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Numbers born alive becoming key factor in herd profitability

UK - As pig producers world-wide look to reduce their costs, the numbers of piglets born and reared per litter, becomes increasingly important.

Since geneticists have been so successful in breeding lean animals with low levels of fat, there are now fewer problems with pigs achieving good grades and this has allowed more emphasis to be placed on selection for litter size in the dam line, says Dr Grant Walling, senior geneticist with JSR Genetics.

"The factors influencing production costs are consistent world-wide and increasing numbers born alive per litter improves profitability internationally. Similarly, decreasing pig mortality delivers savings in all markets, regardless of country of production. A dead pig isn't worth anything in Germany, Korea, Japan or the UK!"

Dr Grant Walling, head of research and genetics at JSR Genetics

"As the market becomes increasingly focused on profitability, the importance of traits, which help us to reduce costs, is higher today than ever before and, as one of these, numbers born is of fundamental importance. The more kg or meat produced per sow, the lower its cost," he said.

Under the pig production division of the JSR Farming Group, many of the multiplication units are recorded using the same data and analysis system as the company's nucleus units. Dr Walling explained that this allows substantially more data to be harvested for the calculations of genetic merit. The direct link to pure animals in the multiplication tier means that genetic merit for prolificacy is calculated far more accurately because a larger data set is being analysed, which is a distinct advantage.

"Future selection criteria now have to take into account the increases we are seeing in numbers born alive. For farm profitability, this must translate into numbers weaned and, ultimately, numbers sold, so the sows must have sufficient functional teats and be capable of rearing the extra pigs born for this to be of value," he said.

Source: JSR Genetics - 14th June 2005

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