KNF pigs plastic liner
Im looking into building out a KNF style pig pen but Im not for sure i want to include a plastic liner. Im not sure if the liner is in accordance with a clean water act or if you use it for another reason. I read that its to keep water from contaminating the ground but i figured the the barn i build out would keep the ground completely dry. If i am missing a vital reason for the liner please enlighten.. long live the NF
Top answer
The only reason for the liner is to comply with certain federal mandates for funding. My pig pen the way it is set up does not have to comply with State or Federal regulations as long as I do not have more than 4 pigs. If I exceed that limit, I will have to be subject to the Hawaii State Department of Health, and they will require a liner and a full waste management plan.
From the KNF library
From the KNF library
Drafted by Claude from Office Hours and the books
·
Sep 2026
·
3 sources
Drake already gave the regulatory reason. The library adds how the KNF floor is built.
Cho digs the fattening pen floor up to 90 cm (35.4 in) deep. He fills it with bark and sawdust mixed with soil containing decomposed leaves. (Cho, Theory, p. 159) He then blends in 0.3 percent natural salt. (Cho, Theory, p. 159)
Microbes in that bed feed on the pig feces, and this removes the smell. (Cho, Theory, p. 161) Cho treats the manure as a resource recycled into feed, not as waste to dispose of. (Cho, Theory, p. 154)
The farrowing pen differs. Cho makes its floor concrete to protect baby pigs from being squeezed to death. (Cho, Theory, p. 159)
Beyond the four-pig rule Drake gave, the library says nothing on liners or the Clean Water Act.
Sources
- p. 159 Cho, Theory · “dug up to 90 cm(35.4in) deep where farmers would put bark and sawdust in it and mix them with soil containing decomposed leaves”
- p. 161 Cho, Theory · “The microorganisms propagate by being fed indigested pig feces and residual nutrients and this result in the removal of any bad smell.”
- p. 154 Cho, Theory · “pigs' manure are not necessarily disposed of as they are being treated as valuable resources that are being recycled into pigs' feed”
