Training Takes No Time

			Pat Moore, A grower for Pork Martin, Inc., is surprised how quickly pigs learn to use FAST

Pat Moore, a grower for Pork Martin, Inc, Fairmont, MN, says he was surprised how quickly pigs learned to use the FAST™ (Farmweld Automatic Sorting Technology) system in his two new 1,200-head facilities in Elmore, MN.

“The training doesn’t take as long as we expected,” says Moore, who trained the first group of pigs using three steps. When the 50-60 lbs. pigs first entered the building, Moore opened access gates between the loafing area and food courts so pigs could roam between each. He also opened the gates on the FAST scale so pigs could go through the scale without being weighed or sorted. A few weeks after the pigs were accustomed to the facility, Moore closed the fence line gates for short periods so pigs had to go through the scale to get to the feeders. In the final training phase, Moore turned on the scale for 24 hour periods so pigs were being weighed and sorted. He did this once per week for three weeks. He then monitored the number of hits or times a pig went through the scale. “It works great,” says Moore.