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July Herdsire 2007 Issue
Do the right thing
by Ralph Doak
Nearly every day, while driving or visiting a breeder, I have a thought that I want to include in my next editorial.
But, when it comes time to write them down, I have either forgotten them, or they don’t seem as important.
This year is no different. I try to decide what has the most importance to the most people. Then, I ask my wife for her opinion of what I should vent about.
She tells me her thoughts, and of course, I don’t agree. There are two theories on arguing with your wife. Neither one works. I don’t argue. So, let me ramble just a bit about the showpig business.
I hope this was a good year for all of you who sold prospect pigs to 4-H and FFA members. I also hope you have transferred the pedigrees. Don’t make someone call you in July. I am not a pleasant person when I have to make those calls.
When buyers have this problem, I tell them to remember where they bought the hog and go elsewhere next year.
Producers need to work hard to make better pigs. People said sales were down, and I said the reasons were because the pigs were not good enough or they were bigger than needed for a target date of a show.
When the rule says that a pig needs to be born after Jan. 15 to show, that does not mean that Jan. 15 is the ideal age. A barrow born on Jan. 15 is about 205 days old at the Ohio State Fair. That is not ideal. Make your hogs better, and make them a workable size. They will sell well.
To stay in the showpig business, a producer needs to make money. The simple way to do that is to raise more salable pigs per litter. This year, say you farrowed 20 sows and raised 150 pigs. From this 150 pigs, you had 70 salable pigs. Not bad.
In 2008, say you farrow 20 sows and raise 170 pigs, with 85 being – let’s be honest – salable prospects. This could help the bank account. Use better genetics and management with fewer mongrel sows, and these goals are attainable.
Livestock breeders are not the best sale managers. To be successful in selling, you must have a plan. It takes more than an ad in Seedstock EDGE and a flier under a windshield wiper to promote your pigs. With the competitive nature of our business and the many opportunities available to buy hogs, you need all types of buyers to make your sales successful. If the NSR can help you develop a merchandising plan, let us know, and we will try to help.
Every year, ethics come up. We do DNA work on a regular basis to make sure the parentage is correct on our pedigrees.
DNA cannot tell us a couple of things. Only the person sending in the information can get these things right. It amazes me that some sows are bred with semen that has been collected for two or three weeks. I have never had much success with semen after it was a few days old. You get the point. A pedigree is no better than the person who sends in the information.
I once read, “Life is NOT a box of chocolates. It is more like a bag of jalapeños. What you do today might come back and burn your rear tomorrow.”
Each year at our junior events, we check stress and parentage on our purebred gilts. We make sure they don’t have too much white here or not enough there. We count underlines, look at ear notches and check transfer dates.
At some of these shows, we don’t check crossbreds for much at all. Maybe it’s time for urine and blood samples to ensure that things are done correctly. As technology improves, it seems that even age verification is in the near future. A mid-January hog cannot have a weight per day of age of 2.3 to 2.5 by mid-May. A few make it difficult for so many. Enough of that.
In 2006 and early 2007, I was fired up about the value of many of the breeding hogs sold – hogs that could make purebreds better. Well, that time has arrived.
Many hogs with more bone, width and correctness than we have ever seen are on the scene. Hogs are here with a workable amount of cover to help hogs perform and keep them functioning more properly. The ones that were too lean and hard would not function as they should.
As sow herds go in this direction, breeders can make progress more quickly. Hogs should be more uniform, and their offspring will generate with these genetics.
We make progress by breeding and not feeding for the look you are after. With genetics, all phases of the pig business will benefit. It will take time to get it right.
Another year has been great. I look forward to many more. With the ability of the breeders in this country, the sky is the limit. Let’s work hard together and see what we can accomplish.
