PQA Plus Certification--We Care, We Really Do

Recently, our family went to a PQA Plus training meeting. Which means we are all PQA Plus certified. So, what is PQA Plus? Well, I'm glad you asked. PQA stands for Pork Quality Assurance, this program was first launched in 1989 to educate producers on best management practices. In order to integrate the advanced technologies, improved animal handling techniques, and provide produces with the most comprehensive, up-to-date food safety and animal care training the Pork Checkoff created PQA Plus in 2007. As of 2008, over 22,000 producers and 25,000 youth received PQA Plus certification.

What does all this mean for consumers? More than you think. Unfortunately, few consumers realize what this certification is or that it even exists. Let me tell you, if you eat pork this should matter to you. PQA Plus is a training program that sets the standard for pig care, treatment, handling, and health.

We were given the PQA Plus Certification Manuel which lists the 10 Good Production Practices (GPPs). I won't list all 10 here but I will highlight a few that many consumers are concerned about.

GPP #1: Establish and Implement an Efficient and Effective Herd Health Management Plan.

Herd health is of utmost importance and this section goes over some basics that should always be followed. They include:

• Regular evaluation of herd health status by a veterinarian--This one is self explanatory. Take your pigs to the doctor or in our case, take the doctor to the pigs for well-piggy checkups. 
• Biosecurity--This one tends to confuse some. Let me be the first to tell you that pork producers have nothing to hide; however, because we care about our pigs' health we cannot allow every Tom, Dick and Harriet to come in off the streets possibly bringing disease with them. You may not realize that these pigs are the healthiest you'll find but something so small as stepping in some dog poop on the way in could give an entire barn worms...or worse. This is a mild example of what could happen. Think of all the diseases wild animals carry and be thankful that your food will never be exposed to parvo or rabies.  
• Rodent/pest control--Obviously we don't want rats in the feed or any other pest pestering our pigs. To keep our barns clean and disease free we must maintain effective pest control. 
• Cleaning and disinfecting procedures--After each group goes out our barns get a thorough cleaning and disinfecting so every batch gets a fresh new barn. We add that "new barn" smell for our new arrivals.

GPP #2: Use an Appropriate Veterinarian/Client/Patient Relationship (VCPR) as the Basis for Medication Decision-making.

• This goes right along with the first GPP. For the vet to understand your pigs and to maintain a good working relationship you must have him/her visit regularly. This is also a good one for consumers who think we "spray the pigs down daily with antibiotics." Obviously, a veterinarian isn't going to allow that (not to mention antibiotics do not come in spray form) and medication of any kind is regulated by a trained professional.

GPP #3: Use Antibiotics Responsibly.

• Again, many people are confused about the level of antibiotic use in these types of operations. The purpose of antibiotics is "to protect the animal's health, optimize effectiveness, and minimize the risk of developing antibiotic resistance, thereby protecting public health." One of the key rules that this training emphasizes is that antibiotics are plan B. Always, always, always utilize other management options before you whip out the antibiotics.

GPP #10: Provide Proper Swine Care to Improve Swine Well-Being.

• It is worth noting that while the other chapters range from 6-10 pages this section is a whopping 24 pages long. It begins on page 77 and concludes with a summery on page 101. Everything from record keeping to proper euthanasia and from proper handling to ventilation this section covers it all. There is also a section on "Willful Acts of Abuse" for all those YouTubers who can't get enough of these nasty, vile videos. This section, along with our contract company and field manager, makes it very, very clear that any and all willful acts of abuse will not be tolerated. The manual goes so far as to list specific acts that will not be tolerated such as: "Intentionally applying a prod to sensitive parts of the animal", "Malicious hitting", and "Purposeful failure to provide minimal food" to name a few. 

I know what the skeptics out there are saying, "Well, I'm glad your farm is doing the right thing but what about those big CAFOs and contract farmers? What about them?" Well, we are one of those "big CAFOs" and because we are contract hog farmers we are required to go to these meetings and implement these practices. The rules are set to maintain the highest quality and standards for not just high head count but healthy hogs too.

The "We Care" Initiative isn't just a gimmick. As pork producers we really do care; believe me, you couldn't deal with the seven days a week if you didn't love your job and care about what you are doing. If we didn't care, we'd all quit.

Pork producers care about their pigs and it is about time people started realizing that!

Entertaining Swine

Recently, the question was posed, "What do they do all day?" It is a valid question but let me back up and start from the beginning.

