Nicole Lavoie cleans her arm in a bucket of sudsy substance. Then she reaches inside the sow and pulls out a piglet.
And another.
And another.
The three join their five still slimy siblings as they stumble around the farrowing pen in search of mother’s milk.
This may be an everyday event in large hog operations but its not every day that members of the public can see it – unless they tour the Prairie Swine Centre barns at Elstow, Sask.
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The window on the farrowing room is a popular spot for visitors to the Pork Interpretive Gallery, also known as PIG. Now one year into full operations, about 2,000 visitors have toured the $6.3 million research facility where the workings of a 600-sow farrow-to-finish hog operation are on display.
Viewing rooms above the pens eliminate the need for the strict biosecurity measures that prevent many people from seeing how these places work.
Even so, it’s quite likely the only place on earth where visitors can take a mock “shower” with eight strangers and no one looks askance.
Typically there are many questions and concerns when a new hog barn is proposed. Whether a visit to PIG would provide better understanding is dependent upon the receptivity of those involved, but information is there for the taking. The quality of debate would almost certainly be improved if those doing the talking first paid a visit to this working barn.
PIG manager Cindy Jelinski says quite a number of hog producers visit to compare the operation with their own and to see how a considerable number of industry dollars were spent. Results from research are communicated within the industry. School tours are also common.
The place is filled with facts about pigs:
- A pig uses about 8.5 litres of water daily, equivalent to about two toilet flushes.
- Today’s pigs grow at a rate two times faster than those in 1950, due in large part to improved genetics and feed research.
- Pork is 47 percent leaner than it was just over a decade ago.
A letter on display from a young student shows the success of info delivery: “I thought I knew so much about pigs already but I didn’t. You taught me more than I will ever need to know.”
It’s an unintentionally telling comment when you consider how little most consumers know – or seem to want to know – about how their pork is produced. A tour booked at 1-877-PIG-tour is a good step.
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