Better Pork - December 2001
"Raising hogs the Canadian way,"
Elite Swine moves into Ontarioby DON STONEMAN
Manitoba-based Elite Swine Inc. is putting its roots deeper into Ontario. A four-person office opens in Moorefield this month and Dickson Gould, Elite's president, says that Elite has about 10,000 sows in this province, either in production or in barns being built.Growth in Ontario will be steady -- likely one 3,000 sow loop in each of the next three years. "Our strategy is to make sure that we do it right," says Gould.
Elite's sows number 90,000 across Canada, with 12,000 in Alberta and the majority in Manitoba's Red River Valley. There are 105 employees company-wide, at Elite's headquarters at Landmark, in Brandon and in Strathmore, Alta., as well as in Ontario.
Two and a half years ago, Elite Swine merged with Maple Leaf Foods and is now a separate Maple Leaf division. The move to Ontario gives Elite another opportunity to work with Maple Leaf and also Shur-Gain, its Ontario-based feed division.
Landmark Feeds started in the weanling co-ordination business in 1982, says Gould, moving young pigs to finishing barn customers. "We grew the business . . . our roots are in rural areas of Canada," says Gould. He considers the company's major strength to be in developing "long-term relationships with our customers. We don't look at these as one-year deals or one-year relationships," he says.
Some farmers who raise pigs from100 sows are still working with Elite. However, most sow operations being built with the company now are 1,500 to 3,000. Gould says much of the recent growth is from farms which had been customers previously with Elite and have reinvested, often bringing another family member into the organization.
The slogan "'Raising Hogs the Canadian Way" has been Elite's trademark for five years, he says. "We are one of the few groups concentrating on finishing pigs in Canada. That is important to us."
While the market in Ontario is well established, Gould believes "there are opportunities for the services we are providing and the options that people are looking for. The processing capacity is expanding in the Ontario marketplace and there are probably opportunities for us to grow our business."
So what does Elite have to offer Ontario producers? A different and flexible way of doing business, says Gould. Its goal "is to provide customers with all the benefits of private ownership and all the benefits of environmentally sustainable, world class production facilities," he told Better Pork in a wide-ranging interview. "We really shine at providing knowledge for farmers to excel in the pork industry."
Gould describes Elite's approach as "the opposite of the American way of raising pigs." In the U.S. integrated model of pork production, Gould notes, processors want control from the top down. "We work in partnership. It's more of a co-ordinated approach, rather than an integrated one," he says. "We don't want to be the majority owner of any operation."
Typically Elite forms partnerships with farmers, with its investment ranging from zero to 50 per cent, probably averaging 25 per cent across all operations. "We won't invest in operations where we aren't supplying the management," Gould says.
Benefits of standardization
One of Elite's specialties is bringing like-minded individuals together, what Gould calls being a "facilitator." Because a 3,000-sow barn is out of the reach of most individuals, "we find three or four farmers who would like to put up an operation like that in one area. We work with them to raise funds and find other investors to join the ownership group."Elite lines up financial resources, provides genetics, vets, feed, and standardized protocols for vaccination and record keeping. The sow barns and nurseries produce standard weaner pigs of the same age with a standard vaccination program from sows that are all fed the same way.
Gould explains that, with standardized operations, it is easier to do problem solving and train people. And, with standardized record keeping, it is easier to benchmark a barn against other barns. "Benchmarking is a big part of our success," Gould says. Biological benchmarking in the barn is done monthly, financial benchmarking four times a year.
Standardization also "shows investors and partners areas of opportunity for improvement. If there is something that is 'out' (of line), it allows you to make the necessary adjustments and make sure that the partners in the operation, as well as the people getting the end product, get what they are expecting." Standardization also allows for volume buying.
Production per mated female in Elite facilities across Canada averages a little more than 24 weaned pigs per year. Some barns with Elite genetics and management put out 27 weanlings, says Gould say, who believes that few operations running at this scale can match those figures.
Pigs are weaned at 16 to18 days of age and move to an all-in, all-out nursery. The top 80 per cent go to high-throughput finishing barns. The smaller pigs are moved to what Gould calls "our quality control barns." This pre-selection maintains stability and keeps barns full. There, they get extra care and slightly higher energy levels in the feed. All pigs are fed out in separate sex groups. All grid information at the packing plant is tracked with standard deviations every week.
