Quality Pork Tour Follows the Pigs

Rick Exner

The storms let up for a few days in February, and 15 producers, Extension staff, and assorted others logged up to 750 miles in two days of learning about alternative pork. One objective of the tour was to look at parts of the system that are usually out of sight – like the inside of the pig.

On the Tom and Irene Frantzen farm, veterinarian Dennis Riley demonstrated how an on-farm post mortem can help identify health problems in the herd. The liver scars he showed tour participants were left by roundworms (ascarids) as they migrated through the body of the pig. Tom also demonstrated his Temple Grandin-style handling system for sorting and loading.

The Frantzen pigs joined those of several other organic producers on a semi headed for Sioux Preme Packing Company in Sioux Center. Before giving pursuit, tour participants enjoyed a Sunday dinner featuring pork chops from the Fresh Air Pork Circle. Then it was off to Sioux Center for an early morning rendezvous with the pigs at Sioux Preme.

Vice President Gary Malenke took the group through the Sioux Preme plant, and veterinarian Fred Sick showed lungs and livers from several of the animals, some exhibiting various health problems. Tom Frantzen had shipped two different genetics to the plant and was mesmerized by the carcasses as they passed by on the processing line.

After the tour, the group had a wide-ranging conversation with Gary Malenke. Gary showed three sample loins of different color and eating quality, and Extension swine specialist Dave Stender helped explain the connection between meat quality and animal stress. Clearly everyone has a stake in minimizing the stress to meat animals during shipping and handling. Identity preservation is another challenge, and it too carries benefits for everyone from producer to processor to consumer.