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EXPERIENCE

BERKSHIRE Telling the story of the Berkshire breed

September 2019 Volume 1, Issue 2

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CONTENTS 144th Annual Meeting pg. 6

2019 Scholarship Recipients pg. 8

#AmericanBerk pg. 11

Q&A with Jim Petrik pg. 12

North Country Charcuterie pg. 15

Locavore Delivery pg. 19

Vaccinating Your Herd pg. 22

The Directory pg. 24 Experience Berkshire / 3

EDITOR’S NOTE In this issue, I think we celebrate diversity- something that makes the Berkshire breed so unique. In whichever sector you’re mainly apart of, farming, processing, food preparation, etc., you all have a hand in the success and future of the breed. Sometimes I think we get so focused on our own business or operation and forget to stake a 50,000-foot view and look at all of the people who are involved in Berkshire pigs. In this magazine, you’ll start by reading a question and answer article to get a look at Jim Petrik’s swine farm in South Dakota. Throughout this summer I’ve heard that Jim is one of the funniest people one could ever meet, and I believe his story lets his passion for Berks and personality shine through. (Pg. 12 ) From there you’ll meet a family-owned and operated artisan meat business. James, Jane and Duncan Forbes exclusively use Berkshire pork in all of their salami recipes at North Country Charcuterie in Ohio (pg. 15) I had the pleasure of meeting a food delivery business owner from the foothills of Colorado. Craig Taber works with a Berkshire swine producer and certified packer to take Berkshire pork right to his customers’ front door. (Pg.19 ) Producers and consumers both have something to gain in Mikayla Wherle’s article about “Vaccinating Your Herd”. This is an informational piece about the options for protecting pigs against diseases in efforts to keep them as healthy as they can be. (Pg. 22 ) The American Berkshire Association has a heritage of being different. From the duality of a show quality pig and superior meat qualities to the different businesses that are a part of Berkshire, to the variety of places around this country where you can find them, the Berkshire breed would be nothing without its people.

ABA BOARD OF DIRECTORS President, Greg Smith Vice President, Steve Stassen Exec. Committee, Neil Knobloch Vance Aldridge Jan Allen Pete Brummer Allen K. Conover Matt Ritter Jeff Wippel

MAGAZINE STAFF Mallorie Boggs

Editor | Designer | Advertisement Coordinator

WRITERS Mikayla Wherle Mallorie Boggs

ABA STAFF

Alex Conover Katie Morgan

SUBSCRIPTIONS FREE

Here’s to all of you that make this magazine and the American Berkshire Association possible. Enjoy!

Our Purpose: The purpose of this publication is to highlight all the positive benefits of the Berkshire breed, including positive consumer demand for high quality pork, chef’s tips and recipes, marketing and promotion tools, meat quality education, progeny test results, entrepreneurship and business opportunities, breeder networking, and exhibitions for the next generation of producers and leaders. 4 \ Experience Berkshire

Experience Berkshire is owned and trademarked by the American Berkshire Association. The Experience Berkshire online magazine is an entity of the American Berkshire Association. For more information, visit americanberkshire.com.

EXPERIENCE BERKSHIRE

100% PURE BERKSHIRE PORK®

ABA FALL

CALENDAR The National Barrow Show takes over Austin, Minn. Sept. 7 - 11. The Berkshire Hog College Boar and Gilt representatives will go head-to-head with other breeds in the Home Run Derby on Monday evening after the conclusion of the truckoad show. Tuesday morning Berkshires show first in the north ring. New this year- the show and sale are both on Tuesday. Berkshires will sell first in the sale which starts two hours after the conclusion of the breeding show.

Be sure to watch the the shows and sales live on Facebook! There are new dates for the Fall Classic: Oct. 23 - 26. The show will still be at the Stephens Co. Fairgrounds in Duncan, Okla. The weanling pig sift will take place on Thurs., Oct. 24 and the breeding shows will be on Friday, Oct. 25. Berkshires will show after the CPS breeds in the main arena. The sale will be on Saturday with Berkshires being the last breed to sell in the main arena. The entry deadline for this yearâ€™s Fall Classic is Sept. 18.

