The world’s largest hog producer, Murphy-Brown LLC, recently installed EPI Air in its Circle Four commercial nurseries in Milford, Utah. After only 5 months, 600,000 nursery pigs treated with EPI Air generated an additional $1,896,000 in profit. Based on 194,000 nursery spaces, the enhanced clean air environment created by EPI Air added $3.16 per pig placed.
Tag: Murphy Brown
Ten Reasons to use EPI Air in your Barn
If you are a swine or poultry producer who wants to improve your production rates, it is time to learn about Electrostatic Particle Ionization (EPI) by Baumgartner Environics. EPI is a patented air-cleaning system, specially designed for reducing dust particles from agricultural settings and other confined spaces. Read more about how it works here.
Why use EPI to Improve your In-Barn Air Quality?
- Proven Dust Removal – USDA Studies and other test data show that EPI Air can help remove 50-80% of dust particles and aerosols from the air.
- Improve Animal Production – EPI Air has been shown to dramatically improve animal production and livability (See Murphy-Brown’s production gains).
- Employee Work Environment & Morale – Cleaner air makes it easier for employees to breathe inside the animal production area, creating a better work environment.
- Quick Return on Investment – Murphy-Brown calculated less than 34 weeks to get a ROI based on their own 99.9% statistically significant tests.
- Reduce Odors for Neighbors– EPI Air catches dust particles inside the barn, so gases and pathogens can’t “hitch a ride” on dust particles being emitted outside. Visitors and neighbors will appreciate reduced barn odors.
- Encourage Growth – Cleaner air can also relieve stress on animals, creating an environment that improves the rate of swine and poultry growth.
- Reduce Mortalities – EPI Air has been shown to reduce mortality rates (Mortalities reduced by 26.1% for Murphy-Brown).
- Innovative Combinations – EPI Air can be combined with other clean-air methods such as filtration for promising results.
- Fight PRRS – EPI Air may help PRRS infected pigs to fight secondary complications.
- Worldwide Recognition– EPI Air is installed in barns across the globe. In fact, EPI complies with European standards for dust reduction with Certification in the Netherlands, and also has been invested in by the Canadian government in support of the Manitoba Pork Council.
If you would like to learn more about how EPI Air can make a difference in your production facility, please contact us today.
Technology to the Rescue
By Dick Hagen, Hagen and Associates
Livestock producers are fully aware of the ‘big pain’ building in their cost accounting ledger. Feed prices, especially corn, keep escalating. On August 2, Chicago Board of Trade had September 12 futures for corn hovering around $8; September soybeans at $16.35. Chicago Mercantile meat futures were trading at $76.85 for October 12 hogs; cattle at $140.12.
The dilemma? Processors can’t ramp up prices enough to offset increasing production costs of producers without significant resistance from consumers. In essence, increasing meat prices at the retail counter inevitably generates shrinking sales. Rationing is setting in at all levels of the food chain, including pork producers.
Unfortunately no one has the ‘inside intelligence’ to predict how long the belt tightening will last, nor how severe the pain will become. So how do you survive the current squeeze, especially when it continues with such hour-by-hour volatility? Well, after you have answered the question: “How many of my barns will continue to have pigs in them?”, you need to reduce mortalities and improve feed efficiency.
EPI Air to the rescue? Murphy-Brown, LLC thinks so. Their results were solid. They tested EPI technology on 44,000 nursery pigs. Check these rather remarkable results:
- Average daily gain increased 12.2%
- Average weights increased by 9.3%
- Mortalities were reduced by 26.1%
Workers in these Murphy-Brown facilities also appreciate the ‘cleaner air’ environment.
Here’s why: The EPI barns had a 55% reduction in ammonia versus the control barns; a 58.6% reduction in hydrogen sulfide.
Comments John Baumgartner, BEI President, “My question to pork producers is simply this: Is an investment that returns your money within 18 months a good investment? Murphy-Brown estimated their payback at half of that, 9 months. And that was before the drought. In today’s ‘crunch time’ economy with increased feed costs, those return-on-investment (ROI) calculations are even faster.”
Proof of the cost-effectiveness of EPI technology is Murphy-Brown going ‘system wide’ throughout their entire Western Division with EPI units. We’re talking 655,000 nursery spaces plus 864,000 wean-to-finish spaces.
