The Rural Voice, 1987-06, Page 15critical of this method for a commer-
cial operation. The Jacks chose Hay
Bay Farms because of its size for se-
lection pressure and because the "bugs"
in both herds were compatible — the
Jacks had their veterinarian, Dr. Ray
Galbraith of Milverton, consult the
veterinarian serving Hay Bay Farms.
At this point, Gordon is again exper-
imenting with AI in an attempt to get
more colour into the boar breeding
program.
Since January of this year, sow
records have been kept on a computer
program call Pig Champ, which was
developed at the University of Min-
nesota. It came recommended by the
Jacks' vet. Transferring all their sow
records from their previous system,
Canfarm (a mail -in, computerized
system), took about a week. Canfarm
worked well, the Jacks say, but was
somewhat outdated.
Another Pig Champ program, this
one for finishing, has just been re-
leased. Donald expects that it will be
extremely useful. The Jacks weigh
the feed going to the grower and the
finisher bams in feed carts on a balance
beam platform scale. They use this
scale to weigh the pigs when they en-
ter the grower area too, and use the
weights from the carcass grading slips
to determine the outgoing live weight
of the market animals. With this in-
formation, the new computer program
can give rolling averages for days to
market, average daily gain, and feed
conversion. Two years of data is
awaiting the program's arrival.
In addition, a manual, perpetual -
inventory record is maintained in a
plastic ring binder on the door of the
barn, helping the Jacks to keep an eye
on the number of pigs in the bam
relative to the barn's capacity. As
Donald says, it "takes no time at all"
and promotes optimum use of their
facilities.
A number of years ago, the finish-
ing barn was divided by a wall, leaving
a third for growers and two-thirds for
finishers. The Jacks house 15 grower
pigs weighing up to 125 pounds and
10 finisher pigs in a 15 by 5 foot pen.
Donald admits that when half the pigs
in a pen are marketed, they mix hogs
to capitalize on barn space.
Pigs are weaned at about four
weeks and between 14 and 17 pounds.
They go to a cage room/nursery for 26
days and leave at about 30 to 35
pounds. They are fed a high-fat pel-
leted feed until a few days before leav-
ing, when they are switched to an 18
per cent homemade pig starter.
The Jacks are well-known inno-
vators. The cage room's heat reclam-
ation system preheats outside air by
up to 60 degrees F. The system is
powered by a low-pressure electric
water boiler which sends 105 degree F
water through a modified baseboard
heater. The exhaust air from the cage
room is used again to ventilate the
farrowing room and the deck/weaner
rooms. The 10 -inch concrete pads
heated by this same hot-water system
are another innovative feature. Full
flow of the heated water is allowed
when the pigs are first weaned. The
heated water is gradually removed over
the next three weeks.
Donald and Gordon
stress pork production,
not hog farming. They
believe that effective
pork promotion can
be accomplished at
the personal level.
Also in the cage room is a liquid -
manure handling system (which won
the Jacks an innovation award at the
Ontario Pork Congress). The manure
from the pits in these rooms flows
continually through an inverted J made
of three-inch ABS pipe to the stable
cleaner below. This allows the gradual
mixing of solid and liquid manure in
the stable cleaner. The inverted J
stops any back drafts or gases.
From the cage room, the hogs are
moved to the weaner/deck room, now
being renovated to replace worn-out
four by eight decks. Four by nine pre-
cast concrete slats and walls are being
installed with a loft for every second
pen covering the back of two pens.
This will increase pig floor area by
60 per cent and, the Jacks hope, will
boost average daily gain and decrease
feed conversion. Gordon and Donald
research their ideas thoroughly, and
while Gordon readily acknowledges
that the system might not work as
well as expected, he also grins confi-
dently. After 2 1/2 weeks, the pigs,
at about 55 pounds, leave this area for
the grower area.
Each week, six to seven sows are
bred in an effort to farrow the targeted
six sows. The farrowing rate runs at
about 85 per cent. To reduce fighting,
sows are weaned into stalls opposite
boars, giving them the sight and smell
of this important fellow. Sows are
weaned on Thursdays. Beginning on
Monday of the following week, the
sows are individually run with a boar
daily until they are bred twice. Al-
though many producers breed sows
three or four times, Gordon says he
finds it isn't worth the extra work. A
unique colour code is used if the sows
are not bred within eight or nine days.
A spot of red paint is put on a sow's
back to remind Gordon that she is still
open — "out of sight, out of mind,"
he notes.
Mornington Livestock Farms is
in its second year of a corn and barley
underseeded to red clover rotation. The
barley is fed to the sows, reducing pro-
blems with mold and constipation.
About 300 tonnes of corn are pur-
chased annually.
Manure is used three ways. This
is the third summer that the Jack's
have injected manure four to six inches
deep between their corn rows. This
procedure has reduced their nitrogen
bill by 50 per cent. It also means they
drive on the fields when the subsoil
and soil are quite dry and it minimizes
odour. The system has its drawbacks,
however, says Donald. It does still
compact the soil and it ruins the head-
lands. Irrigation, he says, is the most
desirable system, but it is costly. The
Jacks also spread manure on their red
clover prior to plowing in October,
and any surplus is sold to a neighbour.
Donald uses an IBM personal
computer for financial records. Com-
bining spreadsheets, a Lotus 1-2-3 for
book-keeping, and a Multi -plan for
cash flows, he developed his own pro-
gram. Monthly income and expenses
from the book-keeping program are
transferred to the cash-flow program to
provide an accurate picture as hog or
feed prices change. Each years income
and expenses give a reasonable cash-
flow projection for the coming year.
The Jacks work hard to maintain
a good relationship with their banker.
Annual meetings with the manager of
JUNE 1987 15