Wean-to-finish facilities have proven to be very popular with Midwestern US producers.
A reasonable estimate is that at least 40% of all pigs weaned in the US are weaned into wean-finish facilities. The popularity is driven by less lender risk versus financing a ‘nursery moved to finisher’ set of facilities, less pig movement, less cleaning of facilities and more flexibility in the timing of pig movement if the pigs are stocked at anything more than single stock (generally 7.2 ft2 (0.67 m2)/pig). Making it work means aggressive use of zone heating for three seasons of the year, careful selection of feeders and drinkers to accommodate both newly weaned pigs and slaughter weight pigs and attention to ventilation details. The labour challenge is that a producer or contract grower starts pigs in facilities once every six months in WTF facilities versus every seven to eight weeks in a swine nursery meaning their skill level in dealing with fallout pigs, scours, respiratory challenges, etc. may not be as sharp, especially if pig arrival coincides with planting or harvest activities. If a portion of the pigs are removed at 6-10 weeks post wean due to overstocking, record keeping for the pig flow can be challenging since weights are not recorded for the pigs remaining and often not recorded on the pigs relocated. If the pigs are split into multiple facilities the record challenges are compounded making identification of management weak-links much more challenging.