Gestation crates have taken the spotlight across the nation – but Hog Farmer Tom Dittmer says the reason the pork industry switched to crates wasn’t to harm the animals – but to keep them safe. Many corporate pork customers and animal rights groups have turned up the heat on the pork industry to return to group sow housing. More than 30 companies have announced 10-year plans to quit buying pork from suppliers who use gestation crates. Farmers says it’s built around a misunderstanding from people who don’t know anything about raising animals or pigs – so they are taking a stand and trying to show those people how they raise their animals. Research by Iowa State University on sow housing shows Dittmer’s farm costs would rise by 1.3-million dollars a year if he moves back to group housing – while his sows probably would produce one to two fewer piglets each year. Kansas State University Associate Professor of Ag Economics Glynn Tonsor says there’s no obvious reason for farmers to voluntarily switch from gestation crates to pens.