As most of you know I posted our first video on YouTube, don't worry there are  more to come, and a teacher of mine watched it. She mention how much she enjoyed seeing the inside of one of these barns and was impressed by the size. However, she noticed that there was no entertainment in the pins. She was concerned that they would get bored and asked, "What do they do all day?"

Well, I am trying to make a video to show some of the amusing items we put in there I just haven't had time with work, school, preparing my own children for their return to school, weddings, family events, etc. Hopefully after this week things will start to s-l-o-w d-o-w-n and I can get some blogging done.

Currently my mother-in-law "hogs" most of the hog "toys" for her own barn so we have to do some scrambling to get some in ours (and keep them there). Keep an eye out for my future videos. One will be on this very subject and don't forget, fall is around the corner and if you've ever wondered what we do with the waste stay tuned.

So, back to the question at hand, "What do they do all day?" To give you a hint....

 

Can you guess what one of the "toys" we give them to play with is? You'll find out soon.

I Vote, You Vote, They Vote, We All Vote

Proudly I wear my badge of honor displaying my actions this morning...I voted. These days it seems, at least to me, that no one really pays much attention to politics. Perhaps it's just the people I'm around or maybe people have just given up. Well, I won't give up and I will make my opinion known. That's why I voted because you can't shut me up! Ask anyone I know, they'll agree.

Image from programwitch.

I voted today. Did you? If you answered "No" then GET YOUR BUTT OUT THERE AND VOTE!

Bacon Disclosure:
By not voting you hereby withdrawal any and all rights to complain when the elections do not turn out the way you wanted. You also label yourself as an idiot for not making your own voice heard. Void where prohibited, not valid in the state of Rhode Island because nothing is ever allowed there.

My Fellow Missourians...

My fellow Missourians, don't forget to get out and vote tomorrow. Primaries are here again and you need to vote, vote, vote! If you want to learn more about what is on the ballet click here.

Make your voice heard! Every vote counts. Vote on August 3 (that's Tues., this Tues.) and make one of those votes yours.

Another Pulled Pork Success

  

You guessed it folks, I made pulled pork again. I'll admit that this recipe was inspired by the Pulled Pork in Root Beer Sauce recipe I previously posted but this one is all mine. I started by searing each side of a center cut pork roast in extra virgin olive oil, garlic, minced onion, and Yard Bird Rub. Then, I boiled a can of cream soda, some Worcestershire sauce, the drippings from the roast, a can of chicken broth, chili powder, more Yard Bird, and a bit of salt and pepper. Now, into the slow cooker it goes and 5 or so hours later you have a delicious pulled pork dinner.

A great summer time side dish that happens to be one of my favorite is steamed squash. I love yellow squash, acorn squash, zucchini, pattypan squash you name it, I love it. This side dish was super simple. I just sliced yellow and pattypan squash and steamed it in the microwave with a couple tablespoons of water and a little butter.

But wait, there's more...

You don't get just one meal from this, you get two! We had leftovers tonight and since I didn't have quite enough meat for everyone I decided to make loaded baked potatoes. I cooked up some potatoes, whipped up a quick batch of micro-baked beans, a dollop of Daisy (I use generic sour cream but it is a fun slogan) and I had a tasty, belly bulging meal. Given, if you're on a low carb diet don't eat at my house! I doubt any recipes of mine will work for dieters but by golly their tasty.

Give this one a try folks, tell me what you think. If you need exact measurements slip me a note in the comments box. I'll do my best to get accurate measuring even though I'm a measure by sight kind of cook. Have a good pulled pork recipe or any pork recipe? I'd love to try it.

One thing that I lack are good side dishes that are fast, easy, and my kids will eat them with minimal complaints. Any ideas?

Are Pigs Happy? Are People?

Now I've heard it all! According to ScienceDaily the UK has devised a way to ask pigs if they are happy. Don't get me wrong, I don't think animals should be abused or mistreated but I do believe they should be treated as animals not furry people. A study in the UK led by Dr. Catherine Douglas used a technique "reminiscent of Pavlov's dogs" to study the capability of complex emotions in pigs. Through utilizing a paper bag and a training clicker the study concluded that pigs in a stimulating environment are happier than pigs in a boring environment. Gee, ya think?

People are the same way. If you're stuck in a cubical for 40 hours a week I doubt hearing anything other than the 5 o'clock bell will cheer you up but if you're on a beach with a cocktail your pretty peachy. This is a no- brainer; was a study really necessary? With approximately 18.8 million Americans suffering from depression and the national unemployment rate at 9.5 percent I think there are bigger fish to fry. Not to mention that according to a 2008 Johns Hopkins Bloomberg study suicide in the United States increased for the first time in a decade.

