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A family has transformed their former pig farm into a specialty mushroom growing operation and a second demonstration hub for The Transfarmation Project.
The 1100 Farm is located in Radcliffe, Iowa, the biggest factory farming state in the US, but has swapped pig farming for mushrooms and is now “thriving.”
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Before it became a mushroom growing operation, 1100 Farm was a confined animal feeding operation (CAFO) that raised approximately 8,000 pigs per year.
Its owners, the Faaborg family, have farmed pigs in Iowa for the past three decades, but in collaboration with The Transfarmation Project, have converted one of the large barns into a space for growing specialty mushrooms. The name 1100 Farm comes from those barns, which each used to house 1,100 pigs.
As a Transfarmation demonstration hub, the farm also includes a space for research and hosts visitors who are interested in sustainable and stable alternatives to factory farming. The Transfarmation Project partners with farmers to support their transition from livestock to plant-based agriculture. It is run by the nonprofit Mercy For Animals.
‘A new future for farming is taking root’
Katherine Jernigan, the director of Transfarmation, said, “This hub represents more than a single farm transition. It’s proof that farmers can build resilient, profitable businesses while pursuing a different path from industrial agriculture.
“The Faaborg family’s journey shows that even where many believed change was impossible, a new future for farming is taking root. In an industry where many people would least expect it, this family is proving that family farms continue to be sites of innovation and that farmers can lead the way to a better food future.”
The grand opening of The Transfarmation Project’s Iowa Demonstration Hub is scheduled for August 8, 2026, from 4 pm to 7 pm Central Time.
Read more: Factory Farming Is Already A Public Health Crisis
‘If our family can do it, any family can do it’
According to Transfarmation, the launch of 1100 Farm has been “at least three years in the making,” though the collaboration with the Faaborgs began in 2021.
Speaking to the Guardian in February, Tanner Faaborg said that working as a contract CAFO farm indebted to a major meat company can take “a toll on your mental health.” He added, “Our family is not a likely candidate for this story and for this success. We’re not like a hippy family, or a rich family who had spare money and said: ‘Yeah, this will be fun.’ My dad was a welder for about 40 years. We had the hog barns for more than 30 years. My parents were not into change. But if our family can do it, any family can do it.”
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