DlO—Lancaster Farming, Saturday, November 26,1983
ST. LOUIS, Mo. America’s
swine breeding industry has come
of age. Many of today’s com
monplace genetic concepts were
considered major innovations
when first introduced, reports
Kleen Leen, Inc., a swine breeding
stock supplier, celebrates its 21st
birthday this year.
“Twenty-one years does not
seem like a great deal of time to
life-long farmers, but an enormous
amount of progress has occurred
to change and improve the swine
industry in that time,” declares
David Cardin, Kleen Leen
president. “Producers looking at
their business today may
recognize improvement in feeds,
facilities, management techniques
and herd health. But some of the
greatest breakthroughs came in
swine genetics, and many of these
went unnoticed,” he continues.
Cardin believes genetic im
provements are often overlooked
because “they can only be
measured by good production
data. But, in the last 21 years,
important advancements have
been made, not just in the gene
pool that is the basis of the nation’s
breeding herds, but in the way
replacement stock is selected for a
specific hog operation,” he ex
plains.
“Producers now can select boars
and gilts for improved herd health,
for increase of certain
economically desirable traits in
their market hogs, or for im
provement of litter size. And they
can make a selection based on herd
data and the experience of other
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Swine genetics come of age
producers. This was not com
monplace in 1962,” adds Cardin.
Improves Breeding Stock
He cites recent developments in
Kleen Leen’s purebred herds as an
example of quiet but very
significant changes in the breeding
stock available to producers today.
“We raise purebreds that arc the
genetic foundation of the
crossbreds we sell as breeding
stock. Since 1979, our average
Yorkshire litters are an entire pig
larger, Landrace litter weights
have increased 14 pounds at 21
days, Hampshires have lost a tenth
of an inch in backfat, and all four of
our lines (the other being Duroc)
are getting to 220 pounds market
weight 10 to 14 days sooner,” he
declares.
Improvements that can be
measured by performance data
are only part of the story, Cardin
continues. “The other part of the
story is the increasingly
sophisticated hog producer who
recognizes the value of efficiency
in pork production and is willing to
make changes, including investing
capital to increase productivity.
“Twenty years ago, selling
crossbred breeding stock required
a tremendous amount of
education. Today, most hog
producers are familiar with the
advantages of heterosis, or hybrid
vigor, and make purchase
decisions for breeding stock based
on data, and not on loyalty to one
specific line,” Cardin insists. “One
of the reasons we see less overall
resistance to our crossbreds,” he
explains, “is that when Kleen Leen
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Box 128 R.D. #4. Lititz, PA 17543
Wood Corner Rd.
1 Mile West of Ephrata
Phone:7l7-738-1121
00QD0QI
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was started, a decision was made
to market recognizable crosses.
Producers who purchase a
crossbred boar or gilt usually know
something about swine genetics,
and often like to select an animal
based on traits and breeds with
which they have had experience.
Recognizable crosses have helped
put - out crossbreds into the
mainstream of the industry,” he
adds.
Health concern
Another factor that has boosted
growth of the seedstock business is
the need to purchase healthy
animals. According to Cardin,
concern for herd health is actually
the reason Kleen Leen was formed
in 1962 by an Indiana veterinarian
who pioneered the large-scale use
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In addition to silage storage, these
upright units may be used as retaining
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LENGTH
MANUI
B
of hysterectomies with the
development of Kleen Leen
foundation herds. Health is still a
major reason why producers
purchase commercial breeding
stock.
In the last 20 years, the economic
impact of certain diseases has
grown more severe. As a result,
producers are willing to invest
money on specific breeding stock
because they are often uncertain
about the disease level that may be
present in the herds of some
suppliers. In most cases,
producers demand health
warranties and herd certification
that the larger seedstock com
panies may provide.
“As an example,” Cardin points
out, “Kleen Leen offers specific
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■ Gordonville, PA 17529 ■
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health warranties against certain
swine diseases swine dysentery,
infectious atrophic rhinitis, lice
and mycoplasma pneumonia
and all its breeding herds are
qualified free of pseudorabies and
validated free of brucellosis.”
The company continues to
develop techniques to limit the risk
of disease in an operation.
Although a long-time user of ar
tificial insemination in both its
purebred herds and die breeder
herds that produce Kleen Leen
crossbreds, the company recently
began offering boar semen to the
entire industry. “It is a small part
of the genetics business, but a
growing part that is playing an
(Turn to Page Dll)
\ Width
N. 20' 30' 40' 50'
Length^y^
60’ 215 323 432 540
70' 251 376 504 630
80’ 287 431 576 720
90’ 323 485 648 808
100’ 359 539 720 900
110' 395 593 792 989
120’ 431 648 864 1080
130’ 467 688 936 1170
140’ 503 755 1008 1260
150’ 539 808 1080 1350
‘Based on level fill with
45 lbs I Cu Ft