A2O-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, February 20, 1993
For the third time In a row, Lebanon County won the Keystone Pork Bowl, 160-80,
over Berks County. From left, Tom Moyer, Hatfield representative; Jason Krall; Katie
Lefever; Jon Harnlsh; and Brian Krelder; John Risser, coach; and Dwight Woelkers,
Hatfield representative.
(Continued from Page A 1)
breeding program, producers can
concentrate on the factors impor
tant to improving the marketability
of hogs, including EPDs for back
fat, growth, litter size, 21-day litter
weights, and days to 230 pounds.
By selecting the proper sows and
boars, he said the “opportunity for
success is tremendous.’’
Christian outlined the makeup
of a program that assesses the
genetic worth of sows and their
productivity, called the Swine
Testing and Genetic Evaluation
System (STAGES) in use by sev
eral breed companies and organi
zations. STAGES helps producers
select what gilt and boar to use that
determines, from their EPDs and
other measurements, what may
directly influence the productivity
and profit of a herd. The productiv
ity index listed in STAGES pro
vides all of the sow’s records,
including “aunts and sisters and
realtives” with traits that are
heritable.
Christian said much of the tech
nology has existed since at least
1965, when lowa State University
was able to produce lean pigs with
loin eye measurement “near seven
inches,’’ he said. But the econom
ics “were never there,” and there
were problems with lean bigs,
including porcine stress syndrome
Pork producers should be aware of the strides made by
the Pork Quality Assurance Program, according tp Beth
Lautner, director of swine health and pork safety for the
National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) In Des Moines,
lowa.
Genetic Technology To Improve Pork Exists
and death on the way to market.
“We need to have the economics
to change,” said Christian.
According to the researcher, the
technology is accurate it’s the
marketing system that has to pro
vide these incentives.
He said that, for instance, in
Canada, producers are paid a pre
mium of 14 percent for lean hogs,
and receive an 18 poercent deduc
tion for the fatest measuring hogs.
The U.S. offers incentives ranging
only about 6 percent
In Denmark and other European
countries, technology is used to
determine quantity of lean and
assess the quality of it before
slaughter before hogs are brought
to market. In Denmark, a hog put
on the production line has a part of
its shoulder sliced off and mea
surements are taken on specific
marketability items such as intra
muscular fat (which determines
flavor and juiciness of the pork).
“Hopefully we will develop
better and better ways of assessing
capabilities of live pigs so produc
ers can get paid accordingly,” he
said. “We need a system to do a
better jot to pay for differences that
already exist”
One way to affect leanness is to
“bioengineer” hogs to remove the
gene that bring about pale, soft and
exudative (PSE) syndrome meat.
Using microminiature knives,
geneticists can litteraly “cut
away” the fault spot on the DNA
on this heritable disease. Christian
said that using current technology,
scientists have the “potential to
eliminate the gene from the pig
population. Do we want to do
that?”
The Danes, he said, have
removed it, and can provide 4 per
cent more lean meat This “quick
fix” for increasing leans may have
some benefit.
Also, packers can check the pH
of slaughtered pigs to identify PSE
meat while on the production line,
as they do in Canada.
Christian went over several fac
tors to-help improve the structural
soundness of a herd, but empha
sized that “we can’t breed hogs
from the office. We have to look at
them.”
He also told producers to select
for other factors, such as' ‘ ‘big feet,
big toes, even toes, and correct
shoulder.”
To make strides in obtaining a
leaner seedstock, he said produc
ers should work with nutritionists
or AI suppliers to look more close
ly at the genetic potential of pigs.
The genetic improvement of seed
stock will affect future marketabil
ity of a herd.
Christian said that even smaller
producers can benefit, and produc
ers don’t have to be a big corpora
tions to make genetic selections.
Market Outlook
To win the war against poultry,
swine packers should understand
that pork is reasonably priced com
pared to broilers and turkey pro
ducts, according to H. Louis
Moore, Penn State economist, who
provided his market outlook at the
Congress. Moore said producers
and packers should “meet poultry
head on to fight it out with diem on
a price standpoint, because they
are very competitive from a price
standpoint”
In 1993, poultry consumption in
the U.S. may again hit a record,
and will continue to take up a grea
ter portion of total meat consump
tion. Poultry consumption and pro
duction ‘‘shows no abatement at
all,” said Moore.
