Two Iowa farmers have transformed their family's former hog operation into a speciality mushroom business, turning infrastructure once built for thousands of pigs into spaces for growing lion's mane and oyster mushrooms.
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farmers → transform → mushrooms
The Faaborg family, which once raised about 8,000 hogs a year, ended its animal-farming contract in October 2022 after decades in the industry.
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which → raise → industry
Their operation, now called 1100 Farm, has repurposed half of a 200-foot hog barn into mushroom-growing and processing space, while a former manure pit has been converted into a freshwater pond.
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pit → call → pond
With support from the Transfarmation Project, the family has expanded into value-added products including mushroom tinctures, flavoured salts, coffee and hot chocolate.
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family → expand → tinctures
The Faaborg family's move away from pigs followed decades of involvement in Iowa's livestock industry.
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move → follow → industry
Rand and Tammy Faaborg began raising pigs as a side business after buying their 25-acre farm.
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Faaborg → begin → farm
The operation eventually expanded through contract feeding, in which an integrator supplies animals and feed while farmers provide the buildings and labour.
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farmers → expand → buildings
The family initially adapted existing structures to hold about 2,000 hogs.
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family → adapt → hogs
Later, they borrowed more than $400,000 to construct two larger hog barns.
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they → borrow → barns
Rand said it took roughly 12 years to repay the debt.
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it → say → debt
At its peak, the family operation was raising around 8,000 hogs annually.
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operation → raise → hogs
But the economics and demands of the business changed.
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economics → change → business
Rand, who also worked as a welder, described periods when he worked 16-hour days and sometimes 24-hour stretches.
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he → work → days
He said that over 35 years, his income from his main job increased significantly, while his earnings from raising hogs declined by about two-thirds.
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earnings → say → thirds
Tanner Faaborg pushes for a new direction
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Faaborg → push → direction
The idea of changing the farm's direction gained momentum with the family's next generation.
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idea → change → generation
Their son Tanner Faaborg developed an interest in sustainability and climate issues while studying at college.
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son → develop → college
After returning home, Tanner found himself caught between his interest in environmental issues and the realities of the family's hog operation.
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himself → return → operation
He began looking for ways to use the existing farm infrastructure without continuing to raise large numbers of animals.
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He → begin → animals
The family eventually began working with the Transfarmation Project in 2021, an initiative that helps farmers explore alternatives to intensive animal agriculture.
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farmers → begin → agriculture
The Faaborgs ended their animal-farming contract on October 23, 2022, according to the project's timeline.
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Faaborgs → end → timeline
The mushroom experiment begins
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experiment → begin → ?
Mushrooms emerged as one possible alternative because they could be grown indoors using existing agricultural buildings.
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they → emerge → buildings
In 2023, the family received a $15,000 research and innovation grant to experiment with mushroom production and develop products.
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family → receive → products
The family reported spending about $35,000 on site preparation, equipment and supplies, as well as branding and website development for the pilot.
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family → report → pilot
They began experimenting with speciality varieties, including lion's mane and oyster mushrooms.
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They → begin → mushrooms
Instead of buying all their growing material, the family also learned to make its own mushroom blocks using soy hulls and hardwood pellets.
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family → buy → hulls
The first mushroom crop was harvested and sold in March 2024, according to the Transfarmation Project's timeline.
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crop → harvest → timeline
How an old hog barn became a mushroom farm
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barn → become → ?
The family's new business is called 1100 Farm, a name linked to the capacity of the original hog barns.
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business → call → barns
Rather than demolishing the old structures, the Faaborgs began converting them.
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Faaborgs → demolish → them
By 2026, half of one approximately 200-foot-long hog barn had been transformed into a mushroom-growing facility.
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half → transform → facility
The renovated space includes specialised fruiting rooms where mushrooms grow under controlled conditions.
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mushrooms → renovate → conditions
Other areas are used for preparing growing substrate, developing mushroom spawn and processing the crop.
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areas → use → crop
The family has also discussed using the second hog barn for another agricultural venture.
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family → discuss → venture
One possibility is growing microgreens, although that plan has not yet been implemented.
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plan → grow → microgreens
From fresh mushrooms to artisan food products
The Faaborgs have not limited the business to selling fresh mushrooms.
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Faaborgs → limit → mushrooms
They have developed a range of value-added products designed to give the crop a longer shelf life and create additional revenue streams.
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They → develop → streams
1100 Farm currently sells products including lion's mane and reishi tinctures, mushroom salt, lion's mane coffee and lion's mane dark hot chocolate.
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Farm → sell → tinctures
The family is also working towards expanding its fresh-mushroom sales as production grows.
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production → work → sales
…and 21 more, not listed.
The Aporia
