Swine genetics firm Hypor has signed a memo of understanding to buy the purebred nucleus hog herd of an Ontario breeding company.
Shade Oak Swine, based at Tillsonburg, Ont., about 60 km southeast of London, will sell its nucleus Duroc herd including all AI boars and intellectual property rights, and will also give Hypor a distribution deal for Shade Oak’s boar stud division, Total Swine Genetics (TSG).
Shade Oak, owned by the Ypma family, has operated breeding barns for over 20 years and now runs two high-health farrow-to-finish units with 400 and 600 sows respectively. The larger unit was built in 2004.
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Hypor said in a release Wednesday that the deal, and the resulting integration of the two gene pools, allows Hypor to further strengthen and optimize its own Duroc sire line program. Hypor expects to seal the deal with Shade Oak by the third quarter of this fiscal year, for an undisclosed sum.
“We became leaders by adopting the industry’s latest and most advanced testing tools, but ongoing advances in genetic selection technology now come with a very high price tag,” Shade Oak president Arnold Ypma said in Hypor’s release.
“Hypor’s resources and commitment to molecular research ensures that our customers will reap the benefits of new developments.”
TSG’s ownership and operations will not be affected by this transaction, Hypor said, noting it will continue to supply Shade Oak genetics to TSG. Under the agreement, Ypma will also be appointed to the Hypor sire line genetic advisory committee.
“The combining of the Duroc nucleus herds of Shade Oak and Hypor will give an even larger population from which superior animals can be selected for breeding purposes,” Shade Oak said in a separate statement.
“This, along with Hypor’s greater ability to track the performance of commercial market hogs through its Combined Crossbred and Purebred Selection (CCPS) system, will increase the rate of genetic progress even more.”
Shade Oak, Ypma said, “will be able to do much more as a part of the Hypor team than we could on our own as an independent breeder.”
