Pig slaughterings in 2005 are forecast to rise by 2% after an increase in the number of maiden gilts feeds through.
The Dec 2004 UK pig herd total of 476,000 was down by 7.4% on the previous year but maiden gilt numbers have risen by 13.8%.
This will be the first year on year increase in slaughter numbers since 1998, said to be due to increased sow productivity.
UK herd health and output has been greatly compromised by PRRS (Blue Ear Disease) since the early 1990s and more recently by PMWS (Pig Wasting Disease).
Evidence of substantial benefits in terms of herd health, output and falling mortality is now beginning to emerge on restocked units.
In 2002 the UK herd only produced an annual average of 17.5 finished pigs per sow due to poor production and high mortality.
But sow output on many restocked units has risen to 20–23 finished pigs a year, offering improved margins and stiffer competition to foreign pigmeat imports.
Several large scale outdoor producers are now operating their breeding herds on an "all in all out" basis.
For instance, a herd with a target of 750 productive sows would order 800–850 gilts and serve them on an AI/batch system with no additional gilts or boars brought onto the unit until the end of the breeding cycle.
These herds are then culled at parity 5–7, the outdoor sites relocated and restocked with replacement gilts on the new clean sites.
Lifting output by just 1 pig sold per litter can be worth an additional £45 per sow/year equivalent to over £30,000 on a 750 sow unit.
But pig production costs in the UK remain amongst the highest in Europe, mainly due to a larger proportion of straw based high welfare breeding and finishing units.
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