Doing What Really Matters
By Don Lidster, DNL Farms Ltd.
I don't know whether it is a year end/New Year’s resolution thing or an age thing but the news these days leaves me shaking my head. Most of us affiliated with the swine industry owe our wages one way or another to the food that gets produced on the pig farms on this planet. I think down deep we are all proud of what we contribute, be it ever some humble. However, it seems the media and politicians of North America are hung up on creating SUV food (aka petroleum), solving the "sub prime mortgage" crisis and US State Primaries. Does what we do really matter? You’re darned right it does!!!
Producing food for people is an honorable occupation. Our pig farms today are doing a more efficient job than has ever been done on this planet before (that we know about) of converting plant material and inorganic compounds to products readily consumable by humans. One person on a farm is producing much more human food than was possible even a few years ago.
The work of the people on the farms combined with research is producing leaner pork than has been produced before. (The last time I heard the "diet of the month" it was still in vogue to cut back on fat consumption.) Again it is the people that make the difference. All the wise guy researchers would be nowhere without the people on the farms carrying out the work.
Consumers, always conscious (with the help of agitators) of the safety and quality of their food have never received a more "monitored" product from the farm. Just ask any person working in a barn how many forms have to be filled out and how many checks and balances are in place to be sure that this happens. Again it is people who are looking after this.
Look at the quality of feed that is going into our pigs these days. Rations are balanced to the tenth decimal point to be sure the pigs are getting what they need to grow optimally and keep healthy. People in the barns and feed mills are making sure that the good equipment we have is being used to deliver the high quality product that is required to make that top quality meat product.
Our pigs are probably being treated more humanely than they have been at times in the past. Pig humane treatment is also being monitored and documented by people to ensure that the consumer is getting a product that has been treated humanely. Sure there may be a few "bad apples in the barrel" but those who are really in touch with how pigs were handled in the past know that animal production was not all “pastoral scenes.” Those who think it was “PollyAnna” with two pigs, two chickens and a cow in the back yard are just not in touch with reality.
Last but by no means least just show me an industry where the product "grows" the employees. Look at the growth of our swine industry and you will see many young women and men that have "grown" to be good managers, leaders and pillars of our local communities from skills they learned…..in the pig barn.
No matter where you are in the system, YOU MATTER and thank you for being there.
DNL Farms Ltd. is a consulting company from White Fox Saskatchewan that focuses on staff training. After completing their degrees in Agriculture, brief careers in industry and 20 years in the pig business, the principals, Don & Nancy Lidster have produced numerous training videos for their clientele as well as done extensive work with low stress pig handling. They can be contacted at dnlfarms@xplornet.com or (306) 276-5761.
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