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James R. Heimerl 3891 Mink Road Johnstown, Ohio 43031 740-967-2760 hfarms@voyager.net |
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James R. Heimerl 3891 Mink Road Johnstown, Ohio 43031 740-967-2760 hfarms@voyager.net |
Background. After his father’s retirement in 1980, James
“Jim” Heimerl wanted to maintain a productive working farm
environment with his family and for his community.
In 1992, after Jim assumed full-time responsibility for the farm, he
added a feeder pig operation, or a farm that raises pigs for market.
Since that time, Heimerl’s farms have grown to include grain and hog
production, ammonia and seed sales. A
new barn was built on the home farm in Johnstown, which houses 1,200 finishing
hogs and a 1,200 head nursery barn that holds the pigs until they are moved to
the finishing barn at about 50 pounds.
Ag
Advancements.
Jim has recently added several new features to the farm to help with
production. He recently added a
bio-filter unit that involves a netting tent to cover the fans where their sows,
or pregnant female pigs are housed. The bio-filter diminishes the smells from
the animals and keeps a clean environment for the farm and its surroundings. He
also uses straw to diminish odor problems. The manure in the sow barns is
incorporated into other farming resources. For example, it is injected into the
soil to fertilize it for planting crops. Jim uses a GPS grid on a 360-acre field
to estimate nutrients in the soil to calculate how and where to fertilize.
Benefits
to the Farm.
Jim has several contractors from whom he buys pigs that are certified PQA
(Pork Quality Assurance) and TQA (Truckers Quality Assurance).
He has a yearly contractors meeting where a veterinarian teaches quality
assurance practices. The farm’s
bio-filter also regulates how the manure is distributed on the farm, to prevent
over- or under-fertilizing. The
farm also benefits by having a practical use for the corn and soybeans it grows:
seventy-five percent of the hog feed is grown on the farm.
Farming
Philosophy.
Heimerl practices environmental stewardship.
His favorite expression is “smell with your eyes,” a saying that
reflects the farm’s “visual beauty” realized through clean barns and
colorful landscape. Jim has hosted an open house for his neighbors to show them
his new barn. He feels that his
neighbors have the right to know what is being constructed next to them,
especially when its a large barn; it allows them to ask questions and get to
know how the farm will operate.
Benefits
to the Community.
Each year, Jim hosts field trips to his farm by a local high school biology
class and a fourth-grade class. Jim shows the biology class his bio-filter
process and basic farming techniques with the latest technology.
This Ag Advancements profile was written by John Palmer.