The 21st edition of the Red Deer Swine Technology Workshop, held at Westerner Park on October 23, was wrapped around a theme of protection and security. handling tips, preventing disease, getting piglets off to a strong start and keeping out intruders of all sorts – from biological hazards to animal rights activists – were all part of the day’s discussion.
Since its inception, Red Deer Swine Tech has evolved through a series of iterations, starting as a two-day workshop geared to fine-tuning and updating producers and their staff. While the workshop has been reduced to one day in response to changes within Alberta’s industry, the core purpose remains the same, with the continued support of suppliers who help keep registration costs at a manageable level.
Alberta swine producer Alastair Bratton, a member of the organizing committee, said attendance has remained consistent at about 210 registrants.
The following is a snapshot of some of this year’s presentations.
A Game Plan for Moving Pigs
Kevin Brooks, a production manager with Olymel in Humboldt, SK., gave his short course in the most efficient ways to move groups of pigs.
“Coach your team. Help them understand,” said Brooks after working through various scenarios and explaining why they did or did not work. Key to his presentation was that workers must be trained to understand how pigs perceive their environment and how they react to various stimuli, including human movement, noise, light, shadows and air movement. Workers who are mindful of these factors will avoid the chaos and panic that can ruin your whole day, he said.
Body position of the handlers is the most important factor in effective pig movement. Along with that, handlers should be gentle and selective when tapping the pigs; they should avoid making noise, and they should work from the front of the pen when practical, said Brooks.
Pigs going onto a truck should not be moved individually, but in groups of a manageable size. The number of pigs it takes to form a manageable group will vary from farm to farm, he said.
If a pig won’t go up the rail, hold it back while the rest are loaded and put it in with the last group.
Handlers need to keep their pigs relaxed during movement. Forcing adds stress, which will cause them to overheat, which in turn will affect their ability to move.
Brooks showed the crowd how a wrong move, however simple, can turn an organized movement into a squealing panic. As an example, he described a group of seven pigs, two wide, and asked people in the room where the handler could most effectively encourage them to move on. If you tap the hog in front, it will turn around and they’ll pile up. Similarly, tapping the one in the back will create a fuss. It’s best to tap the second, third or fourth pig, because it will run past the first one and the whole group will follow, said Brooks.
Hogs being prepared for shipping should be grouped according to the size of the trailer compartment, and then loaded as a group. That will allow a continuous and smooth flow of pigs with minimal stress on the animals, the handlers and the trucker, he said.
Keeping that flow is essential. If you stop a moving pig, it will think it cannot go that way and you will have difficulty getting it to move in that direction again, said Brooks.
Getting pigs to leave a room is a matter of allowing them to see an escape route. A secondary gate the animals can see through will let them know that they are not going to run into a wall.
As stated earlier, it’s almost impossible to manage an individual pig. If one pig gets left behind, it’s best to let another pig in with it and then let them feed off each other, said Brooks.
He encouraged barn staff to develop a good game plan and to make sure everyone on the team knows that plan.
“When we’re moving animals, we’re doing many things on farm,” he said.
“I kind of think of what it is we are trying to do. When we’re approaching things on the farm, when it comes to stockmanship, if we don’t coach people at what they’re doing, they’re not going to be really good at the end result.”
No Hunting –
It Just Spreads Them Around
Feral pigs, the offspring of European Wild Boars that were let loose or escaped from farms where they had been raised, pose a very real threat in Alberta, particularly if they contract a foreign animal disease.
In his presentation at RDSTW, Perry Abramenko, an inspector with Alberta Agriculture and Forestry, described work by the Wild Boar Working Group, which is now in its third and final year. The program was set up to trap and eliminate the animals. The reality is, there is no way of knowing how many feral pigs remain at large in the province, said Abramenko.
“It’s very difficult to do a survey. You can’t go up in an airplane and count them from the air, they’re very secretive, they’re nocturnal. So, we’re working on trying to extrapolate a figure based on the number of sightings and the average number of sightings, but we’re not there yet.”
Despite efforts to locate and eradicate the boars, the numbers are stable and possibly increasing, said Abramenko, and that’s a problem for everyone, including farmers and wildlife.
An AAF fact sheet issued in 2017 lists the following problems associated with feral pigs running large:
· Damage property, agricultural crops, pastures and the environment, including through rooting (digging),
· Endanger people and animals,
· Harass livestock and consume their feed,
· Prey on young livestock and wildlife,
· Spread diseases that could be transmitted to wildlife, livestock, pets and people,
· Alter the ecosystem, including through wallowing (rolling around), which can contaminate water supplies, promote erosion, and destroy fish habitat;
· Compete with wildlife and destroy other sensitive natural habitats; and
· Consume the eggs of ground-nesting birds.
