New Docuseries Video: Pig Farming Using the Three R's

Through the Illinois Farm Families (IFF) coalition, a new docuseries video has been released in the “Innovation Grows Here” series, highlighting how Illinois pig farmers practice the three R’s: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.

The video features Illinois farmer Chad Bell, of Viola, who is proud to grow numerous row crops and pigs on his 6th generation family farm in Mercer County.

“As a pig farmer, I think about the Earth’s natural resources every day. Land, water, and air are critical to farmers and our ability to continue to provide an affordable food supply,” says Bell. “I want to preserve and improve these natural resources, minimize waste and above all, farm in a sustainable way.” 

 Pig farming is one of the largest consumers of corn in the state driving additional demand for the grain. 

As portrayed in the video, pig farming is a constant cycle of turning homegrown crops into pig feed, then to pork, then back into the soil to grow another season of grain.

Ted Funk, agricultural engineer and consultant, is also featured on the video. Ted has helped numerous pig farmers over the years improve their farming systems, especially by planting tree buffers around their farms through an IPPA grant program.

Other shorter length videos will soon be released highlighting Chad’s use of cover crops and more on pig manure as a fertilizer.

Each video in the series is an effort to connect farmers and non-farmers and to promote conversations about their common sustainability goals. More videos are planned for the remainder of 2020.