Mogler Says PipePik, SnoutSpout Make Farming More Enjoyable
Sometimes little things make a big difference in efficient pork production. Think about what happens when crust and dust plug up feeding tubes, especially in the summer. Then there’s the challenge of mounting a water nipple. It’s rarely as easy as it seems.
Just ask Chet Mogler, a fourth-generation farmer who manages his family’s sow farm near Lester, Iowa. This busy father of five, foster parent and row-crop grower doesn’t have time to waste.
“I’m always looking for handy little solutions and simple tools that make my job easier,” says Chet, whose family manages a 4,400-head sow farm, 2,600 acres of row crops, a 3,000-head beef feedlot and a licensed grain elevator. “I like PigEasy, because they provide practical products that are easy to use.”
The challenge
About a decade ago, the Moglers were frustrated with build-up in the feed pipes in an older building on their sow farm. The problem was especially troublesome in the summer. Humidity and other factors can allow the plug to build up slowly, making it hard to detect. If it’s not caught right away, sows go without feed. This can affect the animals’ body condition. Once the plugged feed tube is discovered, however, it can be tricky to clean it safely and efficiently with the sow in the stall.
Other common tasks on a sow farm can also be more complicated than you’d think, says Chet, who worked alongside his family to build a new 4,400-head sow farm in 2015. “Mounting watering nipples is always a challenge,” says Chet, who supervises the daily operations at the sow farm. “You have to get the angle right, for one thing, so it works properly.”
The solution
The plugged feed pipes prompted the Moglers to look at the PipePik from PigEasy. This feed-tube cleaner unplugs and cleans many gestation stall feed tubes quickly and easily.
PipePik attaches to a cordless drill. It spins a steel brush up past the curve of the feed tube where the vast majority of plugging occurs. Its handle makes it easy to maneuver around head gate rods to quickly get to the tube, without disturbing the sow. Its contoured design is easy to operate and works on virtually all sizes of drop tubes. “The PipePik was one of the first things we tried from PigEasy,” Chet says. “It’s like a pipe cleaner, and it works great.”
The Moglers’ success with the PipePik prompted them to look into PigEasy’s other products. They were impressed with the SnoutSpout, a no-leak, double water nipple bracket designed for easy mounting to virtually any gestation stall divider on a sow farm. Made from injection molded, glass-filled polypropylene, the SnoutSpout water nipple bracket is made to stand up to extreme conditions and provide many years of reliable use.
“The SnoutSpout is customizable and simple to install,” Chet says. “You can drill holes wherever you need them.”
The results
The PipePik and SnoutSpout have saved the Moglers a lot of time and hassle. Running the PipePik cleaner through each feed tube a couple times a year helps eliminate feed tube plugging, because it smooths out the inside of the feed tube where feed tends to build up.
Chet also appreciates the advantages of the SnoutSpout. The water bracket is easy to install, as it cuts and drills into like wood and simply requires fasteners to secure. “Dave figured out the right angle on this bracket, so I don’t have to,” says Chet, referring to PigEasy’s founder, Dave Klocke, who raises hogs near Templeton, Iowa.
Simple solutions like this make pig farming much more enjoyable, says Chet, who also appreciates PigEasy’s exceptional service.
“When I bought the SnoutSpout, it was a fairly new product. Dave asked me what PigEasy could do to make the product work even better.”
The Moglers have continued to incorporate more PigEasy products into their sow farm, including the MealMeter Automatic Sow Feeder. They like the way the ad-lib system allows sows and gilts to eat at will.
“The feed is fresh in the trough, so you don’t have to scrape out uneaten feed,” Chet says. “This has cut our feed waste by at least 5 percent.”
A big part of the PigEasy advantage is the fact that Dave uses these products, too, Chet says. “You don’t have to question whether PigEasy’s products are just marketing hype. You know they’ll work, because Dave has tested them on his farm.”
This down-to-Earth, practical approach sets the PigEasy team apart from the competition, Chet adds. “They have a lot in common with farmers like me who appreciate small-town, family values. Those are the kind of people I want to do business with.”