While there are no laws prohibiting hunting, shooting a pig makes it much more difficult to find and capture the rest of its family, said Abramenko.
“Pressured by humans, they go totally nocturnal, disperse and move into new areas.”
A bounty program generated data on where the problems were occurring, but did nothing to control the populations, he said. Most of the animals discovered through the bounty program were found in the area of Woodlands and Lac Ste. Anne. However, in recent years, the number of ears brought in for bounty has dropped off, likely because the pigs that have experienced hunting are harder to find.
The crew at AAF has found the most effective method is to corral a “sounder” of wild pigs, and then capture and remove them from the area. Once a sounder has been removed, dogs are brought in to ensure that there are no more pigs in the area. Captured animals are killed, and then the carcasses are analyzed in a veterinary laboratory for disease, reproduction information and diet.
Alberta now classifies feral pigs as a pest, in the same category as rats. Some rural municipalities have passed or are considering bylaws making the pigs a prohibited species.
The province has enacted legislation governing the containment of pigs on farms where they are still raised. Currently, there are 13 such farms in Alberta and all are inspected annually to ensure that their containment systems meet the standard.
Information about wild boars is available from various sources, including AAF’s wild boar fact sheet. Sighting can be reported to the Ag Info Centre at 310-FARM (3276). Additional information is available from the Alberta Invasive Species Council and the Alberta Conservation Association.
New Technologies, with Tom Stein
What if you could detect illness in an animal before it shows obvious signs of distress? What if you could prevent your sows from crushing their piglets? What if …
Veterinarian Tom Stein, designer of PigCHAMP software and co-founder of MetaFarms, walked producers through the potential applications for machine learning, where computers are trained to make observations and take appropriate steps, much in the same way that humans learn but faster and more accurately.
Artificial intelligence is now available to resolve in seconds the breeding and production questions that used to take hours to figure out, said Stein. “It’s going to be in everything you work with; controls, software, ear tags, and it’s going to change the way everything works.” Stein showed numerous examples where agricultural producers have adopted systems and devices that for a far more efficient production stream than many could have imagined.
One system that could save thousands of dollars is a device in a farrowing crate that identifies the squeal of a piglet being crushed, and then gets the sow to her feet in time to save the baby.
Kansas State University is now testing one version, which creates a vibration that encourages the sow to stand. They report a 50-per-cent reduction in crushing rates, saving an average of one piglet per litter, said Stein.
From biosecurity to monitoring animal health to tracking feed and managing ventilation, smart systems have one thing in common: They need a human brain in the barn to manage it all, said Stein.
Some of the technologies are available now, some will come on-stream soon and some is still down in the future. But all of it was unimagined five years ago, and it will radically change the management of pig production, said Stein.
“This new approach to technology, software and hardware, is that it works as well on small pig farms as it does in large systems. It’s going to be in everything that you work with, whether it’s in controls, software, ear tags, and it’s going to change the way software and hardware works.
“Google developed all the underlying technology to be able to use machine learning, and then they made it available to everybody.”
Addressing costs, Stein pointed to two grower operations, similar in most ways: One was using more technology in data collection and management. The grower with the technology, in that study, was making $10 per pig while the neighbouring farm was losing $4.
Stein is senior strategic adviser for Maximus Systems.
Protecting your Property
Hardening your barns and livestock against protesters and reports of intrusions by animal rights activists have raised the conversation about how a barn or plant can be protected. This year, a security consultant was invited to give a talk about preventing intrusions and dealing with breaches when they do happen.
Most animal rights activists are non-violent and law abiding, said presenter Larry Wallace, who has more than five decades of experience in the livestock and food processing industries. However, the hard-core group that shows up at farms will push the limits. They are unwavering in their beliefs, they’re well trained and they’re intimidating, he said.
Blocking entrances, invading farms and businesses, laying threats, theft and vandalism are among the tactics that activists use to draw attention to their campaigns, he said during his talk.
Recent trends include planting spy cameras and using undercover operatives to get inside a business or farm. They will encourage workers to abuse animals or they will abuse animals themselves to create videos showing animals suffering fear and pain.
In an interview with Prairie Hog Country, he pointed to an incident just a few weeks before the workshop, during which about 80 people launched a protest inside the turkey barn on a Hutterite colony in Southern Alberta. In response to the group’s demands, the colony agreed to let them have a few birds to encourage them to leave the property.
Police have laid charges against four members of the group. There has been no word on the status of those birds.
Wallace, who has attended numerous protests and demonstrations during his career in risk management, said he would have handled it differently.
