Whiteshire Hamroc LLC signs joint venture with Chinese swine company

Recently, Justin Fix, Ph.D., Vice President of Global Technical Service for the National Swine Registry, attended the joint venture signing ceremony between Whiteshire Hamroc LLC and Tangrenshen Co. Ltd. The ceremony was held to celebrate the next step in the partnership between these two companies – the construction of an international genetic research and development facility in Northeast Indiana. Whiteshire Hamroc LLC, a genetics company located in Albany, Ind., has been a long-time member of NSR and utilizes STAGES™ for their genetic program. Tangrenshen Co. Ltd. is the operating partner behind Meishan Whitshire – the first Chinese-based joint venture to record U.S. derived pigs born in China with NSR.

The new research and genetic facility will participate in the STAGES™ genetic evaluation system and will quickly become one of the premier purebred herds in the world. In addition to the research, training will be provided for both domestic and international swine farm managers and workers to enhance the implementation and success of genetic programs.

Dr. Fix was invited to speak on behalf of NSR about the genetic and scientific benefits a facility like this will provide to all involved.

To read the official press release from Whiteshire Hamroc regarding the joint venture, please see below.

Justin Fix, Ph.D., discusses the benefits of the new facility with attendees.

Pictured (l to r): Mr. Darick Wong, Vice Chairman of the Boar of Directors, Tangrenshen, and Chairman of the new farm; Dr. Brian Richert, Associate Professor, Purdue University; Dr. Ron Brock, Area Veterinarian, USDA; Dr. Justin Fix, VP of Global Technical Service, NSR; Dr. Allan Schinckel, Professor, Purdue University; and Dr. Mike Lemmon, Owner, Whiteshire Hamroc. 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

International Research & Development Farm to be Located in NE Indiana U.S. Company Signs Joint Venture Agreement with Chinese Partner

Whiteshire Hamroc LLC, a Noble County Indiana swine genetics company, announces a joint venture cooperation with Tangrenshen Co. Ltd., an integrated pork and feed company in Hunan Province, China, to build an international research and development farm in Northeast Indiana. A joint venture signing ceremony will be held on June 9th, 2012 at the Kendallville Event Center beginning at 10:30 AM.

“This new facility is to be the first international swine research and development farm for both the United States and China,” said Michael Lemmon, CEO of Whiteshire Hamroc LLC. “Employees will perform genetic and production research on traits and techniques that will be specifically utilized in genetic improvement programs for farms both in the United States and China,” Lemmon added.

The research center will double as a training ground for farm managers from China. Not only will they learn about new genetic and production techniques/technology, but will also receive management training. “The instruction will be focused on developing more effective, successful production teams and improving efficiency on the farms in China, which is the world’s largest producer and consumer of pork.” explained Lemmon.

According to Scott Lawrence of Whiteshire Hamroc, other U.S. swine genetics companies will assist in providing genetic components and guiding the research and development projects at the new facility. “The partners in PureTek Genetics LLC will provide valuable genetic assets and other assistance with this project,” said Lawrence. Along with Whiteshire Hamroc, PureTek Genetics members include Tempel Genetics Inc. and Shaffer Superior Genetics Inc. of Indiana, and Cedar Ridge Farms Inc. of Illinois. “The PureTek Genetics LLC team will provide the largest purebred genetic base in the world for further development and testing on this new research farm. Tangrenshen and their Chinese customers will benefit directly from PureTek’s combined efforts toward genetic improvement,” Lawrence added.

Local Impact

Locally, the new research and development farm will generate at least 25 long term jobs and well over 100 short term construction jobs. Local vendors, veterinarians, businesses and contractors will have the opportunity to provide goods and services to the project. The property taxes generated are estimated to be significantly higher than those currently being paid on the eventual property where the farm will be built. Local hotels, restaurants and retailers will benefit from the steady stream of Chinese visitors that will come to this facility for training, selection of animals, or touring the state of the art facilities. “In short,” says Lemmon, “Northeast Indiana will become a destination for Chinese people that are involved with the most important agricultural product in China… swine.”

Background

In 2008, Whiteshire Hamroc LLC signed its first long term joint venture agreement with Tangrenshen Co. Ltd. With this original agreement, Whiteshire Hamroc agreed to provide technologies crucial to a successful production system including swine genetics, building systems, and production protocols to its Chinese partner. Since that time, the 1200-sow Meishen Whiteshire farm has been constructed in Zhuzhou, Hunan Province, China. This joint venture production system has been in production since the fall of 2008, and features Whiteshire’s patented AirWorks buildings.

The Meishen Whiteshire farm has been populated with Whiteshire Hamroc breeding stock from the United States. Production has been ongoing and currently approaches the same levels and quality of production as Whiteshire’s farms in the United States. Meishen Whiteshire is the first foreign swine farm to receive U.S. pedigrees and registrations from the National Swine Registry in West Lafayette, IN. In addition, the Meishen Whiteshire Farm was recognized as one of China’s top Nucleus Farms in 2011.

Sales of the purebred breeding pigs from the Meishen Whiteshire farm have been excellent and demand for breeding pigs has resulted in the development of a second Meishen 1200-sow farm in Hebei Province, China. The construction of this second farm has already started and should be ready to accept a new group of Whiteshire pigs from the United States by the end of 2012.

CONTACT:

Scott Lawrence

Whiteshire Hamroc, LLC

4728 N 200 W

Albion, IN 46701

260-636-7304 ext 111

slwarence@whiteshirehamroc.com

NSR names VP of Member Outreach & Youth Development and Junior Activity Coordinator

I am pleased to announce the hiring of Brian Arnold, Lafayette, Ill., as the VP of Member Outreach & Youth Development for the National Swine Registry. Brian is a graduate of Black Hawk East and Purdue University. He has served as an ag business instructor and co-livestock judging coach at Black Hawk East since 2006. He and his wife, Molly, along with their 1-year-old son, Reece, will be relocating to the West Lafayette area in the near future. We are excited to have Brian on board starting July 9th.



We have also hired Torie Schwartz, Rossville, Ind., as the Junior Activities Coordinator. Torie is a graduate of Black Hawk East and Western Illinois University, where she was a member of both school's livestock judging teams. Torie also served as a junior board member and officer for the American Junior Shorthorn Association. We look forward to having Torie as part of our team.

Both Brian and Torie will be attending the NSR Summer Spectacular in Louisville, so make sure to stop and introduce yourself to them!

Pedigree Portal: Exhibiting a Bred-and-Owned Gilt

As many of you are aware, NJSA shows offer Bred-and-Owned awards for gilts as a special way to recognize junior exhibitors who are raising and showing their own pigs. For those of you headed to the NSR Summer Spectacular, this is a great opportunity and I thought I would go through the rules so you can make sure to be considered for this award if you raised your own hogs.

To be eligible for Bred-and-Owned awards, the exhibitor must declare that his or her pig is Bred-and-Owned when going through the pedigree portion of check in. The exhibitor must be shown as both the breeder and the current owner on the gilt’s registration paper. The name of the breeder or the current owner is not allowed to be in a family or farm name that includes a partner over 21 years of age. If there is more than one name listed on the pedigree, both exhibitors must be NJSA members from the same family.  Also, when the dam of the Bred-and-Owned gilt was bred, the exhibitor must have been her owner.

If you have a gilt that fits the qualifications above, you can compete for the Bred-and-Owned awards. The Champion and Reserve Champion Bred-and-Owned gilts will be selected by the judge during the gilt show, and then DNA tested after the show to verify correct parentage and stress negative status.

I hope this helps you as you head to Louisville in a couple weeks. If you have questions, please feel free to contact an NSR or NJSA representative.

I hope to see you at the Summer Spectacular!

Whitney Hosier

Stock Marketing: Building excitement about entries

Whew, we survived an exciting and busy week at Expo. One of my favorite aspects of my job is seeing the high quality animals that are exhibited at our shows and sales.

As producers, I know you guys are constantly striving to raise the next “great one.” So this month in Stock Marketing, I’m going to share a few quick tricks you can use to promote your entries for the summer sales, shows and conferences.

• Get a good picture.  A picture is worth a thousand words, so if you want potential buyers to get excited about your entry – snap a good picture. Sure, you can tell people it’s a “great one,” but often, seeing is believing. Such was the case in Duncan last year when Bruce and Jenny Kaufman of Kaufman Showpigs, Crawfordsville, Iowa, got a great shot of their Hillbilly Bone son. His picture drew the interest of Prairie State Semen Supply, who purchased their boar called Billy Bob. The same picture that Bruce and Jenny took is now on the cover of the PSSS Spring catalog.
• Take to the world-wide web. Once you’ve got your picture, post it to your website. (While you’re at it, check out some quick web tips from last month.) Be sure to include which show or sale the animal will be consigned to, as well as the dates. If you don’t have a website - or if you would like some added publicity - leverage your connections in the industry by posting the pictures to your Facebook page, blog or Twitter.
• Call your fieldman. NSR fieldmen like to get out and see good pigs. If you think you have a good entry, give them a call, and see if they have time to swing by.
• Don’t cry wolf. The seedstock industry is built on trust, so before you tell everyone that you have the next “great one,” take a step back and really evaluate your animal. Note their strengths AND weaknesses, and give potential buyers an accurate description of your entry. The most common mistake is over-promoting an animal that can’t live up to the hype.  

I can’t wait to see what everyone brings to Louisville, and remember – if you buy or sell a good one, give us a call at Seedstock EDGE to put your breeding piece in print. Next month in Stock Marketing, I will be sharing some tips on making great ads – just in time for the September Showpig Issue.

See you this summer! 

Katie

Live from Des Moines... It's the World Pork Expo!

Greetings from Des Moines! The 2012 edition of the World Pork Expo is officially under way. With a record number of entries in the World Pork Expo Junior National, a great lineup of judges and, of course, great hogs, we're very excited to get the shows started tomorrow. Below are some "candids" from the barn as exhibitors began unloading and registering their entries today.

National Swine Registry CEO Mike Paul chats with Eastern Region Fieldman Ralph Doak about the hogs they've seen in the barn so far.

Members of National Junior Swine Association (NJSA) and Team Purebred check-in junior exhibitors in the swine barn.

A family unloads their gilt. This year's World Pork Expo Junior National features a record-breaking number of entries!

The show ring is set for tomorrow's shows.

Courtney Smith and Kaylee Miller took a break from check-in to pose for a photo.

This Yorkshire hog was curious to see our camera.

Not making it to Expo this year? No problem! The NSR Marketing & Communications team will be providing live updates through this week's shows. Check the NSR Shows & Sales blog or our Twitter feed (@NationalSwine) for results. Feel feel to tweet using the hashtag #NPPCWPX all week. Good luck to all exhibitors and safe travels to those still en route to Des Moines!

Meet the Interns - Corey Carpenter

Greetings from the sunshine state! It is my distinct honor and privilege to introduce myself to you as the 2012 Field Staff Intern! To be granted the opportunity to serve you, the members of the NSR, is a true gift. My intentions are to bring a unique and valuable skill set to the NSR, which can be utilized in such a way that is profitable for everyone involved.

My story may start off like many other young adults involved in the swine industry, but it’s comes with an interesting twist. Being from California, I’ll be the first one to admit hogs aren’t exactly our state’s number one commodity. Although this may be the situation, that does not make my passion for hogs any less. Growing up on a hog and dairy farm, two things were readily instilled in me – work ethic and a love for agriculture. Those two traits created the perfect foundation for me to start my journey in agriculture. Farming has always been a way of life for our family, and it is my pledge to continue that tradition.

As I continue my education this coming fall at California State University, Chico, I look forward to the opportunities in my future. After I graduate with a B.S. in animal science in the spring of 2013, I plan to begin studying monogastric nutrition. Although I plan to attend Oklahoma State University for my graduate degree, I will apply to a few other universities as well. Nutrition has always been a strong interest of mine, and it has always come relatively easy to me. I love hogs, I love feeding hogs, and I am a firm believer that when you love what you do, success is second nature. Although these are a few of my ultimate goals and ambitions, I don’t plan to limit myself in any one aspect. Opportunities are notorious for arising in places you may have never imagined.

Working alongside some of the most brilliant people in the business here at NSR, while having the opportunity to serve our members, will undoubtedly be my most memorable experience in the swine industry to date. I hope that my time here leaves a positive impact on an ever-changing industry. I hope to see each and every one of you at the shows this summer. Please do not hesitate to say hello or contact me in anyway. Good luck to everyone showing in Des Moines next week, and we will see you there!

Corey Carpenter

2012 Field Staff Intern