Be sure to watch the the shows and sales live on Facebook! Get the latest show results and Berkshire information-

Follow @AmericanBerk on social media!

Experience Berkshire / 5

144TH ANNUAL AMERICAN BERKSHIRE ASSOCIATION

MEMBERSHIP MEETING On June 27, 2019, the American Berkshire Association held its 144th Annual Membership Meeting. As a tradition the meeting kicked off with the American Berkshire Foundation basket auction. Several items were donated from members around the country in efforts to raise money for youth scholarships and programming. The American Berkshire Foundation would like to thank those who purchased items during the Summer Type Conference!

Members voted to approve an amendment of article XIX, section 4 of the ABA by-laws. The bylaws now read: “Disqualification for Registration of Breeding animals. The presence of one or more of the following are disqualifications for registration: a) less than 6 functional teats on each side...” The section used to read “...12 functional teats”. This section of the ABA by-laws is now consistent with an already current show rule of a minimum of 6 functional teats on each side of Berkshire pigs. Any boars or gilts that do not have 6 functional On the ballot this year were three proposed by-law teats on each side that are already in breeding changes. All three items on the ballot were passed production are grand-fathered in to comply with by the membership. this change. Item one amended article I, section 3 to add another option to how good-standing members can vote: “through a secured electronic voting system approved by the ABA.” This change allows members to have the option to submit their votes for the Board of Directors candidates on-line on the Association’s website. The second approved change allows members to vote “through a secured electronic voting system approved by the ABA.” This change is reflected in article XIV, section 4.

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The annual meeting ended with the announcement of the Board of Directors election. Greg Smith, Colo. and Matt Ritter, Ind. were re-elected to serve for a 2nd term. Pete Brummer, Penn. was elected to the Board. Please view the 2019-2020 Board of Directors and Committee Members on the ABA’s website. •

Known for

Color & Marbling

Berkshire pork is known for many qualities however, color and marbling are the easiest to see. The deeper red and darker color supports one of the most important characteristics of meat, the pH content. High pH in meat correlates to ability for the meat to retain water. Marbling is what makes Berkshire pork taste so good. The high fat content throughout a piece of meat adds flavor and keeps it there. Marbling is also why chefs prefer Berkshire pork, for its incomparable mouthfeel. When shopping for meat, choose Berkshire’s marbling to prevent cooking loss of the natural juices that create the great flavor.

Patterson’s Registered Berkshires™

64 Red Mill Lane | Crimora, VA 24431 Ph: 540-649-5759| redmill@newhopetel.net www.pattersonberkshires.com Berkshire pork loin (pictured left) Experience Berkshire / is a product of Patterson’s Registered Berkshires™.

