After attending the World Pork Congress in 1997, Rick Bergmann realized his 200-sow operation didn’t have happy prospects.
“I said to myself, what I have is good for today, but it’s not good for the future,” said Bergmann, a manager with Spectrum Feeds and the organizer of a recent swine production conference in Winnipeg.
“So we depopulated, got rid of the sows and brought in feeders.”
Bergmann said the World Pork Congress let him see how the industry was developing and allowed him to make some big changes before he was forced to or was driven out of the industry.
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It’s that kind of heads-up on industry trends that Bergmann hopes conferences like this one will give pig producers.
“The change in this industry in the last 10 years is incredible,” said Bergmann.
“We’re trying to help producers not only survive, but prosper.”
Swine production is now a technical business, with low per pig margins forcing producers to use complex production management systems that leave little leeway for error.
During the conference, experts from four countries discussed pig hormone research, proper injection methods, breeding system differences and a host of other matters.
Much of the afternoon was spent discussing production comparisons between Danish and North American operations.
Top Danish farmers are getting up to 31 pigs per sow per year and Bergmann hopes this information will keep prairie pig producers striving to achieve better results.
“That rate is unheard of,” said Bergmann.”Some people are close to that, but we want to encourage people to see the value in outside sources, help them change their facilities, become more efficient.
“We want to provide them with this information so they can make the call. We want them to say ‘if other people can do this, why can’t we?’ “
