10 Facts About Pig Farming only Pig Farmers Understand

1.) Pig farmers are the cleanest of the barnyard farmers.

Pig farmers are not stinky people. In most farms biosecurity protocols, designed to keep the pigs healthy, dictate that farmers shower before entering the barn and then change into clothing that has not been exposed to the outside environment. How many other careers have community socks?

2.) You don’t have a normal life.

Happy hour after leaving the office? Yeah, right. Pig farmers never get to work a 9–5 typical day. Often for most farmers work starts well before eight and continues until well after standard quitting times. There are also no weekends or holidays off, since pigs need care every day. Every pig farmer knows that scheduling a dinner date also means that a sow is going to have a hard time farrowing…and you’ll be late as a result.

3.) Your dinner conversation is different than most.

Other people don’t talk about semen or afterbirth at the dinner table, but pig farmers do. Sometimes the intimate details of what we did in our day, crosses the boundary of what our contemporaries would think was appropriate.

4.) The backseat of your truck doubles as a tool kit and closet.

We bet every pig farmer has a box of boot covers in their truck. Probably a box of TyVex overalls. Rounding out your collection is probably a tool kit with gloves and farm clothes…you know, just in case you have to go back to work unexpectedly.

5.) Your kids don’t think there is anything weird about barnyard talk.

Not every parent gets a call about how it’s inappropriate that their 6-year-old talked about testicles in class. But if you are a farmer, chances are your kids have repeated some scientific talk in front of your non-farm friends that raised some eyebrows.

6.) Your social media profile is different than your friends.

Your pictures on Instagram far more often feature animals than people. While your friends are posting travel pictures or about their nights out on the town, your selfies include piglets and rubber boots.

7.) Your mom always buys you ‘pig’ décor for your house.

We bet pig farmers have at least one pig dishtowel that a friend has gifted them. How many pig knick-knacks are on your shelves? Pig farming isn’t just a job, it is a décor theme as well.

8.) Pig farmers believe in the products they produce.

As a farm kid, I could have sworn that a 250lb market pig made 6000lbs of sausage. It is all I remember eating as a kid. So much so that it took me a good ten years before I ate it again after leaving home. But now, knowing that the animals we raise are the animals that feed so much of the world; I am proud to eat pork of all types and brands. Pig farmers believe in their industry, their product and they stand behind it 100 percent.

9.) Pig Farmers aren’t just men.

According the 2012 Farm Census, almost one million farmers are women! That is nearly 1/3 of the nation’s farmers.

10.) Farmers believe in education.

Nineteen percent of all farmers have a Bachelor Degree. It is estimated that there are 57,900 job openings annually in the agriculture sectors, creating a surplus of jobs compared to qualified candidates. Students who pursue a career in ag can be assured of working in a growing industry, solving some of the future’s toughest challenges.

Story Source: https://realpigfarming.com/10-facts-about-pig-farming-only-pig-farmers-understand-4081faed2d5a