The economist oudined some of
the positive and negative aspects
of the economy and the new admi
nistration. While Europe continues
to slide into deeper recession, and
the federal budget deficit grows,
Moore, said that it “pays to be an
optimist if you’re in ag.”
The number of people employed
in agricultural industries continues
to decrease. Only 1 percent of the
entire U.S. population farms. We
continue to lose 2 percent of our
farms every year, and there are
fewer new entries into agriculture,
which is “a major concern,” said
Moore.
While many farmers are faced
with taking off-farm work, and 56
percent of the hog farms were lost
between 1981-1991, producers
have reason to be optimistic
because of the record U.S. com
harvest (projected at 9.48 billion
bushels, but some remains in the
field) in 1992. Pennsylvania did
not have a record harvest, but a
record per-acrc yield (117 bushels
per acre). There were 930,000
acres of com in the state in 1992,
and the amount of com available
will mean a great deal of carryover
and cheap feed prices for produc
ers which will help in cost of
producing pork.
Other companies, such as Tyson
and Smithfield, are making a “big
ger splash” in the hog industry,
according to the economist. In all,
4.7 percent of the producers pro
duce 47 perceont of the total hogs
in the country, with more than
1,000 head of hogs each. There has
been a tremendous increase in the
hog inventory for producers with
more than 500 head.
Producers should know that 2.5
percent of the hog producers in
Pennsylvania account for 45 per
cent of the total inventory.
(In North Carolina, 90 percent
of the total inventory is made by
producers with more than 1,000
head. Moore said that Pennsylva
nia may face the same situation
someday not as quickly, but
fewer producers will produce more
numberofhogs. “I don’4 think you
could say anything else,” he said.)
Contract farming continues to
grow in the state. The state ranks
ninth in the country in total hog
slaughter.
Using various sources (includ
ing the Pig Crop Report), Moore
said that 1992 projections show
that hog production should
increase about 4 percent for 1993.
But poultry could increase 6 per
cent because producers have no
incentive to cut back to cover cash
costs. There will be 3-4 percent
more total meat consumed this
year than the record jmount con
sumed last year, according to the
economist
Hog futures show no big
In his talk, “Genetic Programs That Producers Need and
Consumers Demand," Dr.~Lauren Christian, professor of
animal science at lowa Stats University, told those attend
ing that traits can be selected to bring about better profit
and loss sheets for producers, if they make use pf existing
technology and techniques.
Intermediate winner was
Adrienne Elkin, Marlon Cen
ter, 15, daughter of Sam and
Paula Elkin, who spoke about
“Animal Rights, Animal
Welfare.”
increase in price. Feb. 11 projec
tions for April show the price at
44.80. The June price stood at
50.25.
For 1993, the hog situation
“will be better than 1992,” said
Moore, with feed prices lower.
Better management and cheaper
feed will contribute to profits for
producers.
NPPC Program
Pork producers should be aware
of the strides made by the Pork
Quality Assurance Program,
according to Beth Lautner, direc
tor of swine health and pork safety
for the National Pork Producers
Council (NPPC) in Des Moines,
lowa. Checkoff dollars are contri
buting more to ensure the quality,
safety, and wholesomeness of pro-1
duct to "consumers the goal of*
making pork the meat of choice in
the 21st Century.
Lautner said that the public is(!
receiving more “misinfbftpation *
by the press” these days. “People
get news now by headlines and
sound bytes,” and consumers
often believe what they perceive is
real, regardless of the facts.
She emphasized the importance
of making sure herds are following
the guides outlined by the assur
ance program using drug pro
ducts responsibly on the herd,
good manufacturing practices,
avoiding sulfa residues, good
biosecurity, and other measures.
Nationwide, 4,000 are enrolled
(Turn to Page A2B)