Behind the Lines - February 2012

Monday, February 20, 2012

This month's cover story is based on research conducted by University of Guelph Ridgetown campus economists Randy Duffy and Ken

McEwan. Their study, financed by the Agricultural Management Institute and Ontario Pork, compares the financial fitness of Ontario's swine industry to its counterparts in other jurisdictions.

After the ongoing and continuous production and financial crises of the last few years, one might bill this as the industry's financial stock-taking. Some might consider it navel-gazing.

The economists conclude that, while pig farms generally are carrying more debt than before the crises starting in 2006, their debts have been offset to some degree at least by increases in farmland equity.

They also point out that their analyses show that not all farms lost money during the downturns and that some are ready to expand while others may be past the brink of a successful financial recovery. Such is the wide breadth of success and failure in the province's industry. That story starts on page 6.

The humane euthanizing of young animals that can't be saved is often a challenge for barn workers who are trained to raise them, not to destroy them.  Starting on page 12, staff writer Mike Mulhern looks at the air-powered Zephyr stun gun, which might become the instrument of choice for livestock workers facing that unpleasant task.

Among our regular columnists, nutrition writer Janice Murphy explores the role of dietary clay in reducing diarrhea in newly weaned pigs. Dr. Ernest Sanford reports on PCV2 research. And European writer Norman Dunn tells us that tranquilized sows produce piglets that perform better than the offspring of females that suffered birthing pains. BP

ROBERT IRWIN