The Dale Farm
Raising livestock in the Midwest, especially Indiana, takes a measure of commitment even greater, some say, than farming corn and beans. Animals take up space, make noise and even smell: all facts that, in the three generation since World War II, have caused many producers to quit diversified livestock agriculture and simply raise crops only. After all, crops do not oink, do not want to be fed twice a day, and do not need to be born. In an oversimplification of grain farming, farmers put crops in, hope for good weather, and take them out. Though they do not mean to get preachy or even prideful, livestock producers know that they have endured the bulk of criticism from town folks that have moved to the country, activist groups, and even their own neighbors. If any segment of the livestock industry has received it most, it has been hog farmers. Funny thing about many livestock producers, they are stubborn and dedicated to their land and animals.
Speaking of dedication, meet the Dales – all 13 of them – that operate Dale Farms in North Manchester, Indiana. “Well, let’s see,” began Brad Dale the 33-year-old voluntary spokesman for the group. “This could take a minute,” he adds beginning to tabulate just how many Dales are making a living from the farm. “There’s me and my wife Marlea; then Dad, Jim, and my mom. Kathy; and my brothers Shane and Jeff; then there’s Uncle Dave, and Uncle Tom and his son Greg; and Dad’s brother-in-law, Randy Niccum and my cousins Ryan, Marc and Kevin; and we can’t forget Grandpa Roger Dale who started the place in the 1940’s. We’ve also got two hired hands,” Brad says, quickly adding, “and there’s Angie, Jeff’s wife, and Randy’s wife Nancy who are the farm secretaries.”
After drawing a well-deserved breath, Brad explains that everyone is actually an employee of the 2,000 acre farm that maintains 2,700 sows and also raises corn, soybeans, and wheat. “We’re actually all stockholders in the farm – the older guys own more stocks though,” Brad admits. While many farms leave succession planning up to chance, the Dale’s have an organized system for adding new members to the fold, and the farm takes care of its own. “The farm takes everyone. It provides a truck and a home. All the homes are paid for and owned by the farm which is a major perk for us,” Brad says, adding that he improved his stock holding in the farm by making some needed renovations to his house In a sense, everyone owns a piece of everything making living on Dale land extremely cooperative.
Brad says the format of joint ownership also improves responsibility among everyone, especially the younger men. “All our younger generation is in our 20’s and early 30’s, we all pretty much came straight to the farm after high school.” Though some cousins did not come back to farm full-time, there was an open opportunity for anyone who chose to take it. “Everyone grew up with this and knew they wanted to do it or that they didn’t.”
With so many family members, daily jobs are divided up pretty evenly, though everyone jumps in to help during busy times of the year. “The older guys are the bosses,” Brad comments with a laugh. “But we all have our own job to do and our own area to manage.” Even at only 33, Brad is “old hat” and is the second oldest of his generation. He has been full-time at the farm since 1994. Brad manages a farrowing (birthing) unit and handles breeding and gilt replacement selection. Gilts are young, female pigs that are selected on the basis of good quality and potential mothering ability and then replaced back into the sow herd as older or under productive sows leave. “As long as they are having good litters and are breeding back, sows can stay in the herd as long as possible,” Brad explains. Sows, or female hogs that have already had piglets, will have an average of 11-12 pigs per litter and will have 2 ½ litters each year. They usually stay around for about three years before they begin to lose productivity.
The Dales raise several breeds of hogs including Landrace and Yorkshire for maternal traits and Durocs to produce hogs that feed well. With 2,700 sows, that means a lot of animals around the farm every year. In fact, the Dales sell some 50,000 head of hogs each year. “We create all our own breeding stock through AI,” Brad says. AI-stands for artificial insemination; and being a good AI technician is important on any modern livestock farm. “There are four of us guys that do that – mostly us younger guys head up the breeding program,” Brad says.
When selling hogs, the Dales operate at the mercy of the open market which means they receive the daily price from the packer when they take hogs directly to the markets in Delphi or Logansport. “We don’t contract our hogs ahead; we sell at the market, so we hit the highs and the lows,” Brad commented, saying that they have always sold that way to capitalize on market trends though many producers have gone exclusively to a set contract price.
Price – and its fluctuations – is one thing that remains the “it factor” that the Dales constantly watch. “The main thing is being able to complete with larger operations and survive the ups and downs of the markets. There are a lot of challenges, but it is all about weathering the storm,” Brad says with conviction. While the Dales raise much of their inputs, grain prices still play a major role in their financial management. Just a mile away an ethanol plant is being built. The Dales remain mostly supportive of the idea of biofuels, but Brad worries about the balance of inputs for feed and fuel, “We’d like to see biomass developed for making ethanol. I am just not sure there will be enough grain for both.”
But other changes have influenced many of the farm’s decisions over the years. “The biggest change I’ve since 1994 is in the genetics in the swine industry,” Brad notes “I’ve seen it go from leanness not mattering, to hogs getting so lean that they didn’t grow, and now there’s more of a happy medium. Sow productivity is the one thing that has really improved with genetics.” Brad loves being around the hogs and working with them daily is his favorite part of his job. “I prefer working in the farrowing house with the baby pigs. I also like the genetics part of it. I like matching the boars to the sows. We raise and take care of them (hogs) the best way we can in order to put out a healthy product,” Brad says proudly.
Another important factor for healthy hogs is biosecurity. “That’s another thing that has really improved over the years. We do not allow big tours now because of the risk of disease. Healthy pigs are pigs that grow faster. The fewer meds we have to give them the better. We do not like dosing antibiotics. Prevention is really the best thing on a hog farm,” Brad explains. Effective biosecurity measures are surprisingly simple and yet very effective. Everyone showers between sites in showers built into each barn. They also change clothes and boots and leave those boots at each site, limiting the amount of exposure throughout the day. “We don’t give meds to hogs near as much as a lot of people think. I think sometimes people have been misinformed about hog operations,” Brad acknowledges.
Family and land are important and go hand in hand. Because of this, one of the most important things to the Dales is good land stewardship. In 2007, the farm was names a River Friendly Farm of Indiana by the Natural Resources Conservation Service.
“We’re just trying to protect our land,” comments Jim Dale who explained that the award acknowledges the extra work and expense the Dales have put in creating waterways, filter strips and building structures all to prevent erosion. “We try to be active and proactive. And we know the value of good public relations,” Jim explains.
Randy Dale also feels the awards and their work is significant because neighbors are also decreasing erosion. “We are now seeing waterways around the ditches all over the area. It’s all going to have a positive effect on the watershed.”
With land preservation in mind, the Dales are not just preserving the environment, they are really nodding toward the future for all involved. Brad’s young daughters already come out to the farm with him on Wednesday when he weans baby pigs, just as he used to do. Being an animal lover, he also raised pigmy goats for their future 4-H projects. Right now he offers the goats from his 25-head herd to local youth for showing. He believes his daughters and their cousins will have a place if they, too, choose to return to Dale Farms once they grow up. He says: “As long as the farm is around, there will always be that opportunity to come back.”
At the end of the day, the Dales have built the life they love and that may be the most important factor through all time. Brad says any one of the men could speak for the group, but he summed it up: “The farm has provided a good lifestyle, not a get rich deal, by any means, but we all grew up with it, and the farm is what we knew and liked.” Brad’s smile says he is confident another generation will continue.
Listen to theDale family talk about their farm.
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