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FarFarmingming

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2012 Supplement to the Monroe County Beacon

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Page 2 Farming in Monroe, Monroe County Beacon, Woodsfield, Ohio Thursday, April 26, 2012

arin BrownStaff Writer

Originally from Strongsville (nearCleveland), Frank Arden came to MonroeCounty three decades ago for low landprices. Id rather live in a tent surroundedby 40 acres than live in a mansion on onecre, said Arden on his desire for wide-pen spaces. Wide-open spaces are exactlyhat he found in Monroe County. Ardenroclaimed his love for this county as weiscussed his farm. The people are awe-ome. I feel like Im home, he said.

Frank Ardens home is found near theounty line between Lewisville and

ummerfield. He lives on the farm he orig-nally bought when coming to the county,ut he has added to his farm with three landurchases over the years. Arden also hasdded multiple buildings on the propertyhat only had one barn when he bought it.e talked about how the barn had to have aew foundation and how, after the founda-ion was fixed, he concreted the entire barn

by hand. Looking at everything, I askedhow he ever managed to do it all. I wasyoung and energetic then, I guess, Ardenreplied.

All of Ardens hard work over the yearshas paid off as he has developed a largehog operation. Frank said he sells 40-50 fathogs a year (for market) and probably 60fair pigs each year. While he breeds hogsfor multiple purposes, it is evident thatArdens heart lies with 4-H.

Arden sells hogs to kids from Guernsey,Noble, and Monroe counties for their 4-Hprojects. He speaks passionately about hisinvolvement in 4-H. Frank said, 4-H is a

great thing for the kids. He observed, Alot of the girls even like it better. Theyreso into it. Ardens zeal for 4-H can only bematched by his zeal for hogs. He said kidslove taking hogs to the fair, Pigs are cool.I think the kids think theyre interestingtoo. Arden spoke highly of the quality of

Frank Arden Shows a Passion for Farming, Wide-Open Spaces

Frank shows a great love for the outdoors. In recent years, knee problems have limit-ed his mobility. His ATV has become a valuable tool for Frank to navigate his sprawlingfarm. While he makes use of some technology, Frank said a lot of his work on the farm

is done by hand. He said he went through 30 tons of feed last year, and all of it wasscooped out and fed by hand. Photos by Darin Brown

About our Cover: As Frank Arden was showing me all of his hogs, we came to this pen of two barrows. For a photo op, he sprinkled corn so they would come

out. They came running to him, then saw me. They darted straight back into their shelter. This photo was taken as they were peaking out to see if it was safe.

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Continued on Page 3

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Thursday, April 26, 2012 Farming in Monroe, Monroe County Beacon, Woodsfield, Ohio Page 3

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the hogs at the Monroe County fair andobserved that it is a highly competitivegroup.

The enthusiasm for 4-H also runsthroughout Ardens family. Two of hisgranddaughters (Casey and Caitlyn) par-ticipate in 4-H in Monroe County and bothtake hogs to the fair. He also said his kidswere in 4-H, and his son even had the

grand champion hog one year. Arden saidhis granddaughters are a huge help on thefarm.

Its a good thing that Arden has helpbecause he has several hogs and piglets. Ashe showed me around the barn, I saw thebirthing area, pens of hogs not yet ofbreeding age, and then at least four pens ofpiglets with their mother. Once theyre inthe weaning process, Arden allows thepiglets to run to and fro. A small hole in thegate allows them to get out of the pen with-

out the mother getting out. He said, whenthey are weaning, they like running around

and rooting around outside. A litter ofpiglets were loose as I visited, but theywere too quick and didnt want their pic-ture taken.

Most of the piglets at Ardens farm areYorkshires, but he has some Durocs aswell. I asked him about the differences ofthe breeds (outside of their appearance).He said Durocs tend to grow faster and

have good meat quality. On the other hand,Yorkshires tend to birth more piglets perlitter. He said that a lot of the big commer-cial outfits try to mix the two so they canget the best of both worlds.

Most of the piglets born on Ardens farmare born through artificial insemination.Arden said hes been trying to shake-up thebloodlines of his hogs more these days.Some of my hogs are placing [at thefairs], but I want champions, Frank said.

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The hogs have to give birth in a special area. A chute of sorts keeps the sow in a smallspace that keeps her from moving around too much. This is designed to keep her fromcrushing the piglets. In the foreground, hanging, is a small gas heater. Arden said pigslove heat, but it is essential that newborns keep warm. According to Arden, the tempera-ture must be between 75 and 80 degrees fahrenheit for birthing. He keeps his barn warmwith natural gas that is free with the farm and a wood heater he fires up when it gets real-ly cold out. Arden said that pigs create a lot of humidity. The wood burner works wellbecause, not only does it heat, it takes a lot of the moisture out of the air.