Cow-calf behavior, while it might be subtle, it plays an important role in the health of your herd. And your building can play a critical role in how your animals behave – around each other and alone.

Your building design can influence the control of diseases and parasites. Here are some things to consider.

WEST DES MOINES, Iowa – March 25, 2018 – Summit Livestock Facilities confirmed its support of Iowa agriculture through a $5,000 investment in the Coalition to Support Iowa’s Farmers (CSIF).

People in agriculture are hard-wired to get excited when the calendar page turns, and winter departs. But along with the arrival of spring is a not-so welcomed management challenge. It is the very product of those warmer temperatures and spring rains – mud.

Farmers know you can’t do the same thing and expect different results. Protein producers make adjustments in their operations frequently – managing uncertainty in things like the weather, regulations, market prices, etc. But sometimes, as protein producers know, you need to re-think an issue to take advantage of the opportunities at hand, keep up with new ideas offered in production methods, technology, science, etc.

Is the demand for cage-free eggs disrupting technology? Is it causing big producers to abandon technology they have been using for the last 40 years with caged hens?

During the past year alone, Summit Livestock has been the subject of a great deal of buzz in the protein industry, and a lot of that excitement has centered on new innovations in cage-free egg production facilities. Wrap-the-Equipment™ is innovation.

Timing is everything and it’s one year closer to 2025. That’s the deadline that McDonalds set for sourcing 100% cage-free eggs. As if egg production wasn’t challenging enough, the complication of new designs to assure bird health, sustainable practices, and production efficiencies could easily slow how quickly egg producers can meet demand of companies like McDonalds.