The Rural Voice, 1983-09, Page 16by Willy Keller
As demand for pork has slipped in
the past five months in Canada and in
the U.S. and the industry is building
up in numbers, I see nothing but
disaster in the months ahead. Usually
we overcome these low cycles if the
free market is functioning, but this is
not happening this time. There was
the embargo on grains, then the pro-
tection in the E.E.C. countries, the
P.I.K. program in the U.S. where
farmers don't have to generate capital
to put in their crops (retaliation to the
E.E.C. countries) and lately quotas
on meat imports (not pork) to the
U.S. are under discussion. This is all
very frustrating, especially for young
farmers, and 1 would like to address
this mostly to them.
The things I mentioned above are
beyond our control and are called
"the politics of agriculture".
Therefore, we have to see if we can
improve and compete in areas which
we can control ourselves. To mention
just a few: management, transporta-
tion, packing houses, distribution,
quality, export, research, lobbying,
etc.
At this time I would like to pick out
just one component which is included
in the management system and is, to
my way of thinking, number one:
"Health Improvement". It is a
touchy subject. There are many dif-
ferent ways to improve herd health.
(A) Establishing an S.P.F. pro-
gram throughout the province at an
estimated cost of between $6 and $10
million. To achieve this, provincial
grants would be required (it could be
done).
(B) Improving the existing herds
through better management and more
consultation between the producer,
veterinarians and swine specialists.
How a farmer
can survive
in the pork industry
I am sure that either of these
methods could work, but to make
them work, I am sorry to say that
sales barn pigs and some boar sales
would have to go. These have no
place in a modern pork industry and
can be replaced by video auctions.
I have the opportunity to attend
many meetings during the year and I
believe it is time for pork producers
to speak up. It seems to me that we
listen too frequently to people who
have a one-track mind and try to
make us believe that the use of drugs
and vaccines is a prerequisite to a suc-
cessful swine operation. These people
claim you have to vaccinate for
almost every problem you may have
in your swine barn.
But drugs are no substitute for
good management. They are
necessary, but should be used in
moderation and if recommended by a
veterinarian. When you buy vaccines,
you have to remember that they work
only for what they were made for. If
you have a scour problem, the micro-
organism which is identified might
not be the one that caused the out-
break. A good veterinarian would be
happy to work with you to solve your
present problem and also get to the
basic cause, which could be manage-
ment, environment, nutrition, infec-
tion or no immunity. All these things
can cause stress to the animal and can
go so far that the natural defence
mechanism will simply be overtaken.
When we talk about micro-
organisms we are talking about living
things which are with you as long as
you stay in the pork business. It is im-
portant for you to know a few basic
things about these livings things: how
they look, how they multiply, what
they need to survive, how to destroy
them and how you can use them to
your advantage.
PG. 14 THE RURAL VOICE, SEPTEMBER 1983
In the pork industry (on the farm),
vaccines and cultures are used mostly
to build up immunity and to combat
and prevent diseases. Commercial
vaccines should only be used if they
are recommended by a veterinarian
specialized in swine. Commercial vac-
cines do play a vital role in modern
pork production. So does natural im-
munity. We have neglected investiga-
tion of other avenues of progress
which might tell us how we can use a
combination of things in order to
have healthier pigs. I believe that pigs
have a natural defence mechanism
which goes hand in hand with
management. In order to take full ad-
vantage of this, you must have a clos-
ed herd.
Commercial drugs and vaccines
then become secondary and can be
used as recommended by a
veterinarian. Cultures and vaccines
are prepared in laboratories and can
also be made especially for you,
preferably from tissue and gut
samples taken from your own pigs.
The material in the vaccine which you
inject into your pigs, or culture given
orally through water or food, is going
to cause the pig's body to develop an-
tibodies, and in the case of sows those
antibodies will be passed over to the
piglets. The micro-organisms can be
isolated in laboratories where they
can be counted, tested and their func-
tions studied. Scientists all over are
trying to master the functions of
micro-organisms and regulate them
to our advantage.
Natural immunity can be practised
in a closed herd. It really works
wonders if you know something
about it and in some cases the need
for drugs would mostly disappear. It
sounds very simple, but it can be
complicated if you don't know how
to go about it. The administration of