Genetically Advanced Pigs (GAP), a partnership between Elite Swine and some Hutterite colonies in Manitoba, provides the sow genetics. There is a heavy emphasis on prolificacy and mothering ability. Sows are standard across all barns but are bred to different terminal sires, depending on the market.
Gould describes GAP as "a 50 per cent partnership with other producers" and feels that it will be a leading edge genetic company. Its database stores 19 years of carcass information, he says. Another plus is that the partnership with GAP and Maple Leaf "allows us to move from generic hogs to designer-based hogs." The breeding strategy enables Elite to produce a Japanese hog with certain genetic combinations and also a North American hog or special process hog.
It also gives Elite the flexibility of working with other breeding stock companies to produce differentiated products. The concept of working with other breeding stock companies is revolutionary. Gould says negotiations for these types of deals have been taking place for some time but nothing has been signed yet. "We think that is a unique way of looking at things that other people haven't taken a look at," Gould says.
In the future, he predicts, vertically co-ordinated strategies will be more important for traceability reasons. "This will become crucial as we try to create market share in the world market," he says.
Except in the case of one or two herds, Elite operates as mycoplasma free. Veterinarians have very detailed entry protocols for Elite's facilities, strict controls over pig movements to maintain health statuses, and quarantine facilities for genetics coming in, either in-house or separate from sow barns.
Three models to choose from
Farmers can make several types of arrangements with Elite, Gould says. Some of them suit farmers who don't mind taking more risks to maximize profits, and some are for producers who are averse to risk. The latter -- straight contracts -- have been more popular since the swine industry disaster of 1998 and 1999.Gould says there are three fairly distinct models of arrangements. In one, an investment group owns the sow operation and the pigs going to market. Elite sets up partnerships between sow units and nursery barns and finishers so that all production is taking place within a reasonable distance from the sow barn. The sow group retains ownership of the pigs to market and also the associated risk.
In another model, aimed at sow operators who want to manage risk, Elite buys the pigs from sow units based on an indexed weanling price adjusted for cost of production. "We finish these pigs in barns where partners are risk averse," Gould says.
In the third model, a sow investment group works with individual farmers who want to buy pigs at a 50-pound formula price. Elite coordinates shipping to the finishing barn and again provides management services.
A growing trend on the Prairies is for grain farmers to get into the pork production business using contracting arrangements, Gould says. Contractors tend to be new to the business and are looking for a steady cash flow, at least until they get a handle on pork markets.
Gould expects that Elite will have no trouble in adapting to Ontario, where there are more pigs, more people and competition is substantial. He says that the "mindsets of people are very similar in southeastern Manitoba and Ontario."
Elite is looking for partnerships and not just with pig farmers. "There are a lot of synergies for proper nutrient management plans, utilizing equipment, and knowing who the good people are in the area," notes Gould. "We also want investors to be in a situation they are comfortable with."
Hanging on to good labour has often been a problem with pork producers, especially in the larger operations, but retaining employees hasn't been a problem with Elite because the company's growth allows room for employees to move up. Employees have pension plans, dental and group insurance comparable to those found in urban industries. And, with nine people in a 3,000-sow barn, people management skills become important, so intensive training is provided. "We give that training internally and with our suppliers," Gould says.
Environmental integrity has to be maintained so that farms can be passed on to the next generation. But economic integrity is also important, Gould stresses and regulations must be practical. He predicts that crops in the future will need higher levels of nutrients so regulations governing manure use on farms must be flexible in order to meet increased crop fertilization needs in the future.
Elite is constantly making improvements year after year, Gould says. Barn designs are re-tuned. Money has been invested into Global Information Systems (GIS) and Global Positioning Systems (GPS). GIS is the map, Gould explains, while GPS "puts the dots on the map."
"We are at the point now where we are taking hog manure as a nutrient and fitting it into precision farming techniques."
There are also Internet-based applications for remote monitoring software. The technology allows for communication from various farms to the main offices, monitoring feed and water intake daily and identifying growth patterns. This information is incorporated into what Gould calls "a HACCP paperless trail" for Elite's customer base.
Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) is a food safety system that tests quality and safety at specific points during production and processing. Record keeping is an important part of the testing.
With remote monitoring of barns day by day, it is possible to track key factors such as feed and water intakes and environmental records. "We are able to tie daily biological information with environmental information as we go along," says Gould, predicting that remote sensing will be available for customers as early as the spring of 2002.
Gould says Elite strives to make a positive contribution to the local community. The company offers scholarships in counties where the company does business and promotes agriculture in general. "If we've got an opportunity to lead by example, we will do so." BP
"A really good bunch of people"
Elite's increased presence in Ontario is a boon to Ron and Brenda Lee and their family. "We're just happier than punch," says Ron Lee, president and general manager of Ridge Lee Pork, as the construction crew puts the finishing touches on a new 1,500-sow multiplier barn. "They're willing to compromise. They are willing to negotiate. They're a really good bunch of people," Lee said of Elite.Ron Lee is a second-generation pig farmer on an operation five miles southeast of Norwich. The Lees already ran two 2,000-head nurseries, one built in 1995 and the other in 1998, for a Goderich-based pork production group. They decided to phase out of the other loop and deal with Elite after it pitched a proposal to them 18 months ago. Earth for the new barn was turned in March, construction began in May and pigs are already in the barn.
Ron says the deal with Elite will let him and his wife farm with their two sons. Mathew finishes at the University of Guelph in April. Steven graduates from high school in January, will work on the farm until he goes to Guelph for his two-year ag diploma course and then return home. Ridge Lee "is a true family farm," says Ron. "The whole family is coming back home again. I'm really looking forward to it. Elite gave us that opportunity."
But Ridge Lee will be a family farm, with something extra -- five employees in the sow barn managed by Elite. Working there temporarily is setup man Trevor Stanhope, who is helping with the startup and will move on to work in another barn in April, when Mathew Lee comes home from school. The manager of the barn, Sherri Grabstas, is from Spain with a dozen years experience in a similar operation. Another worker, Laura Beveridge, has four years experience. A third worker, Jenny Brisbin, has just graduated after four years at the University of Guelph. Ron's wife Brenda will work in the barn until Mathew comes home, and then she will work in the nurseries part-time with her husband, as required. "It's going to work out perfectly," Ron says. There's not enough work for two full-time people in the nurseries, he says, and Brenda has 23 years of experience working beside him.
The more traditional 1,000-head multiplier unit has given way to the 1,500-head barn "which works nicely for the nurseries, especially for a multiplier," Lee says. The nurseries are located a mile away, which is truly convenient, he says.
Elite's design makes the worker and the animal comfortable, he says. The crates are a different size than is typical in Ontario and are turned a different direction in the rooms. He's never seen sows so content, he says. He finds the Manitoba design very different from barns in Ontario. "Ventilation is different. The pit size is different." There is a hot-water heated floor and also central air conditioning. "It's just a very nice building to work in."
The switch to Elite was made only after careful consideration. "We did a little research of our own and mostly what I heard about was their honesty. We wouldn't have it any other way. If we can't trust someone, we aren't going to deal with them."
Elite is happy that the investors are also going to be operating the farm, Lee says.
"When you own it, and help operate it, there is a sense of pride," Lee says, and his partners like that. BP
Pigs equal politics
Elite Swine Inc. is finding out early that, in Ontario, pig production quickly becomes associated with politics. Take the case this fall of two Elite-run barns in southern Bruce County.Elite's Dickson Gould explains that the company had been partners in two farms, one near Paisley, the other near Kincardine. Both had manure tanks containing between three and four million gallons of liquid manure. Elite took over ownership of these farms last spring on a temporary basis, explains Lyndon Stewart, manager of operations for Ontario, and is now "repackaging" the investments and looking for new partners for the farms. Meanwhile, manure has to be spread, a challenge made greater this fall by a delayed harvest and heavy rains.
Gould says that, when Elite took over the farms last spring, it was too late for manure to be spread on the surrounding fields. Heavy fall rains again prevented crops from being taken off. By the end of October, the tanks were brimming.
