New Standard Ag took on a renovation project located at Greenwald Colony, in Brokenhead, Manitoba, Canada.  The renovations started in early January 2020. Before renovations, it was servicing 1200 head of sow. The crew and the client worked to get the barn fully empty in March. Renovations were completed and filled with sows at the beginning of August 2021. This was a great example of the fine eye for detail, taking advantage of space, and utilizing the whole facility to its full potential.

A few weeks back, we had one of our clients stop by our Sioux Falls office for a cup of coffee. As we begin visiting about the state of it all, the topic of conception rates came up as our client had just recently started implementing our suggested strategy for introducing breed sow (gilts) back into the pen. His results were so surprising and wonderful, he asked why we hadn't forced him to do it this way months ago! 

Since their introduction to the United States in 1989, the Meishan breed of pigs has developed quite a reputation. We've heard some fun stories over the years and in our 'So What's Next?' interviews, we surveyed the producers to see if they had anything to share, here is what we got.

So although the title of this blog may make you think of an cheap 80’s movie or one of those extremely unbelievable urban legends that were spread in the early days of email, we assure you that we are going to cover a serious topic. But as with so many things in life, it doesn’t hurt to also be able to see the humorous side of an issue. So let me set the scene for you:

Group housing is group housing, right?

Loose sow housing is loose sow housing, right?

Wrong.

We've seen it so many times. Other companies are promoting their equipment that only work with their own version of "loose" sow housing. The only problem is that a majority of current design offerings keep sows in stalls for just under half of their gestation.

But it’s not just our opinions on which options are best for sows, the facts speak for themselves.

Successful breeding is key to a strong bottom line; it's a simple fact.

But what isn't so simple is efficiently executing that successful breeding.

We're here to tell you why the utilization of boar pens can affect your success rates and therefore
directly impact your bottom line.

When you are training gilts for ESF pens, you need a certain type of personality working with those girls. But it may not be the type of personality you expect.

If you took psychology in high school or college you've probably heard about Pavlov's dogs, but swine are just as suggestible as dogs. With a little creative thinking you can avoid potential training mishaps and prevent your gilts from developing bad habits.

Let's imagine you’re at a large workplace that has a cafeteria where all workers eat. You can even have it catered by your favorite restaurant if you want; after all, this is your analogy. 

Every day at lunch time, you head over to the cafeteria to grab lunch along with your friends. The cafeteria analogy works well as you’re given free choice on where you sit and who you hang out with.

At New Standard, we strongly believe that forward exiting electronic feeders facilitate the best barn layout for sows. In addition to being supported by research, forward exiting just plain works. Forward exiting is vital to ESF success for several reasons.