Congratulations

2019 American Berkshire Foundation

Scholarship Recipients

ETHAN BRUMMER of Millerstown, Pennsylvania will be graduating from Greenwood High School in May of 2019. He will be attending The Pennsylvania State University (University Park) this fall. Ethan plans to major in Agricultural Business Management. Ethan is a member of the Junior American Berkshire Association, and an FFA member. He has been actively involved in his high school in various activities and clubs. Ethan is the 3rd generation of his family to be involved in farming. Ethan became more involved in the family operation after his grandfather decided to retire. Now, Ethan helps with the day-to-day operation of the Angus Herd, the sheep herd and the swine herd. Ethan and his family have chosen to raise Berkshire hogs due to their good meat quality. They sell some of their pigs as show pigs to other 4-Her’s and FFA kids and most of the herd goes towards butcher hogs that they sell off the farm or at the local farmer’s markets. Meat quality is important to Ethan, which is why they participate in the Progeny Test, which gives them information for their customers and helps sell their meat. Ethan plans to come back to the farm after graduation and work with his father on both of his grandfather’s farms. MARLENA LONG is from Paris, Missouri and graduated from Paris RII High School while accumulating 61 credit hours of dual credit course work. She has been admitted to the University of Missouri and will pursue a BS degree in a double major consisting of Biochemistry and Agriculture Business. She was actively involved in 4-H and FFA earning numerous state and national awards. Other accolades Marlena has received are being selected as a Youth Ambassador for both, the Missouri Farm Bureau and Missouri Pork Association and serving as treasurer of the Missouri Junior Shorthorn Association. Beginning at the age of 9 years old, following in a family tradition her mother began, Marlena exhibited her first Berkshire pigs in 4-H and came upon many early successes that have carried throughout her show career. Knowing the importance of value-added agriculture products, Marlena operates a freezer beef and pork business as part of her FFA-SAE program. Recently, she has bred and raised her own Berkshires to augment the sales of high- quality meat. Actively involved in her family’s farm operation, she has mastered a post-cervical AI technique learned by assisting her veterinarian. Marlena’s technical skills enable her to do contract breeding for other 8 \ Experience Berkshire

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Experience Berkshire / 9

swine operations. Additionally, she has begun her own woodchip business that grossed over $20,000 in sales last year. With medical school plans in her future and a desire to participate in a university level undergraduate research program, Marlena hopes to continue the advancement of research on swine and the benefits and correlation to human health issues. Having a love of science and a passion for agriculture, Marlena Long will certainly be a successful advocate for Berkshires! CREIGH ROURKE is from Iowa City, Iowa and graduated from MidPrairie High School in 2018. She will be a sophomore at Texas Tech University this fall pursuing an Agricultural Communication BS degree and plans to apply to law school in the future. She was actively involved in 4-H and FFA while in high school serving in many leadership roles and attended the World Food Prize Youth Institute. Additionally, she was selected as a Borlaug Scholar and served as the Iowa State Berkshire Queen. At Texas Tech, Creigh is active with Sigma Alpha sorority, serves as a Texas Tech Agriculture Ambassador and is a member of the Texas Tech Agricultural Communicators of Tomorrow club. While growing up on a club lamb operation, Creighâ€™s grandparents gifted her a few Berkshire sows which developed into Rourke Sisters Genetics. Throughout her 4-H career, Creigh and her sisters have exhibited at Team Purebred shows and participated in career development events like skill-a-thon, judging and sweepstakes. She was on the Iowa Swine Jackpot Series Junior Board serving as show day manager and grand finale coordinator. Today, Rourke Sisters Genetics focuses on producing high quality breeding stock and show pigs. Creigh will always have a special place in her heart for the Berkshire Breed and will continue helping youth involved in the swine project. DILLON WHITE of Jacksonville, Illinois, graduated from Jacksonville High School in May of 2018. He currently attends John Wood Community College studying Animal Science. Dillon has been involved in 4-H, FFA, Team Purebred, active at John Wood Agriculture Club and Evaluation Club. Dillon is a Boy Scouts earning his Eagle Scout in 2017. Dillon currently raises 12 sows and 8 cows. He has been involved in the family operation since he learned to walk. He helps with the day-to-day operations, breeding choices and marketing of animals from their farm. Dillon started raising Poland China hogs and diversified to Berkshires about 4 years ago. His plans include adding more Berkshires to his herd. Dillon is looking forward to getting his associates degree at John Wood Community College and transferring to Western Illinois University to pursue a degree in Agriculture Science. He plans to stay in the agriculture field and living close to home to continue with his hog operation with his family after graduation. â€˘ The mission of the American Berkshire Foundation is to preserve the past, strengthen the present and ensure the future by supporting the educational and career goals of our youth with scholarships and mentoring. Find more information about the American Berkshire Foundation at, americanberkshire.com/foundation.

