By MICHELE F. MIHALJEVICH
Indiana Correspondent ALBION, Ind. — Not only will a new partnership between Whiteshire Hamroc and a Chinese pork firm benefit the Noble County, Ind., swine genetics company, but it may also help the state’s pork industry, the company’s president said.
Under the agreement announced this month, Whiteshire Hamroc will supply source pigs, genetic testing and production management services to Tangren-shen (TRS) of Hunan Province, China. Barns will be constructed there using Whiteshire Hamroc’s patented AirWorks ventilation and building systems.
“They wanted a partner they felt would allow them some freedom and would work with them to satisfy what they thought the Chinese market wanted,” said Mike Lemmon, president of Whiteshire Hamroc. “They knew they had to be progressive and had to adapt new technology.
“In every area of production, they have a lot to learn. But they’ve made good use of what they have. They have people who know how to take care of hogs.”
Whiteshire Hamroc had been looking since 2001 to find a partner to develop a genetic multiplication system, Lemmon said. Company representatives met with officials from TRS during a trip to China.
The Noble County company will supply TRS with 1,000 Yorkshire, Landrace and Duroc pigs as a nucleus herd, Lemmon said. Those pigs should arrive in China about Sept. 1. Three generations later, the great-grandchildren of that nucleus herd will be the first market pigs, he said.
TRS wanted an exclusive arrangement with Whiteshire Hamroc, Lemmon said. The deal still allows Whiteshire Hamroc to sell pigs in China to other customers, but they won’t provide support after the sale.
TRS employees have been training since January to learn the technology involved, Lemmon said.
“This will provide them with better building and environmental technology,” he added. “It will improve the pig environment, improve the level of health and proactive care and will be a planned genetic program.”
TRS is the sixth largest feed miller in China, and the 11th largest meat processor. Its president, Tao Yishan, was in Indiana for the signing of the agreement. He said his company’s strength was in understanding how to market goods in China, and that Whiteshire Hamroc can provide his company with the technology it is lacking.
The venture may help open the market in China to Indiana goods, Lemmon said. “Any time you have a chance to represent Indiana or the United States or Noble County, it goes a long way toward opening up communication for other options,” he said. “We expect to do everything we say we’re going to do, and hopefully that will develop more confidence, that we’re not just there to make money.
“We’re helping them serve their customers, and we’re going over there with that attitude. We have to learn to get along there to help one another.”
Whiteshire Hamroc’s deal with TRS is an example of what Indiana’s pork industry might be able to achieve, said Michael T. Platt, executive director of Indiana Pork. “For those involved in the pork industry in Indiana, this contract represents opportunity and potential for tapping into the Chinese market,” he said. “We are encouraged by Whiteshire Hamroc’s deal.”
Indiana Pork supports a research proposal by Purdue University attempting to get grant money from the USDA to investigate opportunities in the Chinese market for Indiana’s pork producers, he added.
This farm news was published in the April 23, 2008 issue of the Farm World, serving Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan and Tennessee. |
