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FLY'N K BERKSHIRES ARE TOPS IN TASTE AND TESTING
By Bob Fitch
Lance Knobloch is a big proponent of progeny testing within the Berkshire hog breed to prove their herd has excellent meat quality genetics. Lance said, “The number one reason we chose Berkshires is to provide an awesome eating experience for me and my family. We don’t keep animals unless they prove themselves to have great meat quality. These creatures are too hard to raise just for the sake of doing something with my time.”
The Alvord pork producer and farmer started registering Berkshires in 2010. They tested their genetics at the National Barrow Show up to 2015. Starting in 2017, the American Berkshire Association (ABA) began its own progeny test based on the original NBS Progeny Test, the gold standard in meat animal evaluations. To evaluate growth and feed efficiency, breeders from all over the nation enter eight pigs out of one sire and they go on test at a central location (currently Penn State University) for the grow out period. Then meat quality research is done on each individual pig at Purdue University. Fly’n K Berkshires has progeny tested 32 herd sires between 2013-2021 and 12 of those sires have earned an award for high meat quality within the Berkshire breed. Those results have helped drive the family’s breeding stock sales. Fly’n K has seven sires on test in the 2024 ABA Progeny Test.
According to Lance’s wife, Kristi, “You don't have to go off our word. We think the proof is in the pedigree. All of our Berkshires are registered and we’re testing those genetics.”
Lance has extensively utilized the STAGES (Swine Testing and Genetic Evaluation) program to identify superior maternal animals in their herd. Fly’n K Berkshires have nine of the top 10 Berkshire sows in the nation right now on the Sow Productivity Index (SPI), which ranks individuals for reproductive traits based on their EPD’s for number born alive, number weaned, and 21-day litter weight.
JOURNEY BEGINS AT THE DINNER TABLE
Before the family zeroed in on breeding Berks, their journey into the purebred world started with an old-fashioned taste test at the family dinner table. “Around 2000, I can remember butchering some pigs at a locker. The pork was dry and tough, so I got on this quest for something better. I had sourced some Berks and some Durocs and some meat quality Chester Whites. I dabbled with a few sows,” said Lance. “What we noticed was that the kids ate the Berk pork. The other stuff they’d just chew up and spit it out onto the side of the table.”
Kristi said passing the family taste test continues to be an important part of their research and development. Her freezer always contains pork from several different animals. “We’ll take chops from three or four different animals and cut them into pieces and put a bunch of toothpicks in them. It’s not scientific, but it’s a real test of the taste.”
‘NOT AN EASY RIDE’
Lance’s parents, Ezra and Marie Knobloch, had a typical diversified family farm. His mom had laying hens and they sold broilers in the spring. His dad grew corn, soybeans and alfalfa; plus had about 50 sows in a farrow-to-finish set-up and fed some cattle.
Lance graduated from Iowa State University in 1994; and he and Kristi were married in 1995. Kristi is a native of McLean County, Illinois, where she also was raised on a hog farm. In addition to hogs, Knoblochs grow corn and soybeans and practice strip tillage. All their corn is non-GMO, something Lance started doing in 2012 on the recommendation of some friends who said their hogs were healthier on it. He decided to try it, provided it didn’t cost him any yield. Lance and Kristi’s son, Kelwin, said, “We haven’t seen any yield loss. In fact, our farm is producing corn yields far in excess of the county average.”
Lance said, “When I returned to the farm, my dad was 66 years old and he’d done all the adapting he was going to do. This was right at the beginning of the major shift to large confinements in this area.” Over time, Knoblochs moved from being farrow-to-finish to being farrow-to-wean and then doing custom feeding. The hog market crash of 1998 forced the family to continuously adapt and experiment to try to survive. “It wasn't an easy ride, let me put it that way. There were disease problems and lots of learning.” The family has two double-wide finishers and owns shares in a Pipestone sow unit for their commercial hogs.
Kristi added, “We have the luxury of having our feet in both sides – the commercial pigs and the breeding stock.” Lance continued, “Alone, the Berks couldn't justify the feed mill we own, but the commercial pigs allow us to have the mill for both herds.”
Kelwin lives a mile-and-a-half away. He’s in charge of the commercial herd, feed mill, and manure application in the fall. He’s a graduate of South Dakota State University and works full-time as a production supervisor with Idlenot Farms of Larchwood. His mom said, “Kelwin was a pig guy from the day he was able to go outside by himself. He showed 4-H pigs and guided his brothers through it, whether they wanted to or not.”
In the purebred herd, Fly’n K focuses on sow productivity, meat quality and overall robustness. “There's no other way to say it –we’ve been able to identify genetics that put us on the map,” Lance said.
Fly’n K Berkshires has sold its breeding stock across the country. “Our customer relationships have been a great blessing. If our customers face a problem in their herd – whether it’s with the animals we sold or not – our service extends beyond the sale to help them be successful.”
BERKWOOD FARMS
Finished Berkshire hogs from Fly’n K Farms are shipped to Berkwood Farms in Des Moines, a coalition of over 80 independent family farmers. Producers deliver a total of 700 pigs a week, which are then harvested at Pine Ridge Farms, a custom processor. The meat is sent to other facilities for further processing. “It's been a really big success for us. If you want to raise pigs and have less than a couple thousand sows, a group like this is the only way you can compete in the marketplace. This producer-owned co-op allows us to get a premium for our Berkshire pigs.”
The high flavor and tender Berkshire pork product is in demand on the east and west coasts of the U.S. and overseas in countries such as Japan. Thirty percent of the co-op’s market is in California. Berkwood Farms is the only farmer-owned company with national distribution, including sales to America’s top chef-owned restaurants and national grocery stores.
According to Lance “I tell our customers ‘If you chase two rabbits, both will escape.’ That’s why we keep our focus on Berks and no other breed. If you take your eye off the ball, any of those pigs from another breed or cross other than registered Berkshire will only be worth commodity pig prices.”
ON THE ROAD AND IN THE SKIES
Lance and Kristi’s son, Gabe, maintains large earth and coal moving equipment in Beulah, North Dakota, for The Coteau Properties Company’s Freedom Mine. His job is three weeks on and one week off. Gabe said, “I come home on my week off to do machinery maintenance and repairs and a little upkeep all around, plus help with chores or whatever.” Gabe is a graduate of the diesel mechanics program at Lake Area Technical College in Watertown, South Dakota.
When available, Gabe is the primary hauler of pigs to Berkwood Farms. He has hauled pigs to the ABA Progeny Test at Penn State for several years. From Alvord, he works his way east across the country picking up pigs from several producers.
Lance and Kristi are frequently on the road visiting their son, Keegan, and his wife, Callie. The visits provide time with the “cutest grandsons ever,” Cort, 2½, and Lincoln, 10 months. Keegan is a commercial pilot for Air Charter Express based out of Milwaukee. The company often transports college sports teams such as the SDSU women’s basketball team. He has an aviation maintenance degree, also from Lake Area Technical College.
Youngest son, Dayton, will graduate in May from Des Moines Area Community College with a degree in marketing. His college experience included time on marketing projects for Berkwood Farms. He will study abroad after he graduates from DMACC.
Kristi said, “It's been good life. Everybody's been healthy and hardworking. We always encouraged the boys to take time to work for others in something they have an interest in. You don’t want to tie them down to the farm if there’s a chance they’re going to be miserable here.”
Lance stays busy as an advocate for the Berkshire breed through service on the board of the American Berkshire Association. “Somebody has to do the work or the stuff is going to die. With the progeny tests, I'm a big part of keeping that going,” he said.
