The agreement requires that each member deliver corn to the operation. No partner has more than 20 percent of the ownership. Webb says the key to the operation is expertise. They hired Production Health Associates of Worthington, Minn., for veterinary work, which makes all the management decisions, such as pig flow, bookkeeping and other issues. Whether the co-op is profitable will depend on efficiency, Webb says.
Efficiency is the big thing that drives our program.
Feed efficiency, death loss and running the barns at 100 percent full are the main indicators. That's one thing you live and learn on. You need somebody with know- ledge whose capable of making some major decisions. You need a party that isn't in the arena, but can stand on the outside and look in both directions. They can look at production, the flow of pigs, the genetics.