“I would not have advised them to handle it the way they did. What I would have said is, Number One, the media does not get in your barn; Number Two, everyone is arrested; Number Three, I would not give them any turkeys and, Number Four, I would have made sure I had all the right names because we are going to have an economic loss here because these turkeys here now are compromised. They’re going to have to be put in a hospital pen. How many weeks before I can make sure they’re alright and they’re safe for human consumption?”
Wallace said that’s why he urges people, farmers and business owners to do everything possible to keep protesters from entering their property in the first place.
“Once the people show up on your property, it’s too late. To me, that was not a petty trespass. They went in; they violated the sanctity of (the colony’s) property.
“Where were those people before they went there? What damage did they do to the turkeys on that farm? What’s going to happen to the turkeys three months from now? What did they bring in on their boots, their clothes and stuff that could contaminate future flocks?”
Wallace added during the question and answer period that the turkeys taken off the farm could be useful in helping the protestors raise money for their cause. They could tell their supporters that they need money to feed the birds. Depending on how many people see the request that could bring in many thousands of dollars from people who think they’re supporting rescued animals.
Commenting during the interview, he said an amendment to Alberta’s trespass legislation is a step in the right direction. Bill 27, introduced during the fall session of the Legislature, includes a steep increase in fines to both individuals and groups and protects property owners from civil liability if intruders are injured during a breach.
Wallace’s presentation addressed the measures producers can take to protect their property, workers and animals and described his company’s role in preventing incursions and dealing with them when they do happen. For his own protection, Wallace asked that certain details, including his company name and the location of his operations base, be withheld from publication.
“We deal with crisis management. We’ll work with you on securing the farm, preparing media releases. If you Google us, you won’t find us.”
He pointed to Alberta Pork as the producer’s first line of defense in probing suspicious activities at or near their farms as well as online. Staff at Alberta Pork can help connect them with his company if requested.
Animal rights activist operate under a general philosophy of protecting the rights of non-human animals, wrapped around a core belief that opposes animal agriculture, said Wallace.
“They want to put us all out of business. That’s their goal.”
He cautioned against engaging with the activists on the phone or in person, saying that said people on the farm should always assume that they’re being recorded.
He said farmers and their staff should be concerned about people who contact the farm with specific requests and should never answer any of their questions. It’s important not to share information about the farm, especially when you don’t know who you are sharing it with.
If they really push, change the subject – maybe talk about the day’s weather – or answer with a question, like: “Why do you need to know?”
Activists have a right to protest, but only on public land, said Wallace. All you should say to them is that they’re trespassing and that they must get off the property or the police will be called, he said.
“If someone is on your property, you have the right to ask them why and the right to ask them to leave.”
If they do push onto the property, call 9-1-1 because it has now become a crisis.
Wallace recommended that farm operators meet with police and discuss their security measures. If there is a protest at the farm, police need to know that it is not a labour dispute, because the two types of events are handled differently.
“Ask them to be there to support you and your business. The biggest difference between an animal rights protest and a labour dispute; in a labour dispute, both labour and management want to get back to work. Animal rights activists want to put you out of business.”
“Don’t get baited by activists. If you get some (online) posts that are worrisome, take a screen shot of them and send them to Alberta Pork,” said Wallace.
Keep watch for suspicious activities, such as unknown vehicles stopped at the side of the road – especially if the vehicle shows up more than once. A vehicle may have stopped for legitimate reasons, such as an emergency phone call. To be sure, contact whoever is in the vehicle, ask questions and again, if the activity seems suspicious, contact Alberta Pork or the police.
The barn should always be securely locked and security equipment should be appropriate for the task. It should include intrusion protection such as an alarm, a dog or lights. Video cameras can be used in surveillance and evidence gathering, but rarely prevent a crime from taking place, he said.
Proper “No Trespassing” signs are essential, understand traffic patterns in the yard and make sure everyone working on the farm is trained, so they know how to respond if there is an intrusion. Walk around the property, look for things that are out of the ordinary, and regularly update passcodes on door locks, Wi-Fi and other systems. Note also that you have the right to prevent people from taking photos and video on your property. He advised putting up a sign stating that pictures are not allowed without the express permission of the owner.
“Where these folks live is under (The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms). They consciously believe that animal agriculture is wrong, they really do. They have that freedom of thought, belief and opinion. They have the right of peaceful assembly, and they think that any time they’re protesting, it’s peaceful.” •
— By Brenda Kossowan
Publishers note:
Larry Wallace was interviewed following his presentation at RDSTW and granted permission to Prairie Hog Country
to publish both his interview and a portion of his presentation.
