Economics

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Prairie Swine Centre is an affiliate of the University of Saskatchewan


Prairie Swine Centre is grateful for the assistance of the George Morris Centre in developing the economics portion of Pork Insight.

Financial support for the Enterprise Model Project and Pork Insight has been provided by:



Author(s): P. Wilcock
Publication Date: April 1, 2009
Reference: London Swine Conference, 2009
Country: Canada

Summary:

Weaning age and weight can impact a pig’s lifetime performance, so weaning management can impact the barn’s production and economic return. Increased weaning age from day 12 to 21 can result in increased profit by $1.00-1.25 per pig, and increasing weaning weight by 1kg can increase growth by 40-45g/day. The day 20 weight gain also can be used as an indicator of future performance, and increasing feed intake during the first week can help improve this. Feed intake can be improved by reducing the amount of stress from disease and management. Adequate water intake should not be neglected, as the beginning of water intake from a drinker may be correlated with the beginning of feed intake. Water access and wastage both need to be considered when choosing a drinker, and drinkers should be adjusted to the proper height throughout the nursery phase. Water flow and quality should be tested, and supplementations, flavour, or globulins can be added. Proper nursery temperature should be maintained at the pigs’ level, and daily variation should be minimized. Studies on nursery photoperiod are still minimal, but the ones conducted have shown an effect on feed intake, ADG, and immune functioning by altering lighting regimes. Feeders should be chosen to permit group eating and minimize competition, which is achieved by the traditional dry multi-space feeder. Feeder coverage should be closely managed, and mat feeding can be used for the first 3 days post-weaning. Group size appears to have little effect as long as density is maintained, and density should be chosen at the level that brings the greatest return. Genetics, air quality, and litter mixing can are also parts of nursery management. Finally, for feeding strategies offering and increasing intake of creep feed, high quality starter diets, and up to 5 days of gruel feeding can all help to improve nursery performance.

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