Marty grew up in Wellman, Iowa, on his great uncle's hog farm. He purchased a portable nursery, and he uses lean-to's and a shed as breeding areas. His uncle sold the sows after he got started. Now he weans the pigs and takes them to this uncle's site. Vern worked in Extension for approximately 35 years. He became interested in swine development in the late 1960s, and has a number of ideas on renovation (see handout at the end of this section). His philosophy is that if both the foundation and the roof of a structure are bad, one should try to use it as it is or tear it down. Jim has a farrowing house, converted cattle sheds, and the like. The farrowing house originally was a nursery, then additions were done to divide it into rooms and pens, so the nursery will hold 475 head. Insulation keeps the heat in for the nursery and the sow rooms, but the walls "sweat."