10 \ Experience Berkshire

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Experience Berkshire / 11

Q&A with

Jim Petrik Q: How long have you been raising pigs? A: We purchased our first Berkshire hogs when I was 13 years old. We had TGE at my parentâ€™s farm that winter and my brother and I were just looking for pigs to show for 4H when we stumbled on a pen of Berks at a show pig sale. We were fortunate to meet Gary Getzmeier and some other enthusiastic breeders early on and fortunate enough to find some influential genetics not too long after. We switched our operation to three-site production in 1995 and at that time we decided to specialize in commercial gilt production, at that time we sold our purebred sows to some other breeders. After a couple of years I missed the Berks and so we started looking for a prolific female line like we had with our old Bobbi sow family. We purchased a gilt here and there and finally got a really great pig producer from John Broek at the Iowa State Fairthis was the start of our Lilly sow family. About the same time, we were able to rent another small hog site and had a spot to park some purebred sows again, so Berks have been a part of our family for most of the last 40 years. Jim and Sharon Petrik

Q: How many sows do you currently have? Where do you supply your pigs to?

Jim Petrik and his wife Sharon own and operate Petrik Farms, located in Gayville, South Dakota. Stay up to date with whatâ€™s going on at the Petrik Farm by following them on Facebook!

A: We keep about 25 Berk sows at the south farm as well as some Durocs and crosses. We have a diverse clientele for our purebred hogs. We keep as many as 10 herd sires at Powerpoint Boar Stud and supply semen to some large producers of Berk sired market hogs, we sell Berk and Duroc boars and gilts to meat quality-focused producers and we sell 200+ 4H show projects each spring. Our customersâ€™ needs are diverse so we work hard to

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balance performance, meat quality, toughness, and eye appeal but every Berk is line-bred to our best sows because we think sow production is what sets our herd apart. Q: Why did you choose to do Berkshires? A: We chose Berks by dumb luck! We were just in the right place at the right time and Gary had his little pigs looking great at that sale way back when. When we started raising them we quickly got a little chip on our shoulders from other breeds comments that “Berks don’t grow”, “Berks have small litters” etc so we worked pretty hard to make sure our hogs could compete in the commercial arena. Berkshire boars quickly became popular in our region because of their tremendous breeding ability and it wasn’t long and we were selling a lot of boars. When the meat quality issues of the 90s came up we had a lot of customers who were able to capitalize on their Berk cross-market hogs. Frankly, we weren’t as successful at convincing some of the packers and processors that visited us about the importance of Berkshire quality and it took a long time for them to concede that % lean was not the total answer.

friends who are some of the biggest and some of the smallest producers out there and I see enough marketing sheets to know some folks have a lot better marketing deals than others so I am glad to see the evolution of niche markets. I think there is room for every size of producer as long as they are good at what they do! Q: What would you like to see from the ABA in the next 5 years? A: Berkshires are in a great place right now because of their popularity. That being said at the end of the day they all end up on somebodies plate, so I think we have an obligation to test more hogs and be sure that we continue to improve qualitybelieve me all our competitors are improving every day. We don’t know enough about the genetic base in terms of sow productivity, growth or meat quality so I’d like to see more incentive for producers to gather data. We can make more progress identifying the poorest genetics as well as the best. Q: What advice do you have for someone who wants to get started in Berkshires?

Q: What is the biggest concern you see in the A: I’ll just leave you with advice that was passed industry currently? on to me years ago- 1. Raise hogs that work for you and that you like, and don’t worry about what A: Obviously my biggest industry concern today everybody else is doing. 2. Keep good recordsis export markets, but it is closely followed by bio- they’ll please your banker and allow you to security and keeping the US herd healthy. I have benchmark and improve. •

Experience Berkshire / 13

Duncan, Jane and James Forbes

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North Country Charcuterie by / MALLORIE BOGGS

According to Merriam-Webster, “charcuterie” is a delicatessen that specializes in dressed meats and meat dishes. Honestly, before this next visit, I hadn’t heard of it before. I was aware of the funsounding word but didn’t truly understand the craft, time and dedication that it takes into creating a successful charcuterie company. Thankfully the Forbes family at North Country Charcuterie gave me a lesson.

kitchen to grow their passions. Although the shared-kitchen option allowed James to start the business, the growth was limited. In February 2018 North Country moved to its own production facility where the potential is unlimited. A large perk of the 3,300 square foot facility complete with walk-in freezers and preparation space is that it is approved by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Food operations that are inspected by USDA can sell products nationally.