Said Dr. Steve Pollmann, President, Murphy-Brown Western Division, “This is a significant step change in environmental systems. We’re excited. The science is sound. The take away is that EPI in our test runs provided documented evidence of the potential benefit of this technology.”
Sums up Baumgartner, “We think EPI technology is on the threshold of becoming ‘must have’ technology. Especially during these difficult times, improved performance is the key to sustainability and a quick ROI has always made business sense.”
Interested in learning more about EPI technology? Contact us at 800-823-4234 or follow @EPIAir on Twitter.
Why Use EPI?
Leaders in the livestock industry are continually looking for ways to improve the performance of their livestock. Just like food and water, clean air is essential to an animal’s health. Improving in-barn air quality is now achievable with EPI Air Technology by Baumgartner Environics.
Here are some reasons to use EPI to improve air quality:
Improve Production
Nurseries who have used EPI Air have noted significant production gains. For instance, Murphy-Brown cited an increase of ADG by 12.2%, and an increase in weights of 9.3%.
Reduce Mortalities
Cleaner in-barn air quality leads to a reduction in livestock mortalities. Murphy-Brown reported a reduced mortality rate an astonishing 26.1%.
Reduce Barn Emissions
In-barn emissions are reduced in barns that use EPI Air. When Murphy-Brown tested the air quality in barns with EPI installed, compared to the control barns, there was a significant reduction in particulate matter, ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, and odor.
34 Week Return on Investment
On top of the environmental reasons to use this dust reduction system, EPI also makes economical sense. Murphy-Brown reported a quick, 34 week ROI with the EPI Air System, making it a must-have technology in their hog barns system-wide.
With results such as improved production, reduced mortalities, and reduced barn emissions, it is easy to see why improving in-barn air quality with EPI Air improves the overall performance of your livestock in a cost-effective way.
To learn more about EPI Air and all of its benefits, please watch this video or contact us.
Murphy-Brown talks to National Hog Farmer about Clean Air
In the September 19, 2011 issue of National Hog Farmer, writer Dick Hagen addressed the new buzzwords in the swine industry – Electrostatic Particle Ionization (also known as EPI). Read the excerpts below from the article “Help Clear the Air in Hog Barns”.
EPI Air Technology has met and surpassed the criteria laid out by Murphy-Brown, LLC, the world’s largest pork producer. Murphy-Brown, LLC installed EPI units in two, 2,000-head production nurseries.
Bob Coffelt, Business Development Manager, and Steve Pollmann, President of Murphy-Brown’s Western Division shared their experience with EPI. Here is what they had to say.
“The strength of the probability out of our testing convinced us fairly quickly that this appears to be an innovation well worth our time,” notes Bob Coffelt, business development manager at Murphy-Brown’s western division. “When we first looked at it, the system appeared to be fairly unorthodox. But the results speak for the system. Pigs simply do better,” Coffelt says.
“Maintenance requirements are low and the installation unobtrusive,” he adds. “It tends to challenge one’s concept of the improbable values of dust suspension and odor issues. The sensory impact would lead one to believe that odors were lower in rooms equipped with EPI.”
“This is a significant change in environmental systems with a net result of improved pig performance,” explains Steve Pollmann, president of Murphy-Brown’s western division. “We’re excited. The science is sound. Even though understanding the technology is a bit of a challenge, the takeaway is that EPI in our test runs provided documented evidence of the potential benefit of this technology.”
However, the only logical means of getting real mileage out of EPI technology depended upon conclusive evidence from the swine world. Murphy-Brown was receptive to testing the technology and its impact on pig health and gains in production. Click here to view the detailed results and data from the Murphy-Brown installations of EPI.
Read the complete article “Help Clear the Air in Hog Barns” in National Hog Farmer.
Read other articles where EPI Air is featured in the News.
