Tumelo Seakakgole
I take care of the pigs. I make sure they are healthy.
Tumelo Seakakgole
Swine Technician, Pure Pork Farms
At Pure Pork Farms we are raising pigs from birth to the day we ship them as a hog to finishing. I take care of the pigs. I make sure they are healthy. They have water, their feed. I treat them with vaccinations.
When I first get to the farm I check things like water, the feed, any sick pigs. If they need help, I give them help. As the day goes, we do the breeding which is done through artificial insemination and we also help with farrowing (the birthing process) and then in the nursery we are raising the pigs to eventually go to the market.
I'm from South Africa. Before I came to Canada, I was working in the USA at a pig farm there and I saw the posting for Pure Pork Farms. I have been here three years now.
I have a national diploma in animal production from South Africa. It was a three year program.
Here we have a weekly production cycle so there's a group that gets bred weekly. There's a group that farrows weekly. It takes three months, three weeks, and three days for a sow to have her babies and so every week we breed a number, and three weeks, three months, and three days later, she farrows.
I learned a lot from Joel (owner) when I came here. He told me that I must have communication with the pigs. They will tell me what they need, then I should give them what they need, then I should check how they respond after giving them what they need. So if they respond well, that means I gave them what they need.
When I got here, I told Amy and Joel that I feel like I'm home, so I want to stay here. And they supported me to get adapted to this place. Because I have a wife and two kids, I want to bring them here and start our life in Canada.
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