The purpose of current study was to determine if the parity of the litter in which a female was born and the number of pigs within that same litter are associated with future length of productive life (LPL). An additional objective
of the study was to examine the associations of leg conformation, age at first farrowing, litter size at first farrowing, and age and backfat thickness at 100 kg on LPL in the Finnish crossbred (Landrace X Large White or Large
White X Landrace) population. The results indicate that farm X year interaction very clearly affects LPL. Thus, farm conditions and management are the first factors producers should examine if LPL problems exist within a pork operation. The results further indicated that gilts farrowing at an earlier age tended to remain in the herd for a greater amount of time when compared with gilts which farrowed their first litter at an older age. Additionally, first parity litter size was significantly associated with LPL. Lastly, sufficient genetic variation for LPL was observed such that it should be possible to improve LPL through traditional selection methodology in an efficient breeding programme.