USING DATA TO MAKE FUTURE IMPROVEMENTS TO ENHANCE PROFITABILITY

By Susan Olson,
Knowledge Center Manager,
PigCHAMP

Besides the immediate benefit to PigCHAMP customers, our international benchmarking comparisons provide industry influencers with a bird’s eye view of key production indicators, helping them track pork production trends.

2011 brought another year of improved productivity and a continued wide range of performance across farms. This database takes the reports of our record keeping system and summarizes the results to allow benchmarking and characterization of the industry as a whole. Our endeavor is to allow producers to identify methods for potential improvement and allow allied industries to identify opportunities as well.

We understand it is difficult to define a “typical” sow herd. Size differs. Ownership differs. Herd objectives differ. Some are contracted to sell weaned piglets while others produce piglets to be finished within their own facilities or flow into a multi-sourced system. Many are commercial herds; others are in the business of genetic multiplication. Some purchase their replacements; others produce their own. Some herds experience significant disease challenges; others are relatively healthy.

Recognizing these challenges, is why PigCHAMP will be introducing The PigCHAMP Knowledge Center. Our Knowledge Center will be a web-based treasure chest of information for swine industry professionals. Members will have the ability to compare key performance attributes for their operations against a database of operations from around the world. The Knowledge Center will take “Benchmarking” to new levels of sophistication allowing users to compare key attributes of performance against a global average, by operation size, geography or against farms in their own organization.

Although the content of the quarterly and year-end benchmarks may be limited at this point, they provide relevant information. Current benchmarks serve to set expectations. As with other technologies, the value of the benchmarks lies with the implementation of benchmarking and the steps taken toward herd improvement as a result of the findings.

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Susan Olson is the Knowledge Centre Manager for PigCHAMP Inc. Having worked in the swine industry for 20 years Susan has used and supported several of the largest record keeping software programs, and has extracted data from all to provide some of the largest producers and genetic companies vital data to help maximize profitability. As our Knowledge Center Manager for PigCHAMP, her current role is to manage the development and execution of programs, products and services that create customer and business partner value from the Benchmarking strategy.

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