Four pillars of efficient pork production

Did you know that key performance indicators (KPI) can enable pig producers to make smart business decisions and monitor the effectiveness of their pork production?

There are comparisons to draw between pork production and manufacturing (in a traditional sense) other products. In both cases, raw materials go in, there is a machinery of production – the sow – there is a product output – i.e. piglets and finished pigs – all produced at defined production standards for the end consumer.

Similarly, the pillars of production in manufacturing that allow effective monitoring of efficiency can also be applied in pork production. Importantly, the data to allow this is already collected – its arrangement and use should be streamlined to allow effective analysis of the root cause of any underperformance or change in production efficiency.

The four pillars can be adopted and applied to pork production. Below is a breakdown of the following parallels:

It is from these four pillars that the key performance indicators (KPIs) should be drawn, as for each of these pillars there is a very different set of data, different stage and focus of production and diverse management strategies. While the pillars are seen as distinct KPIs with a clear set of data, they are interdependent. Therefore, it’s important to monitor all four KPIs, rather than being overly reliant on a single driver of productivity or financial performance.

In this podcast, John Bates interviews Ben William AHDB’s senior knowledge transfer manager, who introduces the four pillars of efficient pork production, why they’re important and how you can begin adapting the four KPIs to achieve the maximum outcome of your pork production. 

For the pork industry, there are four KPIs fundamental to business performance and improvement.