Farm-Scape, Episode 1635

The Prairie Swine Centre is counting on a final push this month to complete its campaign to raise the one million dollars necessary cover the capital and initial operating costs of the Pork Interpretive Gallery.

The Pork Interpretive gallery, located in the attic space of the Prairie Swine Centre's Elstow, Saskatchewan research barn, celebrated the first anniversary of its official opening last month.

Since its unofficial opening, in March of last year, well over two thousand people have visited. Information Services Manager Lee Whittington hopes an offer by PIC Canada to match, dollar for dollar, donations collected during November up to 20 thousand dollars, will take the fund raising over the top.

"In our capital campaign for the Pork Interpretive Gallery, we've raised 975 thousand dollars in cash and pledges to date.

This is certainly a huge chunk of our goal which was to raise one million dollars which would build the interpretive centre as well as provide some operating funds for the first couple of years.

The Pork Interpretive Gallery, I think it's safe to say, has been even more successful than we had even hoped for in terms of the reaction of people coming through.

They love to see the pigs. They love to see what a real barn looks like. The industry has been extremely supportive of this project in terms of their donations towards building it and brining groups through.

We use the interpretive centre frequently for training groups, pork production groups. We use it for bringing school groups through. We've brought through various industry related groups. Visitors from 17 almost countries, now, have been through as well."

Whittington says, under normal circumstances, visitors would not be allowed into a modern swine barn but the gallery's separate air space allows visitors to see what goes on without compromising the facility's bio-security.

For Farmscape.Ca, I'm Bruce Cochrane.