Search Progressive Pork

	How to Order   Contact Us   Sito en Español

			Dr. Tom Wetzell, 2004 Swine Practitioner of the Year

For the pork system operator that owns pigs, sheer economics provides ample incentive to consider automatic sorting. For barn owners, labor plus animal- and people-friendliness are reasons to take a hard look at the technology, according to Dr. Tom Wetzell, consulting veterinarian and president of South Central Veterinary Associates, Wells, MN.

Less labor for sorting, loading
For growers and anyone else who is involved in sorting or loading, automatic sorting means less labor, with fewer pig handling headaches and welcome relief for the routine wear and tear on the body caused by handling market-sized pigs. “There’s a huge difference in how the labor is handled,” says Dr. Wetzell, who was named the 2004 Swine Practitioner of the Year by the American Association of Swine Veterinarians.

Dr. Wetzell cites a report from a large Canadian producer who reduced labor at a large finishing site by 25 percent after converting to automatic sorting. Prior to using the technology, workers at this site hand-weighed pigs using portable scales in order to successfully hit an extremely narrow marketing grid. “In this case, labor savings was huge,” says Dr. Wetzell.

Even when the contractor isn’t faced with a direct incentive to nail the sort, the labor savings for loading pigs alone makes an impact because it simply takes less work to load market-ready pigs. For growers who have limited access to extra help at loading time, this is a big benefit. Many growers report they can load 200 pigs in about 15 minutes with only two people present. In addition to less required labor for sorting and loading, converting from small to large pens may make the job of pig care more enjoyable. Good animal husbandry requires the operator to walk through the pens routinely to check pigs, according to Dr. Wetzell. With large pens, there’s less of an obstacle course of gates and less crawling over them.

An animal-friendly environment
“Producers are becoming more and more aware of the need to develop facilities that are animal-friendly and large pens play into that,” says Dr. Wetzell. “Studies have shown that large pens allow for decreased fighting and less tail biting,” he says.

“Most growers want to do what’s right for the animal,” says Dr. Wetzell. He lists a couple of important motivators. “Number one, whether they own the pigs or not, it gives the facility owners a sense of satisfaction knowing that they are looking out for the animal’s well-being.

Number two, it provides them with a better position in the marketplace,” he says. “We are moving to a time when the market – whether it is a restaurant like McDonald’s, a large chain or the end consumer – will demand that animals are raised in an animal-friendly situation. It will be imperative that growers (and pig owners) have a system in place that is viewed that way. Large pens are more animal-friendly but without automatic sorting technology, they can be very difficult to operate.”

Taking aim at the sweet spot
For parties that own pigs, “hitting the sweet spot of the market is becoming more and more important,” says Dr. Wetzell. He encourages his clients to closely examine kill sheet data to determine where that sweet spot or best profit opportunity lies. For some packers, the highest profit window may be within the premium price grid. However, for other packers, the sweet spot may be outside the highest premium bracket. Once the producer knows the sweet spot, “automatic sorting allows the operator to do better at marketing planning – timing of the first, second and third cuts out of the barn,” says Dr. Wetzell.

Right diet at the right time
Automatic sorting also improves a production system’s use of feed budgeting. “Automatic sorting allows us to weigh pigs at different stages and make sure we get them the right diet at the right time,” he says. “Feed costs are really important today because of the high cost of soybean meal and corn. Total cost of feeding a pig is 15 to 20 percent higher than it was a year ago.”

Click here to learn more about Farmweld Automatic Sorting