The gene pool for purebred hogs in Manitoba is about to get a little deeper.
Construction is entering its final phase at Innova Canada, the latest Manitoba site for global hog genetics company Topigs Norsvin. The facility north of Plumas will be a new breeding and gestation nucleus site for the company.
Cam McGavin, general manager of Topigs Norsvin Canada, says the facility is a follow up move to the company’s research centre, Delta Canada, which opened its doors near Woodlands, Man., in 2018.
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“To hit the numbers that are part of our genetic blueprint, we needed to add more sows,” McGavin said.
Why it matters: Of thousands of piglets born at Topigs Norsvin nucleus sites, only 60 make the cut for the company’s artificial insemination genetic trade.
The Manitoba Pork Council said it welcomed the expansion, with chair Rick Prejet linking it to the “sector’s commitment to sustainable growth.”
He said the facility will bring 25 jobs and more than $30 million in investments to the area.
“Our hog sector is a key contributor to Manitoba’s economy and enhances the lives of all Manitobans,” said Prejet.
Topigs Norsvin CEO Villaume Kal called the facility “a cornerstone to double our genetic progress.”
About 1,600 sows from the company’s Z-line of a large white pig breed will be housed at the site. The breed is a line targeted for litter size, number of piglets weaned, longevity and maternal behaviour, according to Topigs Norsvin information.
The site will feed into the domestic supply of genetics as well as the company’s global trade in boar semen, company representatives said during an open house Sept. 21.
Topigs Norsvin Canada “is focused on Canada,” McGavin said. “That’s what we take care of. That’s our primary responsibility, but besides that, we’re also the nucleus for the world on two specific lines, the Z-line and the Tempo.”
The company markets TN Tempo boars on the basis of natural resilience to disease and feed challenges, growth rates and barn efficiency.
McGavin estimated the company’s business has grown 20 to 30 per cent since opening its Delta Canada facility in 2018.
Barn features
The new facility integrates new technologies with a sow population boost, according to McGavin, adding that the site north of Plumas was chosen in part for its biosecurity. The next nearest pig operation is more than 10 kilometres away.
The barn will include a three-way load-out system. A separate holding area will isolate animals bound for shipment and prevent staff entry back into the barn after doors are closed.
Staff will have to shower before entering the loadout zone and will use a separate entrance. Truck drivers will also have a separate entrance and space to change clothes and footwear and will otherwise only be allowed on the trailer. Loadout areas will then be cleaned and disinfected.
Promotional materials published by the company said ultraviolet decontamination will be used for any small objects entering the barn. Other materials will be fumigated for two days before barn entry.
“Furthermore, the designs of the nucleus site ensures that crossovers between barn staff and external traffic are avoided,” the same materials said.
The facility will mark a switch to free farrowing. Topigs Norsvin has turned to Dutch company Vereijken for the site’s gestation housing. The firm’s Pro Dromi Liberté system allows pens to switch from confining sows for farrowing to free sow movement with older piglets.
The same system has been marketed for its automatic movable flooring, which rises and lowers when the sow stands or lies down and, according to the company’s website, reduces crushing mortalities by 80 per cent. It also includes a microclimate “nanny” nest with a waterbed floor designed to draw piglets to its greater heat after drinking to further reduce crushing risk.
Two such farrowing pens have been installed at a Topigs Norsvin nucleus site as a test run.
“We know when we come here, we’re going to have 360 of them to work with, so we put in two… mostly just to train the staff on what to expect,” McGavin said.
“Two’s not a lot, but two will help them understand when to open (the pens), temperatures to run inside the nannies, for instance, just the overall nuances from a sow’s point of view being in that environment.”
The first sows are expected to arrive at Innova Canada in February, McGavin said.
