Farm-Scape is sponsored by Manitoba Pork Council and Sask Pork Play Audio Farm-Scape is a Wonderworks Canada production and is distributed courtesy of Manitoba Pork Council and Sask Pork.

Farm-Scape, Episode 1364

Officials of the Prairie Swine Centre expect to conduct in the neighborhood of 200 tours of the new Pork Industry Interpretive Centre during its first year of operation.

The one million dollar Pork Industry Interpretive Centre and Viewing Gallery was officially opened yesterday.

The biosecure educational facility is housed in the attic space of the Prairie Swine Centre's Elstow, Saskatchewan research barn and allows visitors to experience the sights and sounds of a modern working swine barn without compromising the operation's high health protocols.

Interpretive Gallery Manager Cindy Jelinski says the facility is already generating considerable interest and excitement, especially among the school groups.

"I think what teachers are looking for is somewhere new to tour that is new and unique, that it's something live.

So many interpretive centres are just inanimate objects that they look at, they read, they touch but this...they actually see something live.

When you tell them that there's a chance they'll get to see one being born, there's no other place they're going to see anything like that. This is a real live operation.

It is a real pig barn that they are looking at and it's something they just don't get an opportunity to do.

You don't ever get to look above at anything. You can walk through any other barn and it's all at ground level.

This something looking down on it and everyone will find it interesting. The neatest part is it's something that people do not expect.

It is bigger than anyone expects, there's more pigs than they really expect even when you tell them there's 62 hundred and the displays really are nicely done".

Over 700 people have already passed though the gallery as part of a series of test tours conducted to evaluate and fine tune the educational materials.

Jelinski says it's still a little early to accurately estimate the level of interest the gallery will generate but the target is to conduct about 200 tours over the next year...with the bulk of them expected to happen during the school year.