LOCATION: Morris, Minnesota
SIZE: 250 Boar Capacity
SERVICES: Boarding, collection, processing and delivery

OWNER TEAM BLENDS INDUSTRY EXPERIENCE

AIPartners was started in 1999 by a team of 4 couples from the Morris, Minnesota area with various backgrounds in the hog industry: The Andersons have owned the Morris Vet Center since 1972; the Zierke's own The Zierke Company, the Lesmeisters have over 13 years experience as owner/operators of a 200-sow farrow-to-feeder pig operation; and the Nordquists have been owners of Environmental Control Systems for over 20 years.

FACILITY DESIGNED AROUND WORKFLOW NEEDS

The 12,300 square foot facility is a renovated farrow to feeder pig barn that has been specially redesigned to facilitate the unique workflow needs of a boar stud. It includes space for 250 boar stalls, 5 warm-up pens, 5 collection areas and a 1,600 square foot laboratory. Bruce Zierke, the AI Partners Stud Manager says, "The layout of the facility allows our team to be highly efficient and handle large volumes of semen with low overhead. It's a great set-up."

ZIERKE BOARS MEET STRICT HEALTH ENTRY TESTS

To ensure the safety and health of the entire herd, boars entering the stud must undergo strict health screening and testing procedures. Bruce adds, "The tests are mandatory, but we never worry about the health of incoming Zierke boars. Zierke's reputation for high health animals is solid."

ZIERKE DUROCS ARE POPULAR

One of the most popular boars in the stud right now is the Zierke Duroc. Bruce explains, "There seems to be a big demand for Durocs right now, mostly for their excellent meat quality. The Zierke Durocs we've got in the stud have some of the highest indexes in the nation. They perform well and consistently produce large volumes of high quality semen."

CUTTING EDGE LAB FACILITY ENSURES QUALITY

The boar stud's new 1,600 square foot, state-of-the-art laboratory uses the most progressive analyzing and processing equipment in the industry. Tools such as a phase contrast trinocular microscope, connected to a large computer monitor via a digital camera allow technicians to examine semen at every state of the handling process to guarantee the highest-level of semen quality and accurate concentration of viable sperm. Pam adds, "It's our lab facility that sets us apart from our competitors. We've got the equipment and expertise to guarantee the quality of every dose we ship."

QUALITY SEMEN STARTS WITH QUALITY GENETICS

"Typically our boar stud houses the best of the best," says Bruce. "When our customers buy or lease an AI stud boar to be placed in our facility, they want premium genetics. That's why we've got so many Zierke boars."

AI WITHOUT THE HASSLES

Bruce concludes, "At AIPartners we feel good about helping producers use an artificial insemination breeding program without all the hassles of collecting and processing. With our help, they can focus their time and energy on the other demands of their operation, such as choosing the right genetics.

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