The Rural Voice, 1986-02, Page 68PERTH COUNTY PORK PRODUCERS' ASSOC.
Murray Selves Memorial Trust Fund
A memorial fund has been establish-
ed in the name of Murray Selves who
was an agricultural leader and in-
novator in Perth County. The interest
derived from this fund will be ad-
ministered through the University of
Guelph to sponsor the concluding por-
tion of the Advanced Agricultural
Leadership program and then to sup-
port and encourage the development
of innovative projects and programs
that are of benefit to Ontario farmers.
The directors of the Perth County
Pork Producers' Association have kick-
ed off a drive for donations to this very
worthwhile fund by giving $500. We
strongly encourage individual pro-
ducers to contribute to this memorial
fund. It is an investment in our future.
Donations can be given to a family
member or sent to D. Livingston,
Department of Alumni Affairs, Univer-
sity of Guelph, Ontario, N1G 2W1. A
receipt for income tax purposes will be
forwarded.
Pork Management 2000
The Future of the Industry Study, an
in-depth comprehensive look at the
pork industry in Ontario commissioned
by the OPPMB, was published in
September 1984. The reports in that
study concerning marketing seemed to
grab most of the attention. There were,
however, other reports which contain-
ed many well thought out recommen-
dations. One of these, from the report
on production, was that the OPPMB
and OMAF jointly evolve and make
available to the industry a completo
system of production recording and
analysis. This recommendation has
borne fruit. That system is now
available and is called Pork Manage-
ment 2000.
The production -recording system of
Pork Management 2000 is based on the
same principles as financial record-
keeping. Financial recording -systems
are based on cash balances at the
beginning and end of appropriate
periods and on cash flows within the
period generated by sales and pur-
chases. In the production system,
animal inventories correspond to cash
balances; "animal flows" (breeding,
farrowing, weaning, marketing) corres-
pond to cash flows. The analysis of
financial records produce indicators
such as net farm income and debt to
equity ratio. Similarly, production in-
dicators and rations such as total pigs
weaned and pigs/sow/year, to name
only a few would be produced from an
analysis of the production records.
66 THE RURAL VOICE
How the production system works
The centre of the system is a Daily
Diary, carried by the operator, where in-
formation is entered when events oc-
cur. This information is subsequently
transferred to one of four working
sheets: a sow breeding record, a far-
rowing and weaning record, a sow in-
ventory or a weekly inventory
worksheet. The data from these sheets
are then summarized on appropriate
sheets to provide quarterly and annual
analysis in the form of key production
ratios which provide an assessment of
sow productivity and feeder pig effi-
ciency. In a farrow to finish operation,
this system generates 17 different pro-
duction ratios.
The Daily Diary and other work
sheets are provided by OMAF.
Pork Management 2000 is meant to
be integrated with a financial record-
ing and analysis system so operators
can obtain a complete assessment of
their business. One financial system
that is readily available consists of
OMAF's Ontario Farm Records Book,
the Farm Financial Planning
Workbook, and Money Matters.
This new system has been designed
primarily for commercial farrow to
finish and feeder pig producing opera-
tions. It can, however, be readily used
by commercial finishing operations
and purebred operations. Some com-
puterization of the analysis is available
for those operators who have their own
computer.
Pork Management 2000 has been
barn -tested by 60 to 70 producers in
Ontario. They report that it is easy to
use and is a very effective recording
and analysis system.
1985 Carcass Index Winners
This is a record year for weaners.
Not one of this year's 15 carcass index
winners had an average index under
107. There were nine winners under 107
in both 1984 and 1983.
The average index of all the winners
has also increased slightly from 107.0
in 1983 to 107.1 in 1984 to 107.4 in 1985.
This year, the spread between the
highest and lowest index was half of
what it was the previous two years: in
1984 and 1983 the spread was 1.8 and
this year it is .9. The competition is
definitely getting leaner.
The winners are:
Under 500 hogs marketed
107.7
107.6
107.5
107.3
107.2
Wm. Eybergen
Murray Bancroft
Steven Parker
Nyal Dotzert
Leon Louwagie
500 to 999 hogs marketed
Murray Brown 107.9
David Spence
Cornelius Van Straaten
Habegger Bros.
Patrick Louwagie
1000 plus hogs marketed
Peter Huitema
Alvin Dow
Vince Hulshof
Festival Acres
Herman Van Bake!
107.1
107.0
107.0
107.0
107.7
107.6
107.5
107.5
107.2
(Where there is a tie the producer
marketing the higher number of hogs
goes first).
Congratulations to all on a job well
done.
Leadership Training Conference
On December 1. 1985, Peter Huitema
and Ken Aitcheson joined about 20
producer -directors at the Skyline Hotel
in Toronto for a Leadership Training
Conference sponsored by the OPPMB.
Board secretary Glenn Agnew, capably
assisted by Diane Leduc and other
resource personnel, presented the
group with ideas and assistance about
what makes a good leader and how to
run effective meetings. We were also
treated to an in-depth tour of the board
offices where we learned that the
original teletype machine is now
retired and will be displayed at the On-
tario Agricultural Museum in Milton.
We used the group discussion
method to decide five necessary re-
quirements for effective meetings.
They are: creating an agenda, starting
on time, having an effective chairper-
son and secretary, proper setting, and
having interested and respectful par-
ticipants.
We agreed on some ways of being a
good leader. Desirable personal at-
titudes are a prerequisite to be a good
leader. Having a positive attitude and
(showing) confidence in his under-
standing of the purpose of the
organization and of the people. helps
the leader be a respected member of
the group. The good leader is a friend-
ly, attentive listener who can draw
opinions from others and is able to
clearly summarize the group's deci-
sions.
ing experience for all who attended.
Meeting fellow producers from across
Ontario and sharing thoughts and
ideas are probably the best
remembered part of our stay there. Our
thanks to Diane, Glenn and all. n
Submitted by Gordon Jack and
Ken Aitcheson