Pig performance – small changes have small impact on cost of production

Pig performance at an industry level has changed slightly. Latest figures from AgroVision on the performance of GB pig producers show performance changes that have only a small effect on cost of production, much lower than the impact of feed price changes.

Indoor herds have seen a small fall in pigs weaned per sow per year, 27.76 in 2022 Q2 compared to 27.81 in 2022 Q1. There was a small fall in the number of litters per sow per year (2.21 down to 2.20), which could easily have been because of delaying mating due to the backlog of pigs in the industry. An increase in pre-weaning mortality (12.6% up to 12.8%) and a marginal increase in the number of live births per litter (14.4 to 14.44) were also observed. The overall impact of these performance changes increased the estimated cost of production by only 0.1p/kg deadweight.

Outdoor herds have seen an increase in pigs weaned per sow per year, 24.29 in 2022 Q1 increased to 25.10 in 2022 Q2. There was an increase in the number of litters per sow per year (2.19 up to 2.23), a decrease in pre-weaning mortality (12.23% down to 12.05%) and a marginal increase in the number of live births per litter (12.64 to 12.79). The overall impact of these improvements in performance decreased the cost of production by 2p/kg deadweight.

In the rearing herd, the average FCR for 2022 Q1 was 1.85 with a very small improvement to 1.84 by the end of 2022 Q2. DLWG averaged 480g in 2022 Q1 and increased to 521g by 2022 Q2. There was no significant change in mortality rates between the two periods.

In the finishing herd, the average FCR for 2022 Q1 was 2.79 with a small improvement to 2.76 by 2022 Q2. DLWG averaged 859g in 2022 Q1 and increased to 889g by 2022 Q2. There was no change in mortality rates between the two periods.

The overall impact of the rearing and finishing herd improvements decreased the overall cost of production by 2p/kg deadweight.

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