David Meisinger

Publish Date: July 2, 2012

All-In–All-Out (AIAO) swine production is a system that keeps animals together in groups. Animals from different groups are not mixed during their stay on the farm. The groups are closely matched by age, weight, production stage and condition. The group is moved into a phase of production together, such as into an empty nursery, and is moved out of that phase as a group according to a production schedule. When a group moves forward, the facility is completely emptied. AIAO is the norm for most system production systems today. AIAO in an ideal world is by site, which is rarely practical. AIAO can also be by barn, room, “air space” or pen. In an AIAO system, sows are bred as groups to farrow during a 5- to 10-day period. By comparison, sows in a continuous flow system are bred continuously and farrow continuously. In a continuous flow system, pigs move as individuals, not as closely matched age groups, and a facility is never totally emptied because pigs or sows are always moving through it.

Publish Date: April 4, 2012

The structure of the pork industry changed dramatically during the 1990s and promises to continue to change in the years ahead. By structural change, we refer to the number and size of operations, who owns them, and how they relate to other firms in the pork chain. Change provides both challenges and opportunities to those individuals who make their living from the industry. Trying to cope with rapid change can quickly become a test of survival. Most of the data for this fact sheet come from USDA publications and industry surveys conducted by the University of Missouri and Iowa State University.