Veterinarian Jewel White and her colleagues are the winners of this year’s F. X. Aherne Prize for Innovative Pork Production for creating something they call the “Backspacer Device.”
The invention is simple but significantly improves animal care and worker safety in pork barns during blood sampling.
White is the herd veterinarian for Maple Leaf Agri-Farms in Landmark, Man. and regularly collects blood samples.
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Why it matters: The Backspacer Device makes blood sampling easier and safer for both workers and animals.
“The most common method is for a barn worker to use a snout snare to restrain the gilt or sow in a temporary stall for the procedure and pull the pig forward while the team member leans into the stall,” she said. “Pulling the pig forward with a snare stresses both the pig and the team member. And if the snare comes loose, the pig can suddenly impact the team member and cause injury.
“I thought that there must be a device to make blood collection safer and less stressful, so I analyzed the process. I realized that if we could move the pig toward the forward to the end of the stall during the process so it couldn’t back up, the team member could have better access to draw blood.”
Not only would this create less stress for the pig, but it would be safer for people handling the pigs. It also needed to be portable, comfortable for the pig and easy to wash and disinfect.
White said she discussed the idea with veterinary assistant, Ronald Nayre and maintenance technician, Jim Kehler.
“Together the three of us discussed and developed the Maple Leaf Agri-Farms (MLAF) Backspacer Device which met all of our criteria for success.”
She said the team conceptualized a smooth spacer that could be inserted behind a pig – almost like moving a car seat forward so the driver is well positioned and secure.
“We created a light, aluminum device that could be inserted into the stall during the process and moved to the next stall when the process is complete.”
The Backspacer Device has the following components:
• 1-inch aluminum square tubing
• 5/16-inch stainless steel rod
• ¾ x 3/16-inch stainless flat bar
• 1/8-inch puck board
“Through our innovation, we reduced pig stress, improved overall care and protected our people,” said White. “Given the success we’ve experienced with our multiplication herds, we now have created identical devices for all our Maple Leaf Agri-Farms sow barns.”
She said her team is happy to share the concept with the larger pork industry to improve the care that all pig producers can provide to their pigs.
How the device was created followed a pattern that is typical of Aherne Prize winners, said award committee chair Ben Willing, an associate professor at the University of Alberta.
“Someone has an idea, often teammates get involved and the product ends up finding use across that operation and others in the industry,” he said. “Those grassroots efforts typically draw widespread interest because they make a real difference in daily production work.”
The award is named after Frank Aherne, who was a professor at the University of Alberta and a major force for science-based progress in the Canadian pork industry. It was presented at the recent Banff Pork Seminar.
