County
Contract sow farrow to   wean
720 sows
5 full time employees

Craven Farms
Allen McCoy, Owner
Jones County
Independent sow to finish
630 sows; 3,600 finishers
10 full time employees

White Rock Farm
Rodney Purser, Owner
Union County
Contract sow farrow to wean
2,200 sows
8 full time employees

“There was nothing really all that hard about it. The process was new to me, but step-by-step it wasn't so overwhelming."
- Rodney Purser

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