Frank Aherne University of Alberta

Publish Date: June 3, 2006

It is reasonable to assume that any strategy for survival in the future will have considerable focus on breeding herd efficiency as an essential component. The data in Table 1 shows that there is considerable opportunity for improvement of reproductive efficiency within the US swine industry.

Publish Date: June 3, 2006

The purpose of the breeding herd is to consistently produce a targeted number of high quality weaned pigs in an efficient manner and at low cost. Feed costs in the breeding herd constitute about 12% of the cost of producing a market hog. More importantly, the feeding program in the breeding herd can significantly influence sow productivity and longevity in the herd. Most costs, including feeding costs, in the breeding herd are fixed costs and therefore, increased breeding herd efficiency will reduce overall production costs. Therefore, there is considerable scope to reduce input costs and increase production efficiency through improvement in the feeding of the gestating and lactating sow.