Evaluating Your Swine Enterprise

Superior management of each phase of a swine operation is essential if maximum profits are to be realized. Poor management can result in minimal profits or an actual loss even during periods of high hog prices. For instance, the profit potential a producer might realize from large litters, heavy weaning weights, or large numbers of pigs weaned can be lost through inefficient feed utilization, low rate of gain, or inferior carcass merit in the marketed hogs.

All too often, a pork producer merely knows that a problem exists, but doesn't know where it is or how serious it is. This fact sheet presents a list of "performance standards" that producers can use to check their management practices for potential problems and a series of questions to pinpoint solutions to these problems.

Table 1 lists eleven measures of operator performance that reflect management ability. For each measure, three levels of performance are given (excellent, average, and poor), plus a space to record your results.

The following is a brief discussion of each performance standard listed in Table 1, what it measures, and how it's calculated.

Failure of females to cycle in this time period can be an indication of a management problem. Expect a slightly lower percentage of first litter sows to cycle within 7 days after weaning compared to older sows.

Number of pigs farrowed alive is important because only live pigs can be marketed. Research indicates that the heavier the pigs at birth, the better their chances of survival.

Number of pigs weaned is probably the most descriptive productivity trait that we can measure since it reflects all the management criteria associated with breeding, gestation, farrowing, and lactation. Percent of pigs weaned is a more meaningful measure of farrowing house management. This figure reflects death loss between farrowing and weaning.

Percent of pigs weaned is calculated as follows:

Pigs Marketed/Sow/Year (F)

This is an indicator of performance from conception to market. It is affected by fertilization, embryo survival during gestation, and livability from birth to market. It is calculated by dividing number of market hogs produced by average sow herd size.

Weaning weight is the actual weight of the pig when it is weaned or removed from the sow. Weaning weight shows relative thriftiness of both individual pigs and the pig crop as a whole, and is also a reflection of the milking ability of the sow. This, in turn indicates the type of performance that can be expected in the early growing stage of the life cycle. In general, pigs that grow faster to weaning will also gain faster after weaning.

Both of these performance measures are used to determine how fast a pig grows. To calculate age at 230 lbs., the birth date is essential. Average daily gain is calculated as follows:

The following formula predicts the age of the animal when it reached or will reach 230 lbs.

 

Feed efficiency is simply the pounds of feed it takes to produce a pound of live hog. Since feed costs make up 55 to 65 percent of the total cost of pork production, even a slight improvement in this trait can mean a large return to profits.

Feed conversion can be calculated two ways: (1) for each pen of pigs of (2) for the entire swine operation. Records kept for each pen of pigs will spot management errors, such as improper feeder adjustment. Records for the entire enterprise are useful in year end analysis of the swine enterprise. Feed efficiency per pen of pigs is calculated as:

Fat measurements such as the backfat thickness at the last rib are an excellent indicator of leanness. To adjust backfat to a standard weight of 230 lbs., use the following formula:

 

The following are the management practices or activities which most directly affect the eleven performance measures that determine your swine production profile. These practices are grouped according to the specific performance measures they influence.

When a performance standard is found to be above average, chances are you have answered "yes" to most of the management questions listed under that performance measure. On the other hand, when the standard is below average, you probably had to answer "no" to many of the questions (or at least the more important ones). Attention to those management practices which you have overlooked or neglected should improve your overall swine production profile --and your profits!