Elite sought permission from the municipal council to deviate from its nutrient management plan and haul manure elsewhere to be spread, and also to get a variance from the township bylaw restricting liquid manure applications to no more than 2,000 gallons per acre in a 24-hour period. Citizens groups became concerned and the Ministry of the Environment was called in. The township at first refused to allow the manure to be spread elsewhere, and also insisted that manure be spread in two applications.
At press time, manure was being spread on pastureland that had been soil tested, as well as on fields beside the barns. While the local council conceded on that issue, it refused to give way on the question of application rates, in spite of the support of the ministries of environment and agriculture, Stewart says. This bylaw is another reason that it is important to get the agriculture ministry's Bill 81 on nutrient management plans through Queen's Park, he adds.
The alternative to hauling manure onto fields further from the farm would be to spread it on frozen ground later this fall, and Elite doesn't want to do that because runoff dangers increase dramatically. While stress fractures have been found near the top of one brimming manure tank, engineers have declared it is safe.
"There hasn't been any spillage or threats to the environment," Gould says. "Once (local councillors) understood what we were concerned about, they became supportive," he says. "I think it was a learning experience for both sides." BP
© copyright 2001 AgMedia Co-operative Inc..
back Individual sow attention is the key to producing heavy weaning weights
And that means that the opportunity is there for each individual farrowing barn manager to improve weaning weightsby CATE DEWEY
We have all visited successful farrowing units and are aware of unsuccessful units. But when it comes to weaning weights, these two types of units may be more similar than we think.Research by Dr. Angel deGrau, under my direction, found that the individual sow is much more important than the farm when it comes to weaning weights. The sow nursing the litter accounted for 44 per cent of the variation in weaning weights, but the farm only explained 14 per cent of this variation. This means that each individual farrowing barn manager, whether they are from a herd with excellent production or poor production, has the opportunity to improve weaning weights by paying attention to individual sows.
What is it about the sow that changes weaning weight? The number of pigs born to the sow will influence the birth weights. Large litters tend to have smaller birth weights. Small birth weight pigs are smaller at weaning.
Sows that are ill, lame or not eating will have poor milk production. These sows need to be identified quickly so they can be treated. If the sow is not expected to recover, her piglets need to be fostered onto a nurse sow. This sow will be one whose pigs can be weaned so that she can nurse a completely new litter. If the sow is not producing sufficient milk for the litter, the pigs need to be supplied with an additional source of food -- milk replacer, creep feed and/or electrolytes. Sows that eat well produce high quantities of milk.
To encourage sows to eat, fresh food should be supplied to lactating sows three times per day. Stale food should be removed before new feed is put in the feeder. Parity influences weaning weights. Typically old sows, parity 8 or above, will have lower weaning weights but, remember, there are wonderful exceptions to this rule. As long as a sow is weaning more kilograms of pigs than the average gilt, she is still worth keeping.
Finally, the number of pigs nursing the sow affects weaning weights. We researched this relationship on eight commercial swine units in Ontario where we weighed 2085 pigs at birth and at weaning. The weaning weight of an individual pig decreased as the number of pigs nursing the sow increased. Figure 1 shows this relationship for a pig that was 1.7 kg at birth, nursed a third parity sow and was weaned at 18 days of age. But this relationship changed as the parity of the sow changed.
Figure 2 shows that the relationship between the weaning weight and the number of pigs nursing the sow is dependent on the parity of the sow. All parities were able to get a good weaning weight when the number of pigs nursing the sow was eight, nine or 10. But middle parity sows were more successful with litters over 10 pigs than young parity sows.
This figure shows that parity 1 sows nursing 11-14 pigs wean pigs between 5.4 and 4.9 kg. The parity 2 sow's results are not much better at 5.5 to 5.1 kg. The results of this study emphasize the need to cross-foster pigs at birth so as to even up litter sizes and therefore maximize weaning weights.
For all parities, there is a negative impact of nursing more than 10 pigs, but the negative impact is exaggerated in young parity sows. Therefore, if the herd manager has a choice, the older parity sows will likely perform the better with large litters than young parity sows.
We appreciate the financial support of Ontario Pork, Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, Ontario Agri-Food Industry, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and the co-operation of the participating producers.BP
Cate Dewey is a professor in the Department of Population Medicine, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph.
© copyright 2001 AgMedia Co-operative Inc..
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