Looking for Less Labor, Better Meat Quality

Closing out a barn at Kevin and Judy Leibfried’s Taunton, MN, custom finishing operation means pigs get sorted 11 or 12 times before the last pig walks onto the slaughter truck. The Leibfrieds’ contract partner, Mill Farms, Marshall, MN, aims at marketing pigs between 240 and 280 pounds, with an optimum of 270 pounds. Sorting and loading pigs to that degree of accuracy is a big job in the Leibfrieds’ conventional 2,400-head finishing facility. For each load, the Leibfrieds use a portable scale to identify a model 270-pounder and then eyeball the rest. It takes Kevin and Judy, plus one or two other people, about an hour to load a 190-head semi-truck.

FAST to Cut Labor, Improve Meat Quality

			The Leibfried family (along with a few friends) posed for a family portrait in their new FAST» barn. Front row, from left: Kevin and Brad. Back row, from left: Laura, Judy, and Lisa. (Photo credit: Pam Taylor Photography)

Recently the Leibfrieds installed FAST™ (Farmweld Automatic Sorting Technology) in a new 2,400-head facility. The barn is 41’ x 488’ with an 8’ pit and an automated, natural ventilation system. Pigs are housed in four, 600-head pens. The pens are divided into a loafing area and two food courts. Pigs learn to migrate from the loafing area to the food courts via the FAST scale. On sorting days, the scale will separate heavies from lights based on a pre-determined weight cut-off and desired number of sorted pigs. The sorted heavy pigs will then be directed to a holding area where they remain until shipping.

Kevin says he thinks FAST will drastically reduce loading labor and also improve meat quality. With FAST, pigs will be trained to go through a gate or smaller opening so they’ll move faster and easier, according to Kevin.

Kevin also thinks that because there isn’t a long alleyway in his new barn, pigs will remain calmer during loading. In his conventional barn, pigs in the pens opposite the load-out door have to walk through a 30” alley for the entire 240’ length of the room. “By the time the pigs get all the way down the barn, they’re a bit stressed out,” says Kevin. “Stress directly relates to the quality of the meat.” FAST eliminates the need for a long alleyway so pigs will be calmer and less stressed when they arrive at the packing plant.

The Leibfrieds’ veterinarian agrees the FAST system definitely reduces the chore of loading pigs. “One person alone can load 190 pigs on a semi in 20 minutes,” says Dr. Barry Kerkaert of the Pipestone (MN) Veterinary Clinic. “A producer even told me that he can load the pigs as fast as his trucker can pen them up on the truck.”

Feed Withdrawal is an Option

With FAST, the Leibfrieds can also opt to withhold feed for several hours prior to slaughter for the sorted pigs. Researchers have shown that feed withdrawal 12-24 hours prior to slaughter enhances meat quality because it reduces the incidence of PSE, an effect that makes meat pale and watery. Feed withdrawal prior to shipping also keeps animals calmer and reduces the number of deaths during transport.

Dr. Kerkaert suggests this not only affects meat quality, it has a direct impact on food safety. Holding pigs off feed just before slaughter means there’s less risk for the carcass to become contaminated at the processing plant.

FAST continues to be a hot topic in the industry, gaining lots of attention since it was introduced by Farmweld at the 2002 World Pork Expo. In mid-November 2002 the Leibfrieds hosted an open house at their new site and over 250 people attended.