A Ninette area Hutterite Colony has claimed the top award at the Hog Days Brandon 2011 Pork Quality Competition.
Wellwood Colony of Ninette topped a field of 30 entries from Manitoba and Saskatchewan to claim first place in the 2011 Pork Quality Competition held yesterday as part of Hog Days Brandon.
Pork Quality Competition judge Dr. Bob McKay explains the competition showcases our top quality pork and allows producers to see how their breeding stock stacks up against the breeding stock of their piers.
The very simple aspects are we look at the yield, we look at the index, we look at the weight.
Those are the three criteria that are used to evaluate value of carcasses whether you’re at Maple Leaf or at the Hylife plant in Neepawa.
What we add, meat color, texture, marbling, the quality of the belly and how big the loin is and you have to have that.
Years ago we just had shows where it was the index, the yield and these quality measures were given trivial numbers of points and if you had a really good yielding carcass you pretty much had the show wrapped up.
Now you have to have a good quality carcass.
It makes it a whole lot better show in the sense that quality does come out.
We’re not selling pigs, we’re selling pork.
The meat has to be lean and nutritious.
If it isn’t we’re not going to sell it abroad.
We export the vast majority of what we produce.
If we haven’t got a quality product people aren’t going to buy from us so quality has to come into the equation.
It is that important.
This year’s winners included Wellwood Colony of Ninette with the first place carcass followed by Sprucewood Colony of Brookdale in second, Boundary Lane Colony of Elkhorn in third, Plainview Colony of Elkhorn in fourth and New Haven South Colony of Stonewall in fifth.
Dr. McKay notes proceeds from the competition will be donated to local charities during the Christmas season.