I'm sure glad this study was done in the UK instead of the US because I don't want my tax dollars going to something as asinine as this. Sure, I want my pigs to be happy little critters but lets be realistic here. We can't feed 6.8 billion people on an 80 acre plot with less than 50 hogs on it. It just won't work unless everyone--town folk, city folk, rural folk, etc--start only eating what they raise. Realistically, do you see yourself, your neighbor, or New Yorkers with a yard full of livestock and a plentiful garden? I don't think so. This nation would starve to death without Kroger's, HyVee, or any other national grocery store on every corner. Guess what folks, the food doesn't grow in the store.

I'm glad animal welfare is on people's  minds. We should care about animals, they are worth caring about but when animal welfare comes before the welfare of mankind I think something is terribly skewed and priorities need to be re-evaluated. There are people working 40, 60, even 80 hours a week and still barely able to feed their family and I don't know about anyone else but I see a real problem with that. We have a national deficit that is outrageous, government officials squandering money that they stole from those hard working people barely scraping by but people are more concerned with keeping the food on the dinner plate happy. People, we need a wake up call. Animals should be happy and taken care of but don't people deserve the same...even more?

I just watched an amazing YouTube video about agriculture. It is a must see!! It's called One Hungry Planet by BASF Ag Products. If you've ever wondered about the history of farming or wanted to know how it has grown and evolved this is the video to see.

Just one click and you're there...you don't want to miss this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jd-48Zw0Tr4

Well, what did you think? Was I right or was I right? Come on, tell me true...did you love it?

American Farming--Something to Appreciate

Yet another great blog from FBlog, written by fellow pork producer Chris Chinn.

Farming in America
by Chris Chinn


I spent the last two weeks in Europe with my ALOT (Agriculture Leaders of Tomorrow) Class learning about agriculture in France, Belgium and England. It was a great learning experience and one that opened my eyes to how fortunate I am to farm and live in America.

We learned a great deal about the EU farm policy known as CAP and we had great conversations with farmers from the EU. The one thing that stood out to me was hearing that the EU Common Ag Policy (CAP) was focused on feeding the EU, not feeding the world. As American farmers, our concern is not only feeding the people in our country, but to feed people in other countries as well who don't have the resources (land) we do in the United States to produce food.

We learned that approximately 50% of a farmer’s net income in the EU comes from government direct payments. The government sets the price which farmers receive for the goods they produce. They also do not want the farmers to over produce so there are incentives or penalties in place to prohibit farmers from producing too much. As a result, the cost of food in the EU is higher than what we pay in America because the farmers are not allowed to run their farms efficiently and the increased regulations add to their cost of production.

Each farmer we spoke with told us they didn’t want to be farming for a direct payment check. Each farmer wanted less government involvement in their farms but they knew that wasn’t a possibility. The farmers told us groups outside of agriculture were influencing how policy was set in the EU.

After visiting with the EU farmers and representatives of the EU Commission on Agriculture, I realized how great it is to farm in America. I also realized if American Farmers don’t stand up and speak out about how we farm, we could find ourselves in a similar situation to the EU farmers with more regulations that run up our cost of production. If this happens, the cost of food in America will be much higher than what it is today, and every American will be challenged with how to put food on their dinner table.

This article really puts things in perspective and helps farmers and ranchers appreciate what we have here in the U.S. It's easy to loose sight of how lucky we Americans are especially when we hear more negatives than positives about our industry. As Americans, we tend to live by the "out of sight, out of mind" rule but that is really hurting agriculture in this country, among other things. Chris Chinn had an amazing opportunity to see what agriculture is like outside of our U.S. bubble. Hopefully, this article will encourage other farmers and ranchers to tell their story and correct the misconceptions.

Introducing BaconCam--Playing at a YouTube Near You

Drum roll please................The BaconCam is officially up and running! I'm no Spielberg and even though my films are rough around the edges at least now we can give the world a first hand view of a modern hog farm from a farm family's perspective. In Modern Hog Production Part 1 A Family Affair viewers can see how our family pulls together to get the job done--even the kids, although they mostly just play.

Modern hog production has been a controversial issue for some time now. I've heard things like CAFOs are "factory farms that cause animal abuse" and that "CAFOs aren't real farms." I've also heard people say, "Those big hog businesses are putting family farmers out of business." It's past time the pork industry got some positive press. I hope this video, which is only the first of many, will help others to understand modern hog production for what it is--a family affair.

What did you think of the film? Was it what you expected? Do you have something special you would like the BaconCam to film? Please drop me a line in the comments box. I'd love to hear from you.