Results of EPI Air Presented at AASV Conference
Last week, John Baumgartner and Matt Baumgartner of BEI attended the AASV Conference (American Association of Swine Veterinarians) in Denver, Colorado. Not only did BEI participate at AASV by having the EPI Air in their booth to demonstrate to customers, but they also donated an EPI Air System for the AASV Live Auction, which ended up being the highest bid auction item. There was tremendous support for the EPI Air at the AASV Conference, as Dr. Chris Radermacher, Production Improvement Director for the Western Operations of Murphy Brown LLC, (the world’s largest pork producer) spoke about EPI. Dr. Radermacher presented about how EPI Air Technology has met and surpassed the criteria laid out by Murphy-Brown LLC.
Dr. Radermacher’s presentation was titled Electrostatic Particle Ionization (EPI) improves nursery pig performance and air quality and included Murphy Brown’s data findings on how EPI affected their swine performance.
After briefly explaining the background of Electrostatic Particle Ionization (EPI), and what EPI Air is, he discussed how the EPI Air works. Dr. Radermacher went on to share that the USDA Research has shown that the EPI System removes 60-80% of suspended particulate matter from air space.
But how does cleaner air translate to results?
Murphy-Brown, LLC installed EPI Air units in two, 2000-head production nurseries and tested against two matching nurseries without EPI Air. The test ran for five turns, approximately 44,000 nursery pigs. With consistent and reproducible results, Murphy-Brown, LLC proved to itself that EPI technology installed in the hog nursery barn is a “must have” technology. Murphy-Brown, LLC is currently installing EPI system wide.
The production nursery with EPI Air equipped noted these production gains:
Read the detailed EPI Air test data and charts compiled by Murphy-Brown, LLC (PDF).
Would you like to learn more about how EPI Air can improve your livestock performance? Contact us for a quote or call us at 800-823-4234 for more information.
Global Pig Producers learn about EPI Air
A demonstration of the EPI Air System in an empty tent at the last World Pork Expo raised the curiosity of hundreds of leaders in the Pork Industry, as well as Pig Progress Magazine. Here is a summary of an article published on November 30, 2011 on PigProgress.net titled “Murphy-Brown going for Cleaner Air using Ionization” by Dick Hagen and Vincent ter Beek.
The Demonstration
What had to be shown is invisible to the eye, explained John Baumgartner, President of Baumgartner Environics (BEI). John invited guests to come inside, then activated a system which created a tingling effect on the face, hands and head. Inside the tent, BEI was demonstrating “An emission of negative ions,” explained Baumgartner – “a way of cleaning the air in pig and poultry barns.” Matthew Baumgartner, the company’s general manager, goes on, “The ions go to work capturing and holding particles onto interior surfaces. The net result is ventilation enhancement that results in faster gain and less mortality.” This patented system of cleaning the air in poultry and swine barns is called EPI Air (See Video of EPI Air works in a hog barn here).
Some History of Ionization
This not-so-new way of cleaning the air has been around since 1842, and its most popular industrial application is used to reduce the ash loads released into the environment by coal-fired power plants. But BEI has developed and marketed EPI Air for use in swine and poultry barns today. The patented EPI Air (Electrostatic Particle Ionization) is based out of Olivia, Minnesota, USA for agricultural buildings worldwide.
Research by Murphy-Brown
Murphy-Brown, Smithfield’s pig production division, has executed a contract to install Electrostatic Particle Ionization (EPI) systems in nursery facilities totaling 655,000 spaces and in wean-to-finish facilities totaling 864,000 spaces in their western US operations.
In initial trials, EPI units were installed in two, 2,000 head production nurseries and tested for five turns. A total of approximately 44,000 nursery pigs ‘tested’ the technology. The results were positive: average daily gain increased 12.2%, average weights increased by 9.3% and mortalities were reduced by 26.1%. Besides these production gains, Murphy-Brown also checked multiple dust size levels, ammonia, odor and hydrogen sulfide in these barns. Its PhD researchers measured a 57.7% reduction in particulate matter of 10-micron size; a 47% reduction in PM 2.5; a 43.1% reduction in PM 0.05. The EPI barns had a 55% reduction in ammonia versus the control barns; a 58.6% reduction in hydrogen sulfide, and an 18.9% reduction in odor.
Read the Complete Article
Read article on Pig Progress Website: Murphy-Brown going for Cleaner Air using Ionization
View the PDF of Pig Progress Article: Murphy-Brown going for Cleaner Air using Ionization