Published: October 07, 2008 04:56 pm            

Proper hog handling meets consumer satisfaction

Originally published in the Oct. 3, 2008, print edition.

Livestock producers are in the business of raising livestock.

No simpler statement has ever been said.

How they raise that livestock is not so simple.

Today’s swine producer, any livestock producer really, knows that they need to humanely treat the animals in their care. The Pork Industry Animal Care Coalition, made up of pork producers, packers/processors, restaurants and food retailers, has created a producer education program — Pork Quality Assurance Plus — to guide producers on the dos and don’ts of pork safety and animal well-being. In addition to educating producers, PQAPlus also answers consumers’ concerns as to how the pork they will be consuming was raised.

Proper and humane handling of livestock recently came into focus in the public eye when an undercover video shot by the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals surfaced. The video, shot at an Iowa hog farm, showed farm workers mishandling and mistreating hogs in their care.

John Deen, associate professor in the College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Minnesota, said this event should bring a greater awareness to producers that this is a public world that we live in.

“This wasn’t the first time, nor will it be the last time, that a farm will be videotaped,” said Deen, who is a Minnesota representative on the National Pork Board animal welfare committee. “I tell producers that even when they’re loading hogs that they should think about what they’re doing and ask themselves how it would look if they were being videotaped with a zoom lens from the road.”

Though it is said that a picture is worth a thousand words, words themselves can also be pretty valuable or incriminating. Deen suggests producers think as if someone is using a parabolic microphone, such as those used on the sidelines of college and professional football games, to capture sounds from quite a distance away.

“When it comes to loading pigs, I’ve just said ‘no swearing’ while loading hogs,” Deen said. “People argue that pigs don’t understand (the language), but what about the outsiders who might be hearing this? How does it sound to them?”

Deen is one of three PQAPlus trainers in Minnesota. There are also many PQAPlus advisers throughout the state. These advisers are veterinarians, Extension specialists and educators, and swine farm personnel who then educate livestock handlers on pork safety and animal well-being.

According to Dave Preisler, executive director of the Minnesota Pork Board, the PQA started as a pork safety education program and an animal welfare component has since been added.

Producers need to recertify every three years, thus when producers need to recertify, they are trained in the animal welfare component as well.

Preisler said every packer in Minnesota requires that producers selling hogs to them be PQAPlus certified. Deen suggests producers who may not be selling to a packer, thus not required to be PQAPlus certified, still get the certification.

“I think it’s an act of solidarity of the industry,” he said. “It does allow producers to understand what the expectations are when they’re raising hogs.”

In addition to accrediting producers as PQAPlus certified, an on-site assessment is provided for swine operations.

Beef producers have a similar program — Beef Quality Assurance — that recognizes that maintaining consumer confidence requires a commitment to quality beef production at every level.

Producers can check their PQA certification status by calling the Pork Checkoff Service Center at (800) 456-7675. Producers can also log on to www.pork.org/Producers/PQAP.aspx for more information on PQAPlus.

        

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