Entering its 30^th year, Prairie Swine Centre CEO Murray Pettitt said the centre is true to its beginning: providing solutions to the Canadian pork value chain, and providing practical solutions to practical problems.

Pettitt was speaking to those who were participating in Saskatchewan Pork Symposium 2021 via Zoom.

What became the Prairie Swine Centre started as a University of Saskatchewan project in 1980. It was created as a research and teaching facility. In 1991, Prairie Swine Centre was formed as a non-profit corporation.

“Over the years, our influence has extended to the other prairie provinces and today, I think it is fair to say our information is consumed from coast to coast. I think that is a great thing,” Pettitt said. 

“Prairie Swine Centre can function as a resource  for all of Canada. Our competitors are not different provinces within Canada; our competitors are  different countries in the world, so we need to leverage all of the tools that we can in order to help the Canadian swine industry.”

Research is done the areas of engineering, nutrition and ethology. In other words, “providing solutions to the Canadian pork value chain, and providing practical solutions to practical problems.”

Work done at the centre has put dollars in the pockets of producers.

“We have had many impacts over the years. One I would like to bring to your attention is the economic benefits. Over the last 15 years, the second half of Prairie Swine Centre’s existence, our return on investment has been $4.10 per pig per year directly to the Saskatchewan industry. Over the last five years, we have actually increased that to $5.60 per pig per year.

“So, conservatively speaking, our annual value of research to the Saskatchewan industry is $5.4 million. That is based on the number of hogs marketed here in the Province of Saskatchewan and an adoption rate of about 40 per cent. 

“We have that number estimated from some of the work we have done auditing best management practices. So, we know that is a fairly robust number, so we feel that is a good estimate of our value to the Saskatchewan industry.”

He said those benefits extend beyond Saskatchewan.

“We have similar economic benefits for other provinces  within Canada, especially here in the Prairies, where our results would be taken up at about the same percentage — about 40 per cent. 

“You take a look at that, with the number of hogs marketed, in say Manitoba and Alberta, and you can calculate our financial impact.”

Pettitt said those at the swine centre are grateful for the financial support it receives. 

“Sask Pork is essentially supporting us through contributions that the pork producers in this province contribute through their checkoff. In this way, the pork producers of Saskatchewan are helping support the work here at the Prairie Swine Centre.

“Also key to our base funding support is the Government of Saskatchewan, both in terms of operational funding as well as infrastructure funding, and the University of Saskatchewan for operation funding. 

“These dollars we receive from Saskatchewan are very important to us. In fact, over the past five years, for every dollar we receive from Sask Pork producers through the Sask Pork agency, we have gone out and have been able to attract an extra $2.16 from outside of Saskatchewan. 

He singled out Alberta Pork, Manitoba Pork and Ontario Pork for their financial support, as well as  infrastructure funding from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.

“Many, many companies over the years have contributed to project funding and special projects funding, and this goes back all the way to 30 years ago.”

He said his presentation at the symposium gave him a chance to say thank you. He thanked those who made the centre possible three decades ago. He said the Saskatchewan pork industry had members on the original advisory board.

“You have been serving on our boards of directors over the decades and that has been very beneficial to the swine centre as we determine what we need to determine going forward and where we should focus our efforts.”

He said feedback from those in the industry is paramount.

“We receive continuous feedback from the industry from both here in Saskatchewan and elsewhere in Canada, whether it is through you contacting us directly or the fact we see you at various industry shows and meetings and conferences. 

“This input is highly valued by all of us here at the swine centre; it helps us keep in touch with what’s going on, what the challenges are, and it helps reinforce what we are doing and why we are doing it.”

He said researchers like to get out of the office and visit producers.

“Many of you have helped us with research collaboration over the years, perhaps providing data from one of your farms, and some of you have even allowed us to come and carry out research within your facility and muck around with your management of your pigs, while we try to collect the data we want. For that we are very, very grateful.”

By Cam Hutchinson