Holdings Sustainability Report 2022 FINAL - Flipbook - Page 13
PIGS
Sow Farm Pig Care at PIPESTONE: our pigs rely entirely on us to meet their needs. Because they rely on us
to meet their needs and care for their welfare, we have an obligation to do so. At PIPESTONE, we have zero
tolerance for neglect or willful acts of abuse on farm.
2022 Activity
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Updated the PIPESTONE Welfare Policy based on
guidance from our welfare panel
Adapted our program around the 5 domains of
animal welfare, including 4 specific welfare goals
for all caretakers
Updated our internal welfare audit program
based on guidance from our PIPESTONE welfare
committee as well as feedback from our welfare
panel
Researched open wound treatment options and
modified our open wound treatment plan when a
superior treatment was determined
Implemented “Critical Care Sow Cards” in
response to internal audits and guidance from our
welfare panel
Added animal welfare topics each month to our
swine veterinarian monthly continuing education
program
Modified our anti-inflammatory treatment approach
based on guidance from our welfare panel
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Broadened our welfare program to include wean
to market swine production as we continued to
grow the company in this area
Trained sow farm animal care takers in the
following topics
• Annual welfare policy
• Animal observations
• Early signs of illness
• Animal handling (specific for piglets, sows,
culls, due to farrow sows, and boars)
• The importance of timely euthanasia
• Euthanasia methods
• Confirming appropriateness of euthanasia
Internal Audits
• All our sow farms maintained active PQA
site assessment status
• Other internal results BELOW
External Audits
• Results BELOW
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
Average Audit Score
91.5
91.4
97.6
98.3
98.3
Number of Audits
23.0
33.0
7.0
30.0
27.0
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
Average Audit Score
9.6
9.7
9.7
9.5
9.7
Number of Audits
582
637
542
524
631
Third-Party Audits
Internal Audits
Welfare Expert Panel
• Anna Kerr Butters-Johnson, BSc, MSc, PhD, Professor, Animal Behavior and Welfare, Iowa State University
• Monique Pairis-Garcia, DVM, PhD, DACAW--Associate Professor, Global Production Animal Welfare, North Carolina State University
• Madonna Benjamin, DVM, MS, DACAW Associate Professor, Swine Extension Veterinarian College of Veterinary Medicine, Michigan State University.
• Carissa Odland, DVM, MS, Manager of Sustainability, Wholestone Farms
2023 Goals:
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Implement monthly training courses on animal welfare.
Continue validation of performance through: Monthly veterinary visits to sow farms for animal welfare
assessments and training, internal audits completed annually with scores over 90%, one third party
audit every 24 months with scores over 90%.
2022 Annual and Sustainability Report
13