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Students pick up pig skills at Michigan ‘swine school’

By SHELLY STRAUTZ-SPRINGBORN
Michigan Correspondent

ITHACA, Mich. — A group of students are learning about pork production through hands-on instruction.

Swine Jobs School is a pilot project put together by Michigan State University extension and the North Central Risk Management Education Center. It is designed to teach students the skills needed to work with pigs as well as teach job and interpersonal skills needed for employment.

Gerald May, extension educator in Gratiot County, said the school is aimed at training students with varied educational backgrounds, who are looking for new employment opportunities.

“The program’s goal is to train young individuals or people who are looking for new skills to reenter the job field,” May explained.
“The program will help students looking for employment to find good-paying jobs. It also provides producers with employees who have some training.”

Swine Jobs School provides supervised on-farm training and work experience in modern, environmentally controlled production facilities. Participants gain experience in all phases of pork production, plus classroom instruction in record-keeping, identifying and treating diseases, feeding and nutrition, ventilation and farm maintenance and farm communications.

The first two weeks of the school includes 10 sessions that combine classroom instruction with supervised on-farm training. During this time, participants receive technical training and supervised work experience in breeding, farrowing, nursery and finishing phases of production and feed processing.

To reinforce on-farm supervised training, Swine Jobs School includes 12 weeks of on-farm work experience.

While completing this training, students work at least 20 hours per week on a swine farm in their community, rotating through all phases of the farm.

The areas of production emphasized depend on the interests of the student and the needs of the host farm. During this time, students continue classroom instruction one time per week in practical areas of pork production.

Nearly one-third of Michigan’s sow herd is located in counties across central Michigan, from Oceana and Mason counties on the west side, to Mecosta and Gratiot in the center of the state and east to Huron County in Michigan’s Thumb region.

These farms are modern production facilities with more than 2,000 sows per breeding farm and contract finishers exceeding 4,000 head per site.

“It is interesting to note that most of this production has been developed over the last 10 years and is located in areas with less history of pork production,” said Dale Rozeboom, MSU associate professor of animal science and extension specialist. “These farms need employees with a general knowledge of pork production and a basic set of animal husbandry and professional skills.”

The pilot class includes three current farm employees and one newcomer.

“One individual is doing on-farm work experience right now,” May said. “The other three individuals are taking the class to further their understanding of the industry and to help them become better employees.”

The Swine Jobs School is taught by MSU Pork Team members. It is supported by MSU extension, the National Pork Board, Circle K Family Farms, LLC, Lafayette Pork Production, LLC, the Gratiot Isabella RESD and the Alma High School Vocational Ag Program. For more information visit http://web1.msue.msu.edu/msue/aoe/swine or contact May at 989-875-5233.

10/21/2009