The Power of knowledge

Benchmark Magazine Article Archive

Benchmark Magazine is published each spring to highlight the annual results of PigCHAMP's Benchmarking program, and to feature news, commentary and articles of interest written by pork industry experts.

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2025

A Benchmark Welcome

A Benchmark Welcome
While there have been many hurdles to overcome this past year, we know that those who have remained steadfast in the industry are Set for Success.

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2025

Factors Associated with Sow Efficiency

While producers rely on reports for sow records, task management, and performance summaries, many overlook a critical opportunity: harnessing advanced analytics to maximize reproductive efficiency, profitability, and sow longevity.

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2025

Gaining Talent Sustainability

As the agriculture and food industries face challenges in attracting and sustaining talent, employee retention is a critical concern. Employers struggle to keep their best workers long-term.

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2025

Towards Automated Detection of Osteochondrosis From CT Images

Osteochondrosis is a disease that is a major cause of lameness in pigs. Currently, osteochondrosis is scored by trained technicians based on visual observation of CT images.

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2025

Recent Findings on the Use of Acidifiers for Nursery Pigs

A high stomach pH is concerning because it can lead to a myriad of issues, ranging from poor nutrient digestibility to increased pathogen proliferation, diarrhea, and mortality. Considering all the other stressors involved during the weaning period, it’s the last thing a piglet needs.

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2025

Choline - An Essential Nutrient With New Perspectives

Natural choline sources occur at meaningful levels in most feed ingredients; which is the main reason why choline is not considered to be a vitamin in the classic sense.

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2025

Addressing Barn Management Challenges with Ventilation Technology

From disease prevention to meeting compliance with animal confinement regulations, the latest set of challenges certainly continues the tradition of having serious repercussions on the industry.

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2025

USA and Canada 2024 Year Summary

Total number of farms = 174

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2025

Uncovering the Connection

To reach peak performance productivity, animals need a constant supply of feed. But when that flow of feed is interrupted, it can lead to growth delays, increased mortality, and other health issues - all of which impact feed conversion ratios (FCR).

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2025

Incineration for Biosecurity

Swine incinerators are designed to burn swine carcasses, manure, and other organic waste at high enough temperatures to incinerate pathogens and microorganisms, preventing the spread of diseases such as swine fever, porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2), and foot-and