ACMC Pigs-Tested, approved and recognised

The ACMC technical team has created systems for in-house production, monitoring and support. The technical team has also developed a new carcass assessment procedure to be used on the live pig which, when employed along with increased litter size trait heritability through the company’s gene evaluation program (GEP), more commercial rapid genetic progress is being made. GEP, incorporating BLUP technology, is used to analyse on farm performance test data uploaded by electronic transfer to the UK, providing instant results.

In addition, data from the new Windows based pig farm management software system Pig-Com, launched at the recent European Pig & Poultry Fair following five years development and use on ACMC farms at home and abroad, is adding further phenotypic data to the genetic development programme. ACMC tests thousands of dams on farm each year, measuring maternal traits such as age at puberty, litter size, milk yield, breeding intervals, individual piglet birth weight and 21 day litter weight.

Selected breeders have to have sound confirmation and display good teat underlines. As the carcass of any dam line is ultimately responsible for half the final product, feed intake, speed of growth and muscle and fat depths are also measured and included in the selection index. As group housing systems become more commonplace, females must lack aggression. Exclusive to ACMC, the female has at its foundation the Meidam dam line GGP female. DEFRA approval was carried out at ACMC, auditing recording and breeding systems and on farm adherence to procedures at the genetic nucleus as well as other multiplication sites, resulting in official recognition for the Meidam as a pure breed under the terms of European Commission Decision 09/501/EEC.

The Meidam’s outstanding prolifacy, durability and carcass quality make her suitable for any breeding system and ideal for in-house multiplication. Easily replicated and available under licence worldwide, the ACMC system is a scientifically developed breeding hub programme. Mating the ACMC specialist ‘Vantage’ brand boars with the AC1, farmers at home and abroad can now produce a bespoke processing pig capable of delivering the highest quality at heavy weights and of meeting stringent contract requirements, including in niche markets.

Sire line testing is as extensive with ACMC on-farm testing individual feed intake for over 3000 male sire line females annually. Using phenotypic test data and gene marker selection, testing procedures are focused on lean tissue food conversion, lean tissue growth, muscle depth and meat quality traits.

Further selection is carried out based on physical uniformity, locomotion and libido prior to a boar embarking on his working life. With DEFRA approval now confirmed, all ACMC purebreds have been recognised to a trans-European standard and the company’s internal production systems and processes rigorously scrutinised.

ACMC stock are correctly produced, monitored and continually tested, matching the highest standards and guaranteeing quality in generation after generation. Genetic farms have been established in Canada, Poland and Romania, while grandparent and parent stocks have been exported to Spain, Italy, the Philippines and Thailand with great success. Distributors are now established in Thailand and the Philippines.

Fax NOW +44 1262 488192
enquiries@acmc.co.uk

Source: ACMC - 15th July 2005

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