The Rural Voice, 1983-04, Page 8Pigs and the
Power of Positive Thinking
Richard Sme/ski, OMAF Swine Specialist, was guest speaker at the annual meeting of the Perth
County Pork Producers Association. Rural Voice was there and felt that Smelski's upbeat message
should be shared with all of our readers.
by Richard Smelski
Usually in my travels around the
countryside I get caught up in talking
about production --- buildings, nutri-
tion, genetics, etc.
Today I'd like to talk about manage-
ment. Nothing perturbs me more than
when someone blames a pork producer
for poor management and then he
cannot define management. I see the
VISTA VILLA FARMS LTD.
R.R. #4 WALTON, ONT.
First pigs born
Introducing
" GDF Bionic"
Sired by GDF Kaw-Liga
Purchased from
Stan Martins,
Iowa, U.S.A.
in Jan. '83 indicate he will meet our....
Breeding Objectives
* WIDER MADE - Improves hog health & ruggedness.
* LEVEL TOP - Breeding performance of boars that don't need
a lot of assistance to mate.
* FASTER GROWTH - Boars tested at New Dundee R.O.P.
station have averaged 11.7% faster A.D.G. than average of
test groups.
* IMPROVED FEED EFFICIENCY - Feed represents 50-60% of
total costs of raising hogs. Our tested boars average 7.5%
less Feed than average of test groups.
Put all these together, then you be the judge of
where you buy boars.
VISTA VILLA FARMS LTD.
Robert J. Robinson
R.R. 4 WALTON, ONT. NOK 1Z0
TEL. 519-345-2317
PG
6 THE RURAL VOICE, APRIL 1983
same kind of production coming out of
old barns as well as new barns; I see
good production coming from both high
priced boars and regular boars. It
doesn't seem to matter what feed
company you are with.... I see a lot of
different results between farmers using
the same feed.
In Dr. Mike Wilson's survey on the
average number of pigs per sow per
year in Ontario, he refers to manage-
ment as 'pigmanship'. I'd like to talk
about what I have seen on more than
1000 farm calls I have made and try to
define what really is management and
what makes the difference.
One important thing swine farmers
lack is pride in their own organization
and in their own operation.
Nothing is more gratifying when I
visit a farm than to see the pride that a
farm couple has in their own operation.
You've heard the story about the farmer
who goes to town and wears the
cowboy hat, boots and a big belt
buckle. He's got eight cows at home
and 800 pigs. It's not hard to get the
mental image of what his 800 pigs are
going to look like. Pride in your
operation is one of the essential things
I see in good management.
Farmers are going to have to stand
up and fight for their rights. An
increasing number of farmers are saying
to me that farmers don't own a right to
farm just because they were born on a
farm. You have to earn the right to
farm.
Another thing we have to put our
chests out about is that old cliche
"hogs are mortgage lifters." This is
going to be an increasing challenge as
more dairy and beef operators start to
look at getting into the pork industry.
I think the leadership that Bob Ste-
phen (president of the Perth County
Pork Producers Association) has put
into the education committee, the suc-
cess of the Ontario Pork Congress and
the 0.P.P.M.B. are other sources of
pride.
The next thing is one of my favourite
subjects --- the power of positive
thinking. Often the difference between a
producer who is doing well and a
producer who does not even have
adequate production records, is the
power of positive thinking. We have to
start believing in ourselves and in the