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Winners of the annual FX Aherne Prize for Innovative Pork Production include Sylven Blouin and Mathieu Couture of Agri-Marché Inc. St-Isidore Que.; Serge Labrecque and Robert Germain of Conception Ro-Main Inc., St-Bernard, Que.; and Joel and Ron Wurz of Bench Colony, near Shaunavon, Sask.
“Each of the winners have provided unique and valuable contributions to improve pork production,” says Dr. Michael Dyck of the University of Alberta, chair of the FX Aherne Prize committee. “They capture the spirit of innovation essential to moving the industry forward. All are deserving winners.”
Winners of the FX Aherne Prize (left to right): Pascal Forest, and Serge Labrecque, of Conception Ro-Main Inc., St-Bernard, Que; Mathieu Couture of Agri-Marché Inc. St-Isidore Que.; Dr. Michael Dyck F. X. Aherne Award committee chair; Joel Wurz of Bench Colony, Shaunavon, Sask.; and Sylven Blouin, of Agri-Marché Inc.
The FX Aherne Prize for Innovative Pork Production is an opportunity for the industry to recognize those individuals who have developed either original solutions to pork production challenges or creative uses of known technology. They are named after the late Dr. Frank Aherne, a professor of swine nutrition and production at the University of Alberta in Edmonton and a major force for science-based progress in the
western Canadian pork industry.
The Agri-Marché Inc. team was recognized for its development of a temperature controlled semen conservation unit for delivery vehicles. This allows temperature stabilization of the semen en route to the destination breeding operation, saving time and protecting semen quality. This supports greater overall planning and efficiency, to strengthen the performance of artificial insemination.
“Among a range of benefits, the Agri-Marché unit is reliable, practical, reusable and inexpensive” Semen quality during insemination is an important issue addressed by this innovation, which represents a major
improvement over existing options such as Styrofoam box transport or temperature controlled coolers that have issues with fragility, space requirements and inconsistent results. Among a range of benefits, the Agri-Marché unit is reliable, practical, reusable and inexpensive. It’s touted as a game changer for the task of delivering semen from the boar centre to the breeders.
Conception Ro-Main earned its award for the creation of an ‘intelligent’ heat lamp controller and piglet creep system. The Intelligence Surveillance System (ISS) is a cutting edge concept that monitors and regulates the temperature of each individual creep in a farrowing room. The result is optimized conditions for piglet health that supports the productivity and profitability of sow production operations.
One example of numerous ISS features is an optional birth-alert function so that timely assistance can be brought to the sow and piglets. The technology has made major inroads since its introduction to the market, with some 6,000 units sold to Canadian swine breeders.
Like so many past Aherne award winners, Joel and Ron Wurz developed their innovation as a response to a practical production problem they encountered on their own operation. Bench Colony had problems with some pit plugs popping out. They came up with a simple yet remarkably effective device to hold the pit plugs in place so the water would not drain off.
The Plug Holder device is adjustable, made of all stainless steel and also serves as a plug puller. It prevents a range of issues including water inefficiency and the potential for gasses and solids to back up in the barn.
May 2013 - Western Hog Journal Banff Edition
