Faced with ever-tightening margins in commercial pig production, Peter and Shirley Voldeng, owners of Fairway Farms in Naicam, Sask., may have found a way out.
By teaming up with Monsanto Choice Genetics to produce purebred Genepacker females for commercial swine producers across North America, the Voldengs hope to avoid the endless race to the bottom that is the reality of commodity production.
“About a year ago, we were looking at ways to change the economics of our business because we were looking at a year of not-so-good prices,” said Peter.
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“I also looked south of the border and I saw that the guys south of the border were making money and are still making money. North of the border, we are just getting our butts kicked. So I was looking at ways of getting out of that cycle.”
One option was ISO-wean pigs, which are weaned early and shipped out at 2.5 weeks of age. But that would have put Fairway Farms head-to-head against Manitoba producers, who already ship millions south every year.
“That would have involved major renovations. But when I looked at working with Monsanto, I wouldn’t have to do that. All I had to do was go through a ‘de-pop,’ which is just cleaning out my previous herd.”
Fairway Farms, which has been in business since 1995, has 11,700 sq. metres of production capacity.
The farm, which employs 12 full-time workers, has undergone expansions in 1996 and in 2000. It currently has 1,700 sows with enough finishing capacity to cover half of its total production, or about 19,000 hogs a year. Also, 16,000 feeder pigs weighing about 20 kilograms each are shipped every year.
“Under the Monsanto deal we will have the same number of sows and the same number of pigs being farrowed, but we will only be finishing the females,” he said.
Under the agreement, all of the pigs raised for breeding stock will be purchased by Monsanto. The castrated males will be sold through normal channels as feeder pigs.
Voldeng said he could not say exactly how much the agribusiness giant is paying him under the deal, but did say that the company recognizes that raising breeding stock requires extra work.
“They are paying a market price plus a premium,” he said.
After selling his previous pig herd and cleaning up, Voldeng has to spend another four months waiting for the new animals to farrow, and then another six months to raise the first crop of piglets up to market weight.
“It’s a big risk. It basically takes me out of production for almost a year.”
In raising grandparent stock, maintaining iron-clad biosecurity is critical. Fairway Farms is fortunate that there are no pig operations within eight kilometres of its main site. The barn requires everyone who goes inside to have a shower before entering the production area.
Staff is also not allowed to visit other hog operations, slaughter plants or abattoirs unless they go through a shower procedure before re-entering the barn.
Patty Smith, national account manager for Monsanto, said Fairway Farms would be producing purebred Genepacker females, which are known for being adaptable, robust milkers with good appetites, excellent temperaments and fast rebreeding times.
The sows produced by the Voldengs will be sold to Monsanto farmer customers around North America, who will cross them with a male line to breed hybrid females that in turn will produce commercial pigs for pork consumption.
Based on the Landrace breed, the Genepacker line is the result of a breeding program that involves three strategies. The first is pedigree evaluations, which look at the performance of the animal’s ancestors.
The second is phenotypic selection, which examines such criteria as body characteristics, which in females would include teat placement, an indication of mothering ability.
The third stream is genomics, the study of how genes affect animal or plant performance.
“Monsanto is the only company at this point that has the swine genome completely mapped,” she said.
“The public effort is about three to five years behind where we are at today.”
Having the road map that shows what makes a pig tick helps the company’s researchers pinpoint and analyze particular genes for how they affect characteristics, such as growth rate or prolificness to produce superior lines of swine.
“We take the animal and do a genome scan. Since we know where different traits are located on the chromosome, it allows us to select for those traits much more consistently,” she said.
“In short, we know what to look for.”
Monsanto has chosen to pursue the genomics route, which although still cutting edge, is a widely accepted technology in the livestock industry.
“You’re not taking away a gene, or adding a gene, or manipulating it in any way like you would do with biotechnology,” she said.
Monsanto’s genomics program concentrates on growth and feed efficiency, sow prolificness, meat quality and health.
Fairway Farms will be producing “high health” sows that are negative for mycoplasma, a viral disease, and porcine respiratory and reproductive syndrome.
“Fairway Farms will be maintaining a very, very diligent and vigorous health program,” she said.
