Sow%20Longevity%20

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Sow Longevity Its Improvement and Economic
Importance

• Ken Stalder
• Department of Animal Science
• Iowa State University

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Reported Averages

• Replacement Culling Avg. Parity
  Death
• Rate, Rate,
  At Culling Loss,
• PigCHAMP 60 42 3.8
  7.8
• Pigtales 53 47 Not
  Reported

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Worldwide Replacement Rates

• Australian average 63.8 replacement from 1992
  through 2002
• Brazil 2002 averaged 55 replacement rate, 43
  culling rate, 5.5 death loss, and average parity
  of culled sows of 4.16.
• Canada 2002 averaged 58 replacement rate, 39.5
  culling rate, 6.5 death loss, and average parity
  of culled sows of 4.71.
• Japan 2000 averaged 47.6 replacement rate, 28.6
  culling rate, 5.3 death loss, and average parity
  of culled sows of 3.8.

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How Do Top Herds Perform?

• 2002 PigCHAMP data Upper 10 Percentile
• Replacement rate 32.7
• Culling rate 22
• Death Loss 2.8
• Average parity at culling 5.5
• Koketsu et al. (1999)
• A cohort of females born in 1990
• Average lifetime pig production 67.2 pigs
• Average parity at removal was 5.6 parities

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Why should we be concerned with longevity?

• Performance differences
• Number born alive
• Litter weaning weight
• Grow Finish Performance
• Better protection from disease??
• Introduction of more gilts
• Associated costs
• Welfare issue

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Reasons For Culling
Reason
Percentage Culled

• Reproductive failure 30 - 35
• Old age 15
  - 20
• Performance 15 - 20
• Feet and leg problems 10 - 15
• Death
  5 - 10
• Post-farrowing problems 3 - 5
• Other
  5 - 10

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Cost of Replacing a Sow

• Replacement gilt
• Facility, feed, and labor during isolation and
  acclimation
• Vaccination and other veterinary expenses
• Disease risk
• Opportunity cost (interest rate)
• Performance difference between a gilt and mature
  sow.

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Ideal Parity Distribution
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Impact of Distribution on Productivity

• Average parity of sow herd 3.6 (industry) and
  3.86 (book)

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National Swine Improvement Federation Parity
adjustment factors for number born alive

• Parity Number born alive
• 1 1.2
• 2 0.9
• 3 0.2
• 4-5 0
• 6 0.2
• 7 0.5
• 8 0.9
• 9 1.1

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National Swine Improvement Federation Parity
adjustment factors for 21-day Litter Weight

• Parity 21-day Litter Weight Adj.
• 1 16.2
• 2 0
• 3 1.0
• 4 3.8
• 5 6.2
• 6 9.5
• 7 11.6
• 8 15.2
• 9 21.5

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Given 10.2 pigs born alive from an average parity
of sows farrowed of 3.5
Maximum Parity Number Born Alive Number Born Alive Per 100 Sows Value of Pigs Produced _at_ 30 / pig Value Per Year, Difference from Maximum, / Year
2 9.79 979 29,370 1,527,240 87,360
3 10.05 1005 30,150 1,567,800 46,800
4 10.21 1021 30,630 1,592,760 21,840
5 10.31 1031 30,930 1,608,360 6,240
6 10.35 1035 31,050 1,614,600 0
7 10.35 1035 31,050 1,614,600 0
8 10.33 1033 30,990 1,611,480 3,120
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Ideal Distribution

• Given
• Maximum Parity
• Culling per parity at 15 or 35 per year

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Take Home Point Economic Importance of Sow
Longevity

• Reduced sow longevity (parity of sow at culling)
  results in fewer litters in which a sow has an
  opportunity to be sufficiently productive in
  order for her purchase to be profitable.
• Because of the cost of replacement females and
  short herd life, commercial swine producers
  should economically evaluate their replacement
  breeding herd decisions.

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How do you evaluate how long a sow needs to
remain in

• the breeding herd to be a profitable investment?

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Development of the Sow Longevity Calculator

• Farrow-to-Finish and Breed-to-Wean custom
  spreadsheets available
• Uses Net Present Value analysis
• Version 2.0 Now Available

• Operation specific financial information

• Herd specific production data

• Producer supplies

• Income
• Fixed and variable costs

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Data Entry Sheet
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Feed Data Entry
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Adjusting for Parity Performance Differences
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Parity Adjustment Caution

• Only make these adjustments if you are extremely
  confident in the production numbers by parity.
• Do not adjust if values from your herd are based
  on small numbers
• Within a parity
• Across all parities

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What does all of this get you?

• Net Present Value Analysis
• What does the NPV number mean?
• gt 0 means the investment is profitable in the
  long term.
• lt 0 means the investment will lose money in the
  long term.

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Sensitivity Analyses Gilt Purchase Price (F-F)
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Sensitivity Analyses
Number
Born Alive
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Sensitivity Analyses
Market
Hog Price
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Sensitivity Analyses
Feed Costs
Per Market Hog
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Take Home Points Factors Influencing Net Present
Value of a Breeding Herd Replacement Female
Take Home Points

• Major Factors
• Pigs produced (number born alive, mortalities at
  all levels, and substandard pigs at marketing)
• ½ pig changes parity at which positive NPV is
  reached
• 5 change in number born alive
• Price received for pigs marketed
• 2 - 4 changes parity at which positive NPV
  is reached
• 4.5 to 9 change in price
• Feed costs (feed efficiency and ingredient cost)
• 3 per head changes parity at which positive
  NPV is reached
• 4.8 change in feed costs

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Take Home Points Factors Influencing Net Present
Value of a Breeding Herd Replacement Female

• Relatively Minor Factors
• Replacement Gilt Cost
• 50 change in gilt price required to change
  parity at which positive NPV is reached
• 25 change in number born alive
• Interest Rate
• Operation Equity
• Cull Animal Market Price

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Factors Influencing Sow Longevity

• Host of management effects
• feed intake, lactation length, gestation housing,
  etc.

• Factors under some genetic control
• Backfat of gilt at selection effects sow longevity

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Summary

• Improved longevity can increase profitability
• Focus on management practices that improve
  longevity
• More sows should be culled because of poor
  performance rather than reproductive reasons.

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Those Interested in The Spreadsheet

• Spreadsheet designed to evaluate the investment
  in a replacement gilt available at
• Iowa Pork Industry Center 515-294-4103
• Iowa Pork Industry Center Web Site
• http//www.extension.iastate.edu/ipic
• Porkline (Iowa Only) 800-808-7675
• e-mail me at stalder_at_iastate.edu

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Thank You for Your Time and Attention

• Are there any questions?