Rout Sow Farm Earns Most Improved Q4 2022
posted on Wednesday, August 30, 2023
Congratulations to Bert Weide and the Rout Sow 2 farm for earning the Q4 Most Improved Sow Farm award. If you talked to Bert, you’d likely hear that this team’s earned it several times over in a short period, but they are feeling good about the trajectory of the farm’s overall health and productivity.
Chris Nydegger, the farm’s sow supervisor, said focusing on a consistent animal care routine has helped them stabilize and gain incremental improvements. “The team has focused on things they can control, like feeding in farrowing, treatment options for sows and piglets, heat checking and AI technique.”
Bert, the farm's longtime manager, explains that the team also focuses on goal setting, cross-training, and implementing new ideas and methods to improve sow livability.
Nick Benge, the farm’s veterinarian, adds that the Rout team is good about asking questions and is willing to try new ideas to improve the farm.
Both the breeding and farrowing teams have implemented the strategy of two-person choring, which has helped them identify early indicators that sows need treatment. Bert is proud of the team atmosphere that has been built and mentions that new employees get to "buddy up" until they are comfortable with all the animal care accountabilities.
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lex Umbaugh, a sow livability specialist, says Bert and her team have been a true joy to work with and that it’s been fun to implement the new choring approach at the farm. “This team is becoming more consistent in observing at-risk sows, and their caliper accuracy has looked good over the last year. You can tell the herd’s condition is where it needs to be.”
The team’s current roster includes Bert Weide, Hunter Carmichael, Jeff Cormaney, Austin Franzen, Sacoya Jenkins, Lauren Keane, Alejandro Ponce Martinez, Lena Powell, Julisa Sanchez, Beverly Shockey and George Van Arsdale.
This farm--located outside of Dows—has had 16 appearances in the SelectPride top ten list, two of which were in the number one spot. Their strong track record of performance is a testament to the team’s commitment, competitiveness and determination to overcome challenges.
“We’ll get back up to the top ten soon,” said Bert. “We know what to do and how to get there.”
We are thrilled to extend our heartfelt congratulations to Bert and the Rout Sow 2 farm team for their well-deserved recognition as recipients of the Most Improved Sow Farm award.
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