In 1975, one sow in the USA produced 720 kg
of pork per year, but by 2009 it was 1816 kg
per sow, points out Dr. John Patience, from
the Department of Animal Science at Iowa State
University. In 2009, the US produced 10.4 billion
kilos of pork from about 5.8 million sows. “Using
1975 productivity , it would require 14.5 million
sows, an increase of 8.7 million, to produce 2009
quantities of pork,” he says. “At an average sow
feed cost of $336/sow/year, the added cost of
these sows, just for feed would be $2.95 billion
per year, adding $26 to the cost of each pig
sold.” The industry has been very focussed on
doing its job well. Technology has changed our
world. Improvements in nutrition have made a
major contribution to higher output per sow and
improved efficiency in the nursery and grow-finish
phase. Dr. Patience lists the 10 top developments
that have had the biggest impact over the last 20
years.