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The Rural Voice, 1998-04, Page 471 meeting to return to an animal husbandry view of agriculture, the traditional belief of farmers that "we look after the animals and they look after us." The Lintons were impressed, and when Rollins returned to Ontario early last year for another speaking engagement, they hosted him at their farm. But a friend of Rollins' who attended the Shakespeare meeting also played a big role in the Lintons' changing ideas. Dr. George Bergman and the other three vets of the Veterinary Medical Centre in Cass County, Michigan worked with farmers in his area of western Michigan. The region has the world's largest outdoor swine operations, including year-round outside farrowing. Rollins pointed out Bergman in the audience and suggested any producers looking for alternatives in pork production should talk to him. The Lintons spent some of the lunch hour talking to Bergman and he invited them to visit and have a tour of some of the farms. In February, 1997, they took a couple of days away from the farm and went to Michigan where Bergman took them on visits to three outdoor operations ranging from one with 150-175 sows to one with 2100 sows, all pastured with farrowing huts on the land. While they were fascinated with what they saw, they didn't choose an outdoor model. Instead, Dave says, they tried to duplicate an outdoor operation with a roof over it. Brenda adds that they had natural ventilation in their grower barn and liked the atmosphere it created. They sought advice along the way from Dr. Tim Blackwell of Fergus, OMAFRA's swine veterinary specialist, whom Dave had worked closely with as part of the committee developing Ontario Pork's Quality Assurance project last year. "Tlie big thing we were looking at was to have a nice place to work," Dave says. That they have, particularly in the warmer months when the panels open right up and "It's almost like being outside except there are no birds," Dave says. Birds were a problem for the outside operations they saw in Michigan, he says. The Complete Construction Supply Headquarters Vi: ATop• For Bulldl"est Manufacturers of Quality Building Trusses Builders Outlet Quality Building Supplies priced right! MAR -SPAN TRUSS INC. RR #2, Alma, ON • 519-638-2420 • 1-800-318-0724 /ANDMARK BUILDERS LTD Desigra Builders AGRICULTURAL COMMERCIAL INDUSTRIAL "Design & Engineering Excellence for your project" DESIGN V PR A©40@&11, oWU©Q ✓ Qlplpu@OQG94 DQacGJ43 ✓ DUICAN4 Pa/DC) ✓ 17C CON 64TIWQ WILNY oG ✓ (MO. PG3QaQMQ400M@ ENGINEER ✓ MMGJD QMDaQQG3aGl® ✓ PG30DM64 C3117CAVIAD@IA ✓ PG OC3aQGI ODang ✓ GCMGJUCJPM t &04Q L1PG f ©WQa BUILD ✓ Qmal,D 7 MO4G MC400Z ✓ E X PER,I1M©QD f @OML°dt>'QOM3 ✓ =ILK) T R A DQ@ PAWL] 41? HANOVER SA LS 364-3609 FAX (519) 364-3637 WWW.LANDMARK.ON.CA APRIL 1998 43