Happy with hoopsHoop buildings are a top pick on the Stockmen''s Survey[TM] as a management change tied to a product. With pigs from 900 sows being finished in 12 hoop barns, Dave Struthers (shown on page 33) has learned a bit about this housing system since he built his first barn in 1996. The materials (wood, concrete, poles, and tarp) for a hoop barn that holds 200 finishing pigs costs about $8,000. Most of Struthers'' barns are made by Sioux Steel.Struthers, who farms with his family near Collins, Iowa, says hoop production works well for him and offers these tips based on his experience:

This belief has allowed Magnum to quickly supply products to the U.S. military. "We have most recently supplied many of our mobile generators and light towers to the Middle East in support of the Enduring Freedom military operations and continue a very strong presence on many of our military installations here in the U.N. as well," Roberts said."We have been lucky enough with our goal of having inventory on hand to meet customers'' needs. We were able to respond to the buildup over there beginning last October/November," he added. "It paid off because in the end we were able to have product when others couldn''t deliver. It got us into countries over there that we wouldn''t have been in."

Though light in weight, Airbor magnetic drill has a powerful 1.6-hp air motor and 1,600-lb magnetic holding strength. With its extra rack, stroke length is extended to 10 1/4 in. Annular cutter capacity is up to 2 1/16 in. diam. Geared chuck adapter converts the unit to a standard drill press. The Slugger Air Force pneumatic drill, at 24 lbs, 6 1/4" high, is useful for confined area drilling. The drill''s features include a permanent magnet that turns on or off by air power, a cutter capacity of up to 1 1/16" diameter x 3/4" depth and the ability to use ShortSlugger cutters and frame cutters. These cutters'' geometry allows the operator to drill multi-layered truck frames in a single pass.

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