The Rural Voice, 1983-06, Page 36Get better
before bigger
High interest rates and depressed farm
income have put a financial squeeze on
pork producers in the last two years.
Some farmers have fared reasonably
well, generally those with larger acreages
and tightly controlled borrowings. Others
have run into financial problems, espe-
cially where facilities and/or borrowing
have been over -expanded on an inade-
quate financial base against over -opti-
mistic income forecasts.
Regardless of your current situation,
there's probably room to improve both
your technical management and your
financial management. On the technical
side, you can evaluate your operation
with production records combined with
an assessment of the physical assets of
your farm. Your production records
should show: weaners per sow per year,
market hogs per sow per year, mortality
(use a mortality chart), feed conversion,
bushels of corn per acre, total pounds of
pork produced per year, pounds of meat
per sq. ft. of building space per year and
pounds of pork per acre.
Numbers of livestock marketed can
See us at the 10th Pork Congress
MAXIMUM GENETICS
FOR
MAXIMUM PROFIT
OXFORD
HYBRID
SWINE
Ltd.
Take a look:
• at our performance and production
• at our breeding programs
• at our customer services
and
• at our Oxford Hybrid gilts and boars
Our 12th Production Sale
Thursday, July 14th
at 1:30 p.m.
Stratford Fairgrounds
60 bred - 50 open gilts
30 boars
"Come and see some of the best"
Telephone 519 - 842 - 3225
519 - 462 - 2580
R.R. 3, Tillsonburg
PG. 34 THE RURAL VOICE, JUNE 1983
often be improved through scheduling of
breeding, traffic control (especially in the
fat hog barn) and rescheduling crops for
more feed per acre. And consider
bringing waste land back into production
by cleaning up fence bottoms and
improving drainage.
As a good financial manager, you
should: know your costs (including debt
costs per pound of gain), lock in your
costs and budget accordingly, maintain a
balance of assets - income -generating
vs. income -absorbing - and plan your
debt structure accordingly and expand in
small steps. Get better before you get
bigger. ❑
Heat Stress
harmful to hogs
Hot, humid weather may be uncom-
fortable for humans, but it can be deadly
for hogs. Each year heat stress takes its
toll on Ontario swine herds.
Pigs have trouble coping with heat and
humidity because they have very few
sweat glands and can't efficiently reduce
their body heat. And their layer of fat acts
as insulation, intensifying the problem.
"Pigs suffering from disease and
stress -producing environments are more
easily overcome by heat," says an
Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food
swine disease consultant. "Panting,
slobbering and high body temperatures
are symptoms of heat stroke. Affected
animals may appear frenzied and preg-
nant animals may abort."
To avoid heat stroke, provide good air
movement in swine barns. Don't over-
crowd pigs in pens or trucks. Use sprays
and mists to help lower body tempera-
tures and, if pigs are housed outside,
provide sufficient shade.
When loading pigs, use narrow chutes
to prevent hogs from turning and exciting
others in the holding pen and make sure
the loading ramps meet the tailgate of
the truck so pigs don't have to hop. Put
sand on the ramp to reduce chances of
slipping and injury. Don't use electric
prods, which can excite hogs and cause
stress.
Transport pigs in the cooler early
morning or evening. If transportation
delays occur, shade the shipping truck
and sprinkle pigs with water.
Treat heat stroke by bathing the animal
in cool water and improving ventilation in
the barn. You should also call a
veterinarian to administer medication.
Hot weather may also affect the
performance of the breeding herd. High
temperatures will lower the quality of
semen produced by the boar, and this
will result in reduced conception rates.
Avoid this problem by keeping boars,
gilts and sows cool during summer's hot
spells. ❑