SASKATOON (Staff) – Calahoo-area hog producer Marcel Kerckhof already has plans to rebuild the barn that burned Jan. 9 killing 700 hogs.
Located about 45 kilometres northwest of Edmonton, the finishing barn and animals were part of Kerckhof’s 2,200 farrow-to-finish operation. Insurance coverage should allow him to rebuild, Kerckhof said last week, and he’ll use the old foundation of the 12-metre by 36-metre barn if the footings survived major damage.
Cause of the fire hadn’t been determined as of last week but Kerckhof is assuming a fan or electrical short touched off the blaze which was first discovered by neighbors at about 8:30 p.m. Fire departments from three surrounding districts responded and fought the fire until about 3 a.m., Kerckhof said.
Read Also
Why feds imposed EV tariffs
Moe and Kinew have a fight on their hands when it comes to eliminating the EV tariff. Canada has to worry about pissing off the U.S. and Mexico and hundreds of thousands of auto workers.
“I feel a little better today,” he added last week, after cleanup had begun on barn debris and carcasses. “I wasn’t too much in a talking mood on Monday. … I’ll rebuild when it gets warm enough.”
He and his neighbors said calm conditions that night, which had temperatures of -35¡, probably helped save adjoining barns. Fire damage to an alley connecting the lost barn and the farrowing barn showed it was a close call.
Kerckhof estimates his loss at $200,000 to $230,000.
