The AgriPost
January 27, 2023
HyLife Innovation Gains National Attention and Temple Grandin Endorsement A new HyLife weaning ramp has the potential to improve animal care across the industry. The in-house invention has even captured the interest of renowned animal behaviouralist, Dr. Temple Grandin. “This innovative system should be in every sow farm for vaccinating weaned piglets…I can’t say enough good things about it. It should go industry-wide. I was amazed how well those little pigs used the ramp; that’s the kind of stuff that makes handling easier,” shared Dr. Temple Grandin. Grandin is widely considered a leading expert in her field and as part of HyLife’s ongoing commitment to animal welfare, the company recently engaged the professor of animal science and distinguished author. She traveled to Canada to extensively tour operations, including HyLife farms and a processing plant in Neepawa, Manitoba. During her evaluation, Grandin paid close attention to animal handling practices and was extremely impressed with the uniqueness of a recently invented HyLife ramp. “It gets rid of the back-
Online Auction Date Set for Crown Land Leases
A new HyLife weaning ramp has the potential to improve animal care across the industry. The in-house invention has even captured the interest of renowned animal behaviouralist, Dr. Temple Grandin.
breaking work. It’s also going to improve good treatment of the pigs as the job is so much easier. And you make a job easier, and people are going to like it a whole lot better. That is something the whole industry should have,” said Grandin. The ramp was created by HyLife’s Continuous Improvement Team (CI), a group of engineers dedicated to solving challenges while improving animal welfare. After listening to farm employees, it was discovered that picking up piglets and bringing them to the employee performing vaccination placed a strain on both the staff and animals. “We knew there The ramp was created by HyLife’s Continuous Improvement Team. was a better way. We Submitted photos
prioritize animal care and lean on our in-house experts and CI team to develop a creative solution. The result is a ramp that eliminates the need to pick up piglets. This means less stress and more safety for both our animals and employees,” shared Lyle Loewen, Senior Vice President of Farms Division, HyLife. The innovative ramp works as follows. First the piglets enter the alleyway and towards the ramp. Then the piglets move up the ramp in groups. Once up the ramp, a gate using a pulley system is lowered. Employees can easily begin picking the piglets from waist height to be vaccinated. The animals are then gently placed on a slide, depending on their sex. The gradual sloping slides, off each side of the station, bring the piglet back down slowly and
safely to ground level. The accolades for this project keep coming, as the HyLife weaning ramp has recently won The Dr. F.X Ahern Prize for Innovative Pork Production at the 2023 Banff Pork Seminar. The prestigious award honours an original solution to pork production challenges in North America. “This is a proud day for HyLife. The ramp project is an example of how we collectively prioritize animal welfare. Receiving top honours on a national stage and Dr. Grandin’s endorsement of the concept, design, and execution reaffirms our efforts,” said Loewen. HyLife is now investing in the ramps across all sow barns and continues to look for creative ways to improve animal care and employee safety.
The Manitoba government’s agricultural Crown land lease and permit auctions will be held online February 6 to 11. “Manitoba’s agricultural Crown lands play a vital role in supporting a vibrant and sustainable agricultural sector. The online approach ensures Manitoba producers have equal opportunity to rent lands that will support their farming operations,” said Agriculture Minister Derek Johnson. “In addition to ensuring equal access to rental opportunities, a temporary rent reduction for forage leases on agricultural Crown lands has been implemented as part of our government’s commitment to supporting producers after a difficult season last year.” Leases and permits are available to farmers and ranchers to provide additional land base for agricultural activities. The Agricultural Crown Lands Leasing Program supports the sustainable expansion of livestock in Manitoba, contributes to ecological goods and services, and supports mitigation and adaptation to climate change. A number of agricultural Crown land parcels will be available to rent for haying, grazing or cropping. The official listing of agricultural Crown lands available for rent can be found at resd.ca/leases_ and_permits/LPproperties.aspx#agLeasePermit. The online auctions will be hosted by Garton’s Auction Service with further information to follow at gartonsauction.com. Last fall, the Manitoba government introduced a temporary rent reduction for forage leases on agricultural Crown lands. The reductions will be in place for the next three years with a 50 per cent reduction in 2023, a 33 per cent reduction in 2024, and a 15 per cent reduction in 2025. The temporary rent reduction will allow land productivity to recover from multiple years of extreme moisture. The Manitoba government continues to explore policy, program and service improvements to enhance sustainability and productivity of agricultural Crown lands, the minister noted. For more information about the upcoming auctions, visit manitoba.ca/agriculture/land-management/crown-land or contact a Manitoba Agriculture Services Corporation (MASC) service centre. For more information on MASC locations visit masc. mb.ca/masc.nsf/locations.