FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 11, 2005
Contact:
JoAnn Alumbaugh
515.233.2551 – Ames office
641.744.2114 – Home office
joann.alumbaugh@pigchamp.com
PigCHAMP Offers New Benchmarking Service Producers can compare their herds with PigCHAMP Pork Industry Benchmarks.
Ames, IA - Beginning with 2004 year-end data, PigCHAMP is sending customized personal benchmarking reports to customers who send in their data. This allows PigCHAMP users to compare their herd performance to industry standards, thereby helping them identify potential areas of improvement. There is no charge for this service.
"This is the first time a swine software company has offered a service of this kind, and we are pleased to set the industry standard," says Jack Tichy, general manager of PigCHAMP. "The North American pork industry has changed dramatically over the past 10 years, and this benchmarking service will help customers identify their strengths and weaknesses, and make changes accordingly, particularly since our database includes nearly 75% of the North American breeding herd."
Besides the immediate benefit to PigCHAMP customers, the national benchmarking comparisons will provide industry influencers with a bird’s eye view of key production indicators, helping them track pork production trends.
"Over the last few years, we have calculated summaries and averages of benchmarking information on all participating farms, and have subsequently posted those reports on our website,” says Susan Olson, PigCHAMP Information Systems Manager. “In these reports, customers will see where their farm is ranked on several different variables compared to all other farms within our database." Also included in this report will be a brief analysis of one of the variables listed. Dr. John Deen, a highly respected and well-known swine researcher at the University of Minnesota, will provide these analyses.
PigCHAMP will continue this format each quarter, spotlighting different variables each time, and providing Dr. Deen’s analysis of a selected variable. “Producers will find these new reports beneficial to their production,” says Tichy. “As always, individual data is kept confidential, and only each customer will see his/her individual report. This is PigCHAMP’s first step in turning producers’ data into personal knowledge regarding how each farm compares with others."
PigCHAMP is the global leader in providing software and knowledge services to the pork industry. PigCHAMP is a member of the Farms.com Family of companies. Farms.com Ltd. is a leading marketing and information company that provides a wide range of innovative products and services to customers in the agriculture and food industry.