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Volume No. II |
June 1997 |
Issue No. 1 |
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Hello everyone! Hope everyone is keeping cool, and where applicable
was able to get their crops in the ground. Some areas of Ontario have
experienced greater challenges than others. Just looking at the date since the last "Lens", it has been a while since we last visited with you. Both Jim and Sharon have been reminding me to get another newsletter out. So here we go!
This past week we have experienced some hot summer days here in Ontario. This should jog each of our memories about our annual seasonal infertility problems. It is important to keep the boars as cool as possible so as to minimize semen problems. You have a couple of options to assist with this challenge. First, feed the boars early or late in the day. This way they will not be digesting their dinner during the hottest time of the day. When collecting or breeding natural do your breeding at the coolest time of the day. Again, this will minimize the heat stress affecting the boars. Drip cooling or a sprinkler system may provide additional relief for hot boars. If you have any doubt about the quality of the sperm cells, take the precaution of decreasing your dilution rate, thereby increasing the number of sperm cells per bottle.
I expect that many of you have heard of the health problems in Taiwan and the Netherlands. Over a 5 month period Holland has gone from an exporting nation to a net importer of pork. The economic impact is phenomenal. Producers are compensated at market value for the animals which are destroyed, however, market value has gone from low at the onset of the fever, to extremely high during the early stages when it was felt the problems would soon be resolved. At present the weaner price is very erratic, while the market hogs are consistently high. The number of infected herds is approaching 300 and there is some talk that the entire hog population south of the rivers may have to be destroyed. So far, governing bodies have issued a breeding restriction for the affected areas, and newborn piglets are destroyed in an attempt to decrease pressure from behind. Those producers who try to undermine the regulations face severe restrictions in their compensation eligibility requirements. The problems experienced by these countries remind us that swine health is a valuable asset to our industry. Let's all work together to Keep Canada Clean! |
The Dutch AI industry has recently learned a very valuable lesson, which can benefit each and everyone of us. Two of the AI units in the southern part of the country were closed down because of their location within the Swine Fever "Hot" zone. This created an increased demand for top performance by the remaining units servicing the commercial sow herds. In an attempt to stretch the semen further the semen concentration was decreased from 3 billion to 2.5 and eventually 2 billion sperm cells per dose. The inseminators commented that there was an immediate increase in the number of repeat sows when the sperm dosage was decreased.
ITSI is looking for a person or company to look after the AI market in Manitoba. We have had some inquiries, but so far, no agreement has been made. We believe that a sales representative in Manitoba is a crucial component to supplying our clients here with fast, efficient and knowledgeable service. If you know of anyone who is interested and could provide technical support please let us know.
In the past ITSI Inc. has offered specials and promotions on a number of occasions. At the upcoming Ontario Pork Congress we will be offering a Super Duper 2 day special. The actual special will not be announced until the Pork Congress. Please note that this is a Pork Congress Special and will only be available on the 19th and 20th in Stratford.
We are also pleased to introduce new wrist gloves for cleaning of the boar sheath and 9" filters to replace that awkward and tiny piece of gauze. Pick up a sample at the Congress or remind us with your next order and we will be pleased to send you some samples.
The shortest time in which orders can be delivered by courier is 24 hours in Ontario and 48 hours outside of ITSI's home province, provided that you place your order before 9:00 a.m. If our driver has to make an emergency delivery we will be billing extra for this service, regardless of the value of the order. Please give us 7 to 10 days notice for your order. We strive to ship everything as economical as possible, but this can only be done if we have sufficient time to schedule deliveries.
During the summer the office will be closing a little earlier on Fridays (3:00 p.m.) This is not to say you may not get an answer after 3:00 p.m., but we are not making any guarantees!
We hope that this newsletter has provided some useful information for you. If you have any suggestions/topics that you would like to see covered please let me know. Hope everyone has a great summer, and keep in touch. |
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