National Geographic : 1967 Jun
in animal science and agronomy. He works his 333-acre general farm with the aid of one full-time employee. Farmstead and pasture for a small herd of registered polled Herefords occupy about 100 acres; corn takes up the re maining land. His attractive blond wife Betty keeps the books-in addition to caring for their four children. We halted beside a field of ripe corn and the farmer squinted at the rustling crop. "Because of the drought, I'll be glad to get 100 bushels to the acre here. In a good year this corn runs around 125 bushels," he said. A little later we entered a large white barn, its pens full of fat sows surrounded by squeal ing piglets. "Ever hear of confinement hog raising?" I confessed ignorance. "We raise and sell as many as a thousand head of purebred Duroc hogs a year," John said. "We confine them here from birth to market. They never touch the ground-they're always on concrete. We control their diet and give them vitamins and antibiotics. Air conditioning ensures the proper temperature, and keeps pneumonia away."