James and his brother Duncan, alongside their mom Jane, established North Country Charcuterie in 2014. Located in Columbus, Ohio, their artisan meat business delivers carefully crafted products to over 50 stores and restaurants across the website. With roots as a chef working in Columbus-area fine-dining restaurants, James has always had a love of meat craft. Known to his friends as the “salami-swami”, he develops all of the recipes for the products himself.

As Duncan was so kind to give me a grand-tour of where the magic happens, I couldn’t believe the organization, equipment, and passion that goes into crafting the products and marketing them to restaurants and wholesalers. All of North Country’s products are dry-aged. Once the ingredients are mixed and the casings are stuffed, they go into a controlled freezer where the flavor and amazing scents develop. During the five-week curing process, James checks the pH and weight Aside from the great taste and friendly faces of each salami product. Speck, bottom round ham, behind the brand, North Country Charcuterie is takes as long as four months to be properly aged. unique- they exclusive use Berkshire pork in all of their dry-cured salami and Chorizo. “Berkshire is a With Berkshire pork as the foundation, North special event type product,” said James. “Berkshire Country’s products have layers of flavor. The No. pork is known for being used in dry-curing.” 1 Salami uses locally sourced cheese and locally bottled Chardonnay. The Lupo Salami has a deep, This well-known, highly sought after brand didn’t rich flavor from a local brewer’s Russian Imperial just happen overnight. James first started bringing Stout with Mexican Mole. My favorite is the his recipes to the table at The Commissary, now Hoguera Spreadable Chorizo. Just close your eyes known to locals as the 1400 Food Lab. This facility and imagine smooth, salty Chorizo with a blend of allows food-makers a space to use a commercial mild spices. Experience Berkshire / 15

As if all of those ingredients for their business isn’t impressive enough, they make it their priority to visit the farms of the Berkshire producers that they work with. “We want to be able to honestly answer questions that consumers have about where we source our ingredients,” said Duncan. The Forbes Family prides themselves on working with Berkshire producers who humanely raise pigs. On the day that I visited North Country Charcuterie, they had just wrapped up production for the day where they prepped 175 pounds of bacon. Just in that week, they handmade 1,200 pounds of salami, smoked 220 pounds of bacon. That equals a growing demand for North Country’s artisan products. In the future the family operated business has goals of a retail establishment, adding another production facility and expanding what they can offer consumers. •

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“We want to be able to honestly answer questions that consumers have about where we source our ingredients,” -Duncan Forbes NORTH COUNTRY CHARCUTERIE VISIT NORTHCOUNTRYCHARCUTERIE.COM

The goal of the 100% Pure Berkshire Pork® Program is to assure consumers a quality dining experience. To accomplish this, the ABA has developed a certification program to ensure that all pork sold under the 100% Pure Berkshire Pork® label has been produced from pigs that are offspring of purebred, pedigreed Berkshire sires and dams.

Become a 100% Pure Berkshire Pork ® Certified Packer or Producer. Contact the ABA office for more information. Phone: 765-497-3618 americanberkshire.com/berkshire-pork

Experience Berkshire / 17

ACHTEL TATION

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Birthplace of WACH6 Wachtel Merger 14-5, the #1 meat quality sire. Congratulations Troy Seybold for his 2018 American Berkshire Association Progeny Test pens, sired by Wachtel Merger 14-5, for being named the Performance Sire of the Year and Prime Pork Award winner.

GREG

AND JANEANNE SMITH 42644 HWY 52, ROGGEN, CO 80652 970-443-5527 WACHTELSTATION@GMAIL.COM

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18 \ Experience Berkshire

Locavore Delivery by / MALLORIE BOGGS

Craig Taber, owner of Locavore Delivery

In the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, I met and quickly came to admire an entrepreneur that promotes Berkshire pork and other local products to the community of Denver Colorado. Craig Taber, founder, and chief bacon enthusiast started Locavore Delivery in 2014 and strives every day since then to bring local food products right to customers’ front doors.

like the edge of a mountain in Colorado. As my knuckles became more white with every mile deeper into the Rocky Mountains, I became more curious as to where my fainting GPS signal was taking me. Upon arriving at Locavore I was greeted by the welcoming smile and positive personality of Craig. He welcomed me into a garage where I was amazed that it was transformed into the headquarters of Locavore Delivery. After that, Like some of you reading this now, I was also the conversation quickly flowed and I was left in surprised to find a passionate farmer supporter “awe”. and Berkshire stakeholder on literally what felt Experience Berkshire / 19

From the very beginning, Craig was deeply involved where farming meets food. He grew up on a small, production farm in Upstate New York and worked in his family’s Italian restaurants. Craig left New York to serve in the Navy. He was stationed in Hawaii where his love affair with the beautiful state began. After serving in the military, he started his Italian cafe in Kailua, Hawaii inspired by recipes that have been passed through his family. At only 20-years-old Craig was the executive chef at Zias Cafe. Always looking for bigger and new challenges and ways to bring people together, Craig left Hawaii. When asked what brought him to Colorado, he smiled in response “a rock-climbing trip”. Craig graduated from Colorado University Boulder with a degree in physics and economics and worked as the marketing director for a tech start-up company in Boulder for eight years. He took a hiatus for a few months to figure out his next move, thus came the idea for Locavore Delivery. “I wanted a company that would serve my community,” said Craig.

service. Being curious of what it entails starting a local food delivery company I asked Craig how he grew Locavore. His response, through a good laugh, was, “Step one, I bought a cow off of Craiglist with a credit card. I had no idea how to have one cut up.” Over the next 6 years, Craig and his team of 2 hard-working employees have built Locavore Delivery into a growing company that works closely with 13 ranchers. According to Craig, those ranchers make all the difference. “The relationships that I have with these ranchers are the most valuable part of the company.” One of those Colorado ranchers is the Smith Family from Roggen. Craig came into contact with Greg through a Craigslist ad selling Berkshire pork. Both parties work with Innovative Foods, an American Berkshire 100% Pure Berkshire Pork Certified Packer, to process the hogs. “I chose Berkshire pork because it’s a heritage breed,” said Craig. “The fat content is good, the flavor is good, the color of it is good.”

Despite just his location, Craig’s story is truly unique. From New York to Hawaii to Colorado With little money and a 3.5-acre property in there’s a common thread: a passion for bringing Golden, Colorado Craig started a food delivery food and people together. • LOCAVORE DELIVERY VISIT LOCAVOREDELIVERY.COM

20\ Experience Berkshire

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Jeff Wippel & Family 15085 London Rd. | Orient, OH 43146 740-404-1148 | oink.berks@gmail.com

F l a e mily pp i W Experience Berkshire / 21

Vaccinating Your Herd: by / MIKAYLA WHERLE Vaccinating your swineherd can be a daunting and time-consuming process. Individual farms tend to be more susceptible to certain diseases depending on local factors, so it is important to be aware of what diseases are present in your area when making your vaccination decisions. Working with a licensed veterinarian to build a vaccination program that fits your operation will create better protection. Keep detailed records of vaccinations to ensure you’re always up to date and have the best protection possible. Operations that are currently showing pigs either on a circuit or at the local fair have the greatest risk of getting a disease. Your operations are also at increased risk for disease if you have a lot of turn over of breeding stock or contact with other pigs, or if there are other swine farms in close proximity. We tend to lump the deworming program in with the vaccination program for ease of records and handling of the pigs. Deworming will ensure that there are no parasites that can slow growth

or make the pigs sick. Remember to use both injectable Ivermectin and feed Ivermectin. All pigs should be vaccinated for Parvovirus, leptospirosis, and erysipelas. These diseases can cause reproductive failure. Many producers use a combination vaccine-like FarrowSure GOLD or FarrowSure GOLD B to take care of all three. This vaccination may be required in order to sell pigs at certain places, so always check the rules. Another common vaccine given is to help prevent scours caused by bacteria such as Escherichia Coli and Clostridium Perfringens Type C. Scours in nursing pigs can cause loss of growth or sometimes death. A common vaccine used for this purpose is LitterGuard LT-C. The last traditional vaccine given is Respisure, which protects against Mycoplasma Pneumonia. Pneumonia is a disease you can end up chasing all year if it gets into your pigs. It can end in poor growth and sometimes death.

Biosecurity matters.

Pig farmers everywhere are working hard to protect their herd against diseases through various animals medicine when they are sick, similar to how we all go to the doctor when we aren’t feel prevention measure that keeps pigs’ health as the number one priority. Here are some steps you can use in your own herd to keep your pigs healthy: • Wash and sanitize trailers, pens and equipment regularly • Change shoes and clothing when theres risk of cross-contamination • Use boundaries to designate areas where livestock transporters are not to go on your farm • Limit exposure to wildlife, pests, and rodents that have the potential to transmit diseases • Quarantine an animal that you are introducing into your herd

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what should I be doing? Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PPRS) is a big concern across the spectrum of producers. PRRS can infect pigs in utero and cause them to be born lethargic and fevered with edema of the eyelids and discoloration of the skin. High mortality is expected pre-weaning. Whether to vaccinate for PRRS is very specific to the risk of the farm. If you have tested positive, you will need to add a PRRS vaccine to your program. If you show pigs a lot, speak to your veterinarian about your risks and whether it’s right for you to vaccinate. There is some controversy when it comes to vaccinating for porcine Circovirus. This vaccine is only used in nursery pigs. The vaccine rarely causes adverse reactions in piglets but has been known to cause death in some piglets. If your operation is located in an area that has a high occurrence or clinical signs of Porcine Circovirus, you may want to consider vaccinating. The primary signs are poor growth, increased mortality, and weight loss. Other signs include enlarged lymph nodes,

difficulty breathing, jaundice, fever, stomach ulcers, diarrhea, and sudden death. Many of these vaccines are given in two shots for unvaccinated sows or gilts. Remember to check the label before using in pregnant sows or gilts. If you are selling gilts at a show, you may be required to show proof of certain vaccines. Vaccinating doesn’t mean you will never have sick pigs, but it will lower your risk. Keep in mind that vaccines also won’t make up for poor living conditions or poor nutrition. However, being prepared is your best chance against loss due to disease. More information on this topic can be found on the National Pork Board’s website and Iowa State’s website. And thank you to Dairyland Animal Health for collaborating on this article. •

s prevention measures. Farmers only give ling 100%. Vaccinations and deworming are a

Find more information at pork.org.

Experience Berkshire / 23

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pg. 21

AJC Berkshires

634 SW 1201 RD., HOLDEN, MO 64040

pg. 26

24 \ Experience Berkshire

Visit americanberkshire.com for more information!

ARE YOUR BERKSHIRES

REGISTERED?

THE TOP 5 REASONS WHY THEY SHOULD BE Registration number ensures that it is a 100% purebred Berkshire

Over 140 years of pedigree records from the worldâ€™s oldest swine registry

The ABA recognizes top litter registrations and transfers every year

A team of staff members to answer questions, provide opportunities and help promote your passion

EPD and SPI records to help your continually improve your Berkshire herd genetics

26 \ Experience Berkshire