Iowa Farmer Today
07-08-06
By Jeff DeYoung
HULL -- Adjusting genetics just for the sake of change makes little sense to Craig
Hoksbergen.
“We’re hitting 54 percent to 54.5 percent lean with our pigs, and that should catch
you a small premium about anywhere,” he says. “We’re pretty happy with what
we’re doing now.”
Hoksbergen, who farms near here in Sioux County, says he and his father, Don,
took a pseudorabies buyout offer about seven years ago and repopulated their
sow herd with GenetiPork sows. They also use Duroc boars in their Northwest
Iowa operation.
“We really like how the pigs perform,” he says.
“While most of our finishing is inside, we do have some outside, and those sows
just seem to be a little tougher than others.”
Hoksbergen sells his pigs to Sioux-Preme Packing in nearby Sioux Center.
He targets an average live weight of 250 pounds for each small trailer load he
delivers.
“They like the lighter pigs, so that 250 lb. average should catch everything, even
the lighter pigs,” he says.
Hoksbergen believes his pigs are not only lean, but also produce quality pork.
That seems to be the trend in the packing industry as well, says Gary Malenke,
Sioux-Preme president.
He says Sioux-Preme works with its producers when asked for carcass and
genetic input, and adds many packers are working with their producers on a
more balanced pork product.
“I think there has been an effort by packers to start to curb the leanness of pigs,”
Malenke says.
“We are seeing that reflected in some of these payment grids, that packers are
trying to put a top-side on these lean percentages.”
Ten years ago, he says the industry emphasized leanness. Malenke says most
producers were able to adjust their genetics and production system to offer lean
hogs to the packers.
Now, as the industry starts moving back toward the middle, he says producers
will not have to make the drastic changes they made in the late-1990s.
“Ten years ago, most of the producers were very in tune to what they needed to
do,” Malenke says.
“Today, I don’t get the sense that they feel they need to make big changes.
“They have gotten the pigs lean, but now they are working on producing a quality
lean muscle product for the consumer.”
Consumer preferences are driving most of those changes, says Larry McMullen,
ISU Extension swine specialist in Anamosa.
Most taste panels indicate consumers are willing to pay more for a more tasty
pork product, he notes.
“Taste plays a large role in what consumers want, as does appearance in the
meat case,” McMullen says.
He conducted a recent taste panel in Eastern Iowa with help from a grant from
the Iowa Pork Industry Center.
The study indicates while consumers are somewhat confused about color and
marbling quality and how that translates into tasty pork, McMullen says they will
vote with their wallets when it comes to taste.
He says 85 percent of the consumers indicated they would pay more for a pork
product that would provide “increased satisfaction in taste, tenderness and
juiciness.”
However, McMullen says that percentage of price increase should be modest
enough to entice consumers to buy.
“They aren’t willing to go up much more in price,” he says. “They are still looking
for an economical product.”
Malenke says pork genetic companies are also aware of consumer preferences,
not only for taste, but color, marbling and pH levels as well.
“They recognized this some time ago that not only did they need to be concerned
about the quality of lean muscle, but also the pH and color of the product,” he
says.
“They also have to look at things like cost of production and the bottom line as
well.”
Producers who are willing to look for a niche and adjust genetics accordingly can
find decent price premiums, Malenke adds.
Those in the commodity pork business will have trouble finding anything but a
small premium, he adds.
“The producers who may have problems are those who are just below the quality
expectations of a packer,” Malenke says.
“If you are at the level where you are being discounted, then you might want to
think about change.”
Change is in the air with Hoksbergen’s operation, even if he is happy with his
pigs’ performance.
His father is looking to slow down at age 64, so the family is in the process of
selling sows and moving from farrow-to-finish to strictly finishing.
He will be working with a local co-op to find feeder pigs. Hoksbergen adds he is
investigating ownership in a sow cooperative.
Despite the changes, he is confident the quality of his pigs won’t be diminished.