Iowa produces nearly a third of the country’s pork, so a farm walking away from hog production is the kind of decision that raises eyebrows. But the Faaborg family’s 1100 Farm in central Iowa has done exactly that, swapping thousands of pigs for rows of specialty mushrooms.

Why Walk Away From Hogs

Industrial hog farming carries real environmental costs, heavy water use, waste management challenges, and significant methane output among them. For the Faaborgs, those pressures, combined with the volatility of commodity pork prices, made the case for trying something fundamentally different.

Why Mushrooms, Specifically

Specialty mushrooms require a fraction of the land, water, and time that livestock farming demands. They can be grown indoors year-round, aren’t dependent on seasonal weather windows, and tap into a specialty food market that’s been steadily growing as more restaurants and consumers seek out gourmet and locally grown ingredients.

It Wasn’t an Overnight Switch

Transitioning an entire farm operation away from livestock takes real capital and know-how neither the family nor most conventional farmers start out with. The Faaborgs had to learn mushroom cultivation largely from scratch, a steep and often expensive learning curve for a family used to a completely different kind of agriculture.

A Model for Other Farmers?

The family has been vocal about sharing what they’ve learned, hoping to show other hog farmers considering a similar shift that it’s possible, even if it isn’t easy. It’s a small example within a much larger conversation happening across American agriculture about diversifying away from commodity livestock and crops toward higher-value, more sustainable alternatives.

The Bigger Question for Farm Country

Stories like the Faaborgs’ remain the exception rather than the rule, industrial livestock still dominates Iowa’s agricultural economy. But as environmental pressures and market volatility continue to squeeze traditional farming, more operations may start asking the same question this family already answered: is there a better way to use this land?

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