This is an increase of 0.8 piglets compared to 2007. This conclusion has been drawn from the technical results of 25 farms with a total of over 38,600 TOPIGS 40 sows. The top farms achieved 30.67 weaned piglets per mated sow.

In 2008, the average litter size was 12.4 live-born piglets (2007: 12.1). The farrowing rate was 92.9 per cent (2007: 92.1 per cent). In 2008, the mortality rate of the piglets until weaning was 7.1 per cent, about the same as in 2007. These results clearly demonstrate that the efforts TOPIGS has made since 2002 to improve piglet vitality and piglet survival, are paying dividends.

The low sow mortality rate of 4.8 per cent is another example of the work TOPIGS is doing to improve vitality and robustness. This sow mortality is significantly lower than the Brazilian average.

The technical results are mostly gathered on farms that are located in the central and western part of Brazil, a region with an average temperature of 31 degrees Celsius. The results show the outstanding performance of TOPIGS 40 under these tropical conditions.

Table: Results of TOPIGS 40 sows in Brazil in 2008
Number of farms	25
Average number of sows	1546
Interval weaning - 1st service interval (days)	5.4
Sows inseminated 7 days after weaning (%)	91.2
Farrowing rate (%)	92.9
Litters / mated female / year	2.51
Total piglets born / litter	13.5
Live-born piglets / litter	12.4
Stillborn piglets (%)	4.8
Preweaning mortality (%)	7.1
Piglets weaned / litter	11.4
Piglets weaned / mated sow / year	28.56
Piglet age at weaning (days)	22.0

TOPIGS results in Brazil:
Piglets weaned per mated sow per year