The trend began just a few years ago, says Nic Anderson, Illinois Livestock Development Group. Grain farmers began adding livestock back into their farming operations. Grain prices were strong, and the next generation was able to return to the farm. Perhaps more than one son or daughter came back, and brought their families.

Everything old became new again, and diversification with livestock once again became a way to add profit, spread labor and manage risk.

TAP INTO NEW RESOURCES: Al Lyman, cattle farmer, Cambridge, says they’ve used a feed consultant since the 1980s. “Not that we don’t know how to feed cattle, but that expertise is important,” he says.

Today, as farmers face low grain prices, low returns and high input costs, Anderson says more are looking to build new or expand existing livestock operations. Why? Three reasons: to help spread risk across different markets, to ensure multiple families are supported on the farm and to fill nutrient needs with manure.

Instead of purchasing more land and increasing crop acres, cattle farmers are expanding herds with feedlots or monoslope barns.

Al Lyman and his wife, Karen, who farm near Cambridge, built a new Summit monoslope barn two years ago. The 720-head facility is all about cattle comfort, with airy pens and rubber mats on the slats to reduce leg and feet problems. “It’s really improved the cattle comfort and the performance,” he says. “Gains went up and conversions went down.”

Lyman advises farmers considering a monoslope barn to use professionals. The Lymans saved money by doing the majority of the inside work on their own, but managing a cattle operation, keeping track of books and raising crops may hinder progress on a construction project. Their project took about a year and a half from start to finish due to weather and regulatory delays.

THE MANURE FACTOR: According to Nic Anderson, Illinois Livestock Development Group, manure is so valuable, it has to be part of the decision to diversify.

Even though the expansion project took longer than anticipated to complete, the Lymans are glad they reinvested in their cattle business. They have a barn the cattle are comfortable in, the deep manure pit is good for the environment, and feed isn’t wasted; it’s tracked meticulously by pen number. Lyman knows exactly how much feed goes in each pen, how much was left, if any, and how much feed the pen will have at the next feeding. The entire system helped him improve his cost of gain.

Manure: A farmer’s asset

Lyman says they’ve used liquid manure on the home farm since 1974. “We’ve never bought P and K for this farm after we started using liquid manure,” he adds. As technology improves, Lyman is able to move manure by semi 4 to 5 miles away. He’s managing soil fertility and reducing fertilizer input costs every year.

NEW ADVENTURE: “Hog production is a way for young couples to stay on the farm and active year-round,” says Caleb Corzine, Assumption. “Hogs are a seven-day-a-week, 365-day-a-year process.” Caleb and his wife, Tarcie, held an open house at their new hog finishing building on Sept. 8.

Anderson says he could share several stories about manure and soil fertility. “There are farmers that haven’t had livestock for 25 years, and we can still see the fertility ring from where the manure spreader stops,” he says. “It’s impressive.”

With a pit system, Anderson explains farmers can capture about 90% of the value. “For hogs and cattle, I use a conservative number of a $150-an-acre asset that goes back to the farm,” he adds.

So when farmers are considering diversifying with livestock, Anderson says the value of manure has to be factored into the equation. “There’s true value there,” he adds. Hard numbers are difficult because fertilizer prices change and application rates vary, but Anderson offers a rough ballpark on the value of manure:

• 2,500-head finished hog facility = 1 million gallons of manure
• nitrogen-phosphorus-potassium value of manure = $150 an acre
• application rate = 4,000 to 5,000 gallons an acre
• covered acres = 150 to 200 (approximately)
• $150-an-acre asset - $50 application fee = $100-an-acre value
• 150 acres x $100-an-acre value = $15,000

“You just brought $15,000 in value back to the farm,” Anderson says. Manure also has benefits you can’t quantify: micronutrients that give it an edge over purchased fertilizer. Over time, he notes, soil health will improve, and farmers should see an increase in yield.

Bringing back livestock

Expanding a cattle operation is one thing, but Lyman says starting a new cattle business from scratch would be a challenge. “If you aren’t in the business already, it would be hard,” he says. One challenge new cattle farmers may face is financing. Contract pork production, he says, comes with less risk due to a set income.

Anderson agrees. “There’s a lot of capital at risk when you own the cattle and the shed, and you have to carry that for 180 days,” he explains. “Pork production is easier at the entry level.”

That’s why more young farmers are looking at contract pork production. Anderson sees young farmers investing in pork operations, turning a positive cash flow, building equity and paying off loans.

“It’s an avenue to reinvest in infrastructure and reinvest in people so they stay on the farm,” Anderson says.

Caleb Corzine farms with his father, Curt, near Assumption, and he recently partnered with The Maschhoffs to establish a new hog finishing facility.

About a year ago, Corzine and his wife, Tarcie, started looking for a way to keep active on the farm without purchasing additional farm ground. That’s when he started noticing the new hog facility open houses being mentioned on the radio and in magazines. He attended a few open houses and began researching different options.

The Corzines are not entirely new to livestock production. Caleb raised hogs as a summer project in middle school, and Tarcie showed sheep and hogs. His grandfather raised cattle before his father transitioned out of livestock to focus on grain production. Corzine decided it was time to bring livestock back to the family farm. Partnering with The Maschhoffs was the right fit at the right time.

“Hog production is a way for young couples to stay on the farm and active year-round,” he says. “Hogs are a seven-day-a-week, 365-day-a-year process.”

The pig project

Matt Henry, business development manager with The Maschhoffs, sat down with Corzine to review the 12-year contract and expectations in December 2015. Corzine says the paperwork for the new hog building began after he attended the Illinois Pork Expo in February. “We started the ball rolling from there,” he says.

“The ball” included phone calls, emails, papers to sign and constant communication. Establishing a new hog operation breaks down into three components: the permit, building construction and financing.

The Maschhoffs has a department dedicated to handling permits. As a courtesy, Corzine contacted his neighbors, even though they live more than a half mile from the proposed facility. His neighbors didn’t have any issues with the new building, and construction was a go after securing a new-farmer loan through the Farm Service Agency.

Corzine says trying to coordinate all the contractor phone calls during the 60-to-90-day construction project was challenging, but the 81-foot-wide-by-225-foot-long building was complete in early September. The first load of hogs arrived a week after the open house.

Even though the Corzines have livestock experience, they had help welcoming their new arrivals. Lizzie DeClerck, production manager with The Maschhoffs, was on-site to help count pigs and pull light ones that needed extra nutrition after the move. DeClerck will be on-site two to three times a week as the Corzines learn the start-to-finish protocol.

DeClerck says it’s her job to help new production partners get into the swing of things — from doing chores to vaccinating. She manages 11 sites for The Maschhoffs.

For Corzine, it’s all part of their step in the right direction. “This is a way to keep family on the farm,” he concludes.