irginia Farms Inc ventured into meat retailing in part to loosen the hold of traders in their pig business.

In the Philippines, the pork meat market is still dominated by traders, called viajeros, who often dictate the live prices of pigs, often to the disadvantage of pig producers. Frederic Chiongbian, Managing Director of Virginia Farms Inc, explained that before the meat shop was established, they were selling their pigs live to viajeros, who wanted 75-85 kg for a certain price. Without an alternative way to market, they were forced to meet the demands of the traders. In an effort to get better margins from their pigs, Virginia Farms decided to go into retail, opening the first Pork Shop in November 2008. the meat shop evolved, we began to As see that we were getting better recoveries with our pigs when we raise them to bigger weights, said Mr Chiongbian. We tried slaughtering them at smaller sizes, like at 80kg and at 90kg, but we saw that the optimum is at least 100kg. So our move was to raise the pigs to an average of 110kg. It meant a little extension on our growing time, but its worth it because of the better recoveries.

Retail performance leads Virginia Farms growth

Changes in management and a shift in genetics have given the pig operations of Virginia Farms a boost. Since last year the company has also become more aggressive in marketing its own product, with several Pork Shop outlets in Metro Cebu. ISA Q. TAN reports that with the meat shops performing well beyond expectations, their growth is likely to fuel the growth in farm operations.
He said they were sceptical when they first opened the Pork Shop, but they are now very pleased with its performance, which is much better than expected. Demand has risen. In November 2010, four new outlets were added to the two existing Pork Shops. Last March, another one opened, bringing the total number of outlets around Metro Cebu to seven. Already, Pork Shop has built a reputation as source of high quality and fresh pork meat in the area. We want to sell what we produce, and with the seven outlets, we can already accommodate all the meat produced by the farm, said Mr Nonon Tambago, Vice President of Virginia Farms Inc.
Top (from left): Nonon Tambago with PIC Philippines Nelo Ladioray, Nonoy Garrido, and Manny Go. Left: Pork Shop has already gained reputation as source of high quality and fresh pork meat in the Metro Cebu area.

Reproduced courtesy of ASIAN PORK MAGAZINE August/September 2011

After implementing changes in genetics and management practices, Virginia Farms saw its production spike.

Quality pigs equal quality pork meat All of the meat sold in Pork Shops outlets comes from their very own farms Virginia Farms and Asturias Farms 2000-sow operations in Compostela and Asturias, Cebu. Virginia Farms, which was depopulated and underwent a facelift, is now almost 100% stocked with PIC pigs. Currently there are five buildings that include a breeding house, a farrowing house, two nurseries and one grow-out. Likewise, changes in management practices were implemented, with the advice and support of PIC. Because we now produce our own parent stocks, we house them separately when they get to the nursery stage, said Mr Tambago. Before we would put them with the slaughter pigs, but now we have an area that is customised especially for the PS. Weve also hired a gilt development specialist specifically focused on gilt production who follow all the programs to ensure that we maximise the potential of our PS stocks. These programs include proper acclimatisation, vaccination, development and gilt conditioning so that come breeding time, the gilts are really ready to perform. Throughout the breeding process, a quality control system is in place to ensure that the maximum number of sows and gilts bred will really get pregnant. We also learned some techniques that help improve

breeding, related Mr Tambago. For example, you have to caress or massage the gilts and the sows during breeding. Also, we extend boar exposure of the sows and gilts. In many farms, the boar is taken away once artificial insemination is finished, but in our case, even 30 minutes after the sows and gilts have been inseminated, we still have the boar there. Thats because the more the female is stimulated, the more active contractions she gets and the more likelihood that the semen will reach its destination. If you take away the boar, the contractions might stop and the semen might not reach the destination and therefore, no pregnancy. When these practices were applied, the farrowing rate went up, and as a result, production also increased. Because of better efficiencies, our production went up last year, explained Mr Tambago. It actually led to a bit of a problem because we ended up with stocking problems. Instead of having 20 heads per pen, we had to stock 25-30 heads per pen.

And the pigs still grow fast. Whole year average daily gain in 2010 reached 570g from birth, but so far this year the level has gone up to about 620g. One batch even reached an ADG of 699g, but Mr Tambago said they are currently happy with an ADG hovering between 600-620g. To accommodate the additional stocks expected, the plan is to add a new building every year. We will do the expansion slowly, said Mr Tambago, adding that the plan for Virginia Farms is to eventually go back to its former sow population. The farm now has its own grandparent stocks to ensure a steady supply of PS. Were 100% confident with the PIC genetics, remarked Mr Tambago. We are very happy with the resulting pork meat. Before, we didnt pay too much attention to it, but since we started selling our meat, we are seeing the difference. We have been getting feedback from our customers that our pork meat is good quality. And of course, you wouldnt want to give customers bad meat. So we really appreciate the genetics and the overall performance of our pigs. Although the plan is to increase harvest weights, Mr Tambago explained that they are not able to do this consistently at the moment because of the high demand from the meat shops. With the genetics that we are using, if we harvest at less than 100kg, we are not optimising the pigs potential. But while we plan to increase our harvest weights, we cannot do that right now because of the unexpected growth in demand we got from our meat shops. We ended up slaughtering the pigs earlier. Keeping the meat safe Ensuring the quality and safety of its pork is of paramount importance to Virginia Farms. Before the pigs are slaughtered they are given a 6-hour rest period. We give them the rest to lessen the stress on pigs and thereby

Market hogs are raised to at least 100kg.

Reproduced courtesy of ASIAN PORK MAGAZINE August/September 2011

One of the nurseries in Virginia Farms.

minimise drip loss in carcass, explained Mr Tambago. If the pigs are stressed prior to slaughtering, the quality of the meat, including the taste, the colour and the flavour, is affected. And we see to it that our meat quality last beyond our meat shops. Some consumers would buy meat, but theyd likely put that in the freezer to use another day, and we want to make sure that the quality of our meat is still good even if they do that. The pigs are slaughtered in an AAA slaughtering facility in Cebu City at around 10pm and in less than 30 minutes, the chilled carcasses should be in the freezer, where they stay for four hours before being cut. To prevent any contamination, only carcasses are brought to the cutting facility. The Pork Shop also boasts of its meat cutting facility where controlled temperatures are strictly

maintained. This ensures that only the freshest and cleanest pork products are served. Workers at the meat cutting plant follow strict protocols to ensure meat safety. Cut meats are packed right away and readied for delivery the same day. Our protocol is that by 4am, all the meat for the shops and the other orders are ready and by 5:30am they are ready to go to the shops, pointed out Mr Tambago. The meat cuts are delivered to the various outlets in companyowned refrigerated trucks to keep them at low temperature and prevent spoilage. Different outlets get different cuts depending on the demand from the area they serve. Growth and development From all indications, the Pork Shops success is well underway, but for now, there are

no immediate plans for further expansion. Virginia Farms currently slaughter about 72 heads daily, a little more than half of the meat cutting plants full capacity of 130 heads/day. During peak periods, the number might increase, as it did last December when the holiday demand pushed their daily slaughter to about 110 heads. We only slaughter enough to meet the daily demand, explained Mr Tambago. We only have a small freezer in the cutting plant, and we dont want to store the meat longer than necessary. Our maximum inventory is 1.5 days. The plan is to firmly establish Pork Shops operations and ensure their sustainability. The demands of the meat shops will be dictating the expansion of the pig farms in the future, said Mr Tambago. The opportunities for growth in retailing is there and as Pork Shop grows, our farms pig production will follow, because we will only sell our own produce to ensure that our consumer are getting the quality meat that we promise. The three things we wont sacrifice in are our product quality, n our service and our price.

Reproduced courtesy of ASIAN PORK MAGAZINE August/September 2011