Business Selling Tips
By, Rhonda McCurry
Each year decisions must be made on which sows to keep in the herd. Breeders may feel a tug at their heart strings at the very thought of culling a sound, easy-keeping, docile sow, but when elite genetics, efficiency and consistency are the name of the game, tough decisions have to be made.
But how do you make that call?
Kirk Swanson, owner of 4K Farms in Red Oak, Iowa and breeder of the popular crossbred sire Hillbilly Bone, says when creating show pigs it is important to properly plan matings of parents with good type and genetics and the potential to generate high-quality, profitable pigs. Breeding show pigs should provide the opportunity for the customer to taste success and offer youth a pleasant learning experience, Swanson says.
Swanson can attest to making tough decisions and says the key is to remember the Kenny Rogers song about poker, ‘know when to hold ‘em and know when to fold’em.’ If a show pig producer is fortunate enough to own an elite producing female then the priority becomes selecting a sire that can generate productive, good-structured females in future generations.
When Swanson makes culling choices he carefully analyzes the sow in four key areas-easy to farrow, good milk producer, gentle disposition and structural soundness. If she meets those criteria, Swanson says she will likely be retained. However, if a sow has a bad attitude, doesn’t breed, or has some skeletal flaws, she needs to go to town.
“I’ve been on both sides and there have been times when I culled one that I should have kept, and times I probably waited too long to cull another,” Swanson says. “But when that sow’s farrowing experience is one of the worst days of the year, then she needs to go. Pigs are work. We need to accept the commitment and give our very best to be good stock men and women. We need to do a good job of determining which females provide the best return on our time invested.”
Although livestock production is hard work, Swanson finds it concerning when commercial breeding stock create more work than necessary for the producers. If a breeder selects for a trend that has a negative impact his customer’s bottom line, they lose that business. Today much of the ballast in the show pig industry is determined by the success in the ring.
What corrects a trend that has a negative effect on production? For Swanson it comes down to a sow that is correct in her skeleton, with longevity. He says whether you are breeding hogs, dogs, horses or cattle, the focus must be on skeletal correctness and productivity to make breeding animals better.
Swanson reflects on the mid-1980s when he found four extremely moderate, heavy muscled tight made gilts and purchased them for a total of $1,200. Eighteen months later he finally had one in the farrowing crate, and she had one live pig. Swanson was distraught, still single and living at home so went inside to have a cup of coffee and one of his mom’s cinnamon rolls.
“Mom saw I was troubled because $1,200 was a big deal but the real disappointment came from what I thought those gilts could do for my herd.” Swanson says. “It was 18months later and all the feed and semen I had invested and there’s nothing to show for it. Mom told me, ‘Kirk I love to sew. I can buy fancier clothes in town but when I make my own I know where the strong and the weak stitches are.’”
This, Swanson says, taught him a lot about creating genetics he can build on and not to pursue every trend.
Today, he enjoys the thrill of studying sow families and selecting what fits his herd. He’s worked to create sows that are a model in his mind. And when he’s breeding for replacement females Swanson does not stray far from that model.
With a goal to make the next generation of breeding animals he says it is easy to get caught up in genetics that have sold for a lot of money or sows or boars that are highly promoted. After years of experience, he doesn’t envy people trying to figure out how to balance the costs involved in trying to be at the top of the very competitive show pig industry.
“My grandfather told me when I was only seven years old, ‘Price only determines ownership. Sometimes you have to spend the money to get a good one and just because you spend the money doesn’t guarantee it will be a good one,’” Swanson says. “If I could give a little advice to young people it’s that if you have the good fortune of owning a really nice female and want to breed show pigs then breed her to a sire that will leave some good females for the next generation.”