http://mapper.acme.com/?ll=36.10241,-103.01185&z=15&t=S

They look like buildings with ponds around them. Maybe poultry or hog barns?

For reference, this is in the Texas panhandle along the NM border.

jdzaharia wrote:...this is in the Texas panhandle along the NM border.

Feedlots for beef cattle, I'd reckon.

Yeah, there are a fair number of feedlots in that area, but I think a beef feedlot looks more like this:

http://mapper.acme.com/?ll=36.01634,-102.59617&z=15&t=S

Also, in the original link, I don't see any feed storage areas or facilities, such as bins, ag-bags, or rail lines. It seems odd that the building sites are so spread-out.

I asked some ag-knowledgeable people, and they said they are likely hog barns. The groups of three contain a growing barn in the middle with farrowing and finishing barns on each side.

Anyway, this should probably have been in Off Route. I thought it was interesting.

jdzaharia wrote:I asked some ag-knowledgeable people, and they said they are likely hog barns. The groups of three contain a growing barn in the middle with farrowing and finishing barns on each side.

Is that like a finishing school, for hogs? Frank Sinatra claimed that pigs were rude.

MoapaPk wrote:
Is that like a finishing school, for hogs? Frank Sinatra claimed that pigs were rude.

Actually, pigs are pretty smart. SOME even know how to FLY ..

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLrba4tTIC4[/youtube]

Cameron Diaz had some opinions on pigs, too. I'm not sure if it's productive to try to learn about livestock from celebrities.

jdzaharia wrote:Cameron Diaz had some opinions on pigs, too. I'm not sure if it's productive to try to learn about livestock from celebrities.

I don't know. She sure made a bundle off of an Ogre.