When John Deen, DVM, PhD and swine epidemiologist at the University of Minnesota, was a kid, he remembers a time when sow mortality was not a problem.
“It was a rarity on my parents’ farm when we dragged a sow out of the barn,” Deen says. “That has changed over time and it’s partly our creation.”
He is concerned how little gets done in many sow barns on the weekends and believes understanding when things happen is critically important.
“What happens when the lights go off – when we leave the barn – is a major concern. Sow care interventions fit somewhere below breeding the sows and even below getting dead sows out of the barn. Simply understanding and having the resources and the emphasis in place seems to make a big difference,” Deen says.
Here are seven sow management trends to watch.
1. Prioritize production costs.
The challenges of this past year have changed the focus from increasing performance to optimizing performance through more efficient and sustainable cost of production strategies, explains Sergio Canavate, DVM, technical services manager with PIC.
“We need to ask ourselves, are the right feed management strategies in place? Is body condition scoring accurate and consistent? How can we manage sow body condition better through feed?” says Fred Kuhr, production supervisor for sows and finishing at Dykhuis Farms.
Feed is a producer’s largest cost, so grow-finish feed efficiency must also be a focus, says Mark Knauer, Ph.D., associate professor and Extension swine specialist at North Carolina State University.
“While the majority of costs in pig production come in the grow-finish phase, good sow management can help reduce weaned pig cost and set piglets up for success in the grow-finish phase,” Knauer says.
Using known practices like increasing weaning age, batch farrowing or improving gilt acclimation into the sow farm can maximize weaned pig quality.
2. Focus on gilt selection.
Selecting replacement gilts should be done with care and attention to many factors. Don’t underestimate the importance of selecting only the best females to move on to the role of sow. Every gilt should not become a sow.
“We’re finding that mis-selection of sows results in a group that has a higher mortality. In other words, we’re keeping back sows we shouldn’t be keeping when we’re sorting gilts, and we see higher mortality in those groups as well,” Deen says.
Some experts argue that our industry is not great at knowing what selection factors translate into sow longevity. However, research shows vulva size, teat count and structural soundness are all important selection traits that do pay off.
3. Emphasize gilt and sow management.
“Breeding gilts at the right age and weight and keeping them in optimal body condition from the start will increase lifetime productive performance and retention in sow herds,” Canavate says.
If a sow has been well cared for since before first breeding, she’ll probably require less maintenance to do her job, which is raising quality pigs.
“New technology will bring new opportunity to evaluate herds based on average sow age, the length of time sows stay in the system and how fast we have to turn,” Kuhr adds. “We’ll be able to look at more data points to help predict how long a sow will stay in the system.”
4. Take another look at litter size.
Although increasing litter size has been a primary focus over the past decade, Canavate believes the focus on litter size will likely evolve to include more factors like piglet quality at birth and weaning.
“What does an optimal litter size look like for an individual operation?” Knauer asks. “Unless U.S. producers use more nurse sows, provide supplemental nutrition for piglets during lactation or bolster sow lactation feed intake, litter size may need to plateau at some point.”
Reduced emphasis on litter size would allow for increased emphasis on other traits, such as progeny feed cost, experts say.
5. Utilize artificial intelligence and labor more effectively.
The need to reduce labor needs while maintaining productivity and sow well-being is a trend that won’t go away anytime soon. Many farms don’t have enough labor due to cost and availability. This leaves the industry asking a tough question: How can we make the most of the labor we have?
From detecting estrus to getting sows bred, and from loading sows into farrowing to making sure sows are eating well in lactation, there are many opportunities to improve management practices and efficiencies, Knauer says.
“Where else can we save time?” Knauer asks. “For example, recent data suggests drying piglets does not enhance piglet survival. Therefore, time may be better spent checking temperatures on heat mats versus drying piglets. In addition, I think we can use pre-farrow feeding strategies to reduce labor needed to assist farrowings. If we can save labor in any of these areas, we can do a better job putting an eye on every sow every day.”
Smart barns and leveraging artificial intelligence technologies are another example and will go a long way to help control barn environment, organize pig flows and manage data, he adds.
6. Implement real-time data into daily decision-making.
Most believe sow farm data has been highly underutilized, but that could change with more advanced technology.
“The sow business is going to experience a huge upsurge in technology,” Kuhr says. “Employees are going to be exposed to more data, quicker. And, decision-making will get easier because new technologies will help employees make more informed decisions on the spot.”
Knauer says artificial intelligence algorithms will help get real-time answers to find more value from existing data. Paperless technology, like handheld scanners, will be more common on sow farms. They’ll speed up data capture and information management, predicts Canavate.
7. Pay attention to consumer welfare concerns.
Initiatives such as California’s Proposition 12 and consumer concerns over antibiotic usage will continue to shape the way U.S. pig farmers operate.
“I’m seeing more group housing, less antibiotics and enhanced biosecurity protocols,” Canavate says. “These evolutions will require unique management strategies to keep pigs healthy and stay profitable.”
Kuhr says at the end of the day, the key is to “take care of the animals, and they will take care of us.”
Stay tuned for more in the Synergy on the Sow Farm series from Farm Journal’s PORK.
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Precision Feeding: What’s Best for the Sow?
Sow Death Loss: What’s Beneath the Iceberg?
Why Training Your Employees is Crucial to Electronic Sow Feeding Success
