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By JOE SMEKENS
Just like dozens and dozens of other families around Wells County, the Leas family of Jackson Township has been involved in farming and agriculture business for a long, long time.
Jason Leas age 22, and his brother, Joel, age 21, are following in the footsteps of their great-grandfather, Ralph Leas, and their grandfather, Gail Leas, both of whom spent their lives farming and raising hogs in Jackson Township.
Jason and Joel are learning the ropes from their dad, Bruce Leas, and their uncle, Phil Leas.
Between the four of them, they are farming over 1,000 acres, and they are also in the hog producing business . . . in a much bigger and different way than their forefathers.
In the days of Ralph and Gail Leas, and even for Bruce and Phil not too many years ago, it was a big job trying to raise 100 head of hogs.
“We used to have a few sows and a farrow barn, but never more than 100 head,” Phil Leas said in recollecting the way they used to raise hogs. “Back then, we did it the hard way,” he smiled. “It took a lot more work than it does now,” Phil said in reference to their 8,000-head operation in a remote section of Jackson Township.
The Leas family was one of the first in the county to get involved in the mega-size hog operations, commonly referred to by many as CAFOs (confined animal feeding operations) or “farm factories.”
“We were one of the first in the county, but soon there will be up to 25 hog barns just in this area,” Bruce Leas said.
In Jackson Township alone, there are currently 11 of the huge barns which can hold up to 4,000 pigs.
The Leas family has two barns housing 4,000 hogs apiece and they are contemplating putting up two more barns. Three other barns are currently being built in other areas of southern Wells County.
In a year’s time, the Leas barns will turn out 16,000 hogs.
The animals are trucked in from North Carolina when they have been weaned, usually coming in about two weeks old and weighing around 10 pounds.
And after six months of feeding, the average hog hauled off to a packing house weighs close to 300 pounds.
“The average finishing weight is about 280 pounds,” Bruce Leas said. “That’s a lot bigger than they used to be. Twenty years ago, they’d be 200 to 220 pounds.”
Of course back in the old days, the local farmer actually owned his pigs, but for the most part, that’s not the case with today’s mega-operations.
“Now we are strictly contract growers,” Bruce noted.
Coharie Farms out of Clinton, North Carolina actually owns the animals which are cared for by the Leas family.
And with the exception of the light bill, Coharie Farms also picks up the tab for almost everything else, including the mountain of feed that it takes to fatten 16,000 hogs in a year’s time.
It takes 80,000 bushels of corn per year for each of the Leas barns to keep the hogs’ appetites whetted.
All feed at the Leas farm comes from a supplier in Hagerstown, and the feeding operation is totally automatic.
Except for the annual manure disposal, the entire operation is pretty much run by the flick of switches.
When the piglets first arrive, they need extra special care, it was noted, and they are supplied the necessary medicines through automated watering systems.
Each of the barns is outfitted with fans and “misting” systems to keep the animals as cool as possible, especially during extreme conditions.
The feed is automatically piped into each barn at the appropriate times,
And the pigs’ excrement is all turned into liquid manure.
Beneath the slatted floors of each barn is a pit which is nine feet deep and can store up to two years worth of manure.
And while this portion of the operation can be offensive to some, the excrement results in a savings of more than $40,000 in the purchase of fertilizer.
In a year’s time, each building will produce 1 million gallons of liquid fertilizer, which will fertilize up to 275 acres of corn.
Unlike the old days, when hogs were bedded with straw, resulting with a solid waste, everything is liquid.
The Leas family spreads the fertilizer usually once a year on their surrounding acreage.
“When you apply manure, it stinks,” Bruce Leas said, making no bones about it and saying there’s really no way around it.
“We are always looking at better ways of injecting it,” he noted.
“We usually try to call all the neighbors before we spread,” he added.
The Leas operation began about five years ago when they built their first barn located at 7505S, 700 West in Jackson. The second barn was opened in February of this year.
Bruce and Phil started the operation and the planned expansion of two more barns will enable Jason and Joel to have their own roles in the business.
“This is a good opportunity for young guys to make a decent living,” Bruce Leas said in pointing to the trend which has grabbed ahold of farming operations all over the midwest in recent years.
joe@news-banner.com