A labour-saving innovation developed by a Manitoba hog operation has been recognized with an award presented by a national pork industry conference, and endorsed by an international animal welfare expert.
The HyLife weaning ramp developed at the HyLife sow farms in La Broquerie, Man. was honoured earlier this year at the Banff Pork Seminar, and received the stamp of approval from renowned animal behaviourist Dr. Temple Grandin.
“This innovative system should be in every sow farm for vaccinating weaned piglets,” Grandin said after touring HyLife facilities. “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.”
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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 author and professor of animal science. She travelled to Canada to extensively tour operations, including HyLife farms and a processing plant in Neepawa, Man. During her evaluation, Grandin paid close attention to animal handling practices and said she was impressed with the uniqueness of the HyLife ramp.
“It gets rid of the back-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.”
A group effort
The ramp was created by HyLife’s Continuous Improvement Team, 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. The typical process at HyLife involved picking up piglets, giving them a vaccination and separating by gender.
Repeatedly collecting and picking up piglets places strain on a worker’s body, especially their back and arms, as most piglets are five kilograms or heavier. The innovative weaning ramp eliminates the need to pick piglets off the floor.
“We knew there was a better way,” said Lyle Loewen, senior vice-president of Farms Division, HyLife. “We 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.”
A smart design
The innovative ramp works as follows:
1. Piglets enter the alleyway and toward the ramp.
2. Piglets move up the ramp in groups.
3. 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.
4. Gradual sloping slides off each side of the station, bring the piglet back down slowly and safely to ground level.
The labour-saving design received a further accolade when it was named winner of The Dr. F.X Aherne 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,” Loewen said. “Receiving top honours on a national stage and Dr. Grandin’s endorsement of the concept, design, and execution reaffirms our efforts.”
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.
HyLife employees Robert Lafrenière and Barak Doell, key contributors to the development of the weaning ramp were in Banff to accept the award presented at Banff Pork Seminar
“Each year our committee is impressed by the innovation of people in our industry who enter the competition,” said awards committee chair Ben Willing. “The award comes with financial reward in the form of a ticket to the seminar for two people and support for travel costs to attend.
“However, the biggest prize for many is the recognition by industry peers. This is a solid example of the goals of this competition,” Willing said. “Grassroots innovation built with team support and an idea that helps others in the industry in their daily work. Frank Aherne, who was a professor at the University of Alberta and a major force for science-based progress in the Canadian pork industry, would be proud.”
The Banff Pork Seminar is co-ordinated by the Department of Agricultural, Food and Nutritional Science, University of Alberta, in co-operation with Alberta Pork, Alberta Agriculture and Irrigation and other pork industry representatives from across Canada.
HyLife is a fully integrated producer of premium pork. The company operates feed, barn, fleet, and pork plant operations in Canada, U.S., and Mexico employing more than 4,000 people. While they produce pork, the company says their mission is “to take care of our communities, animals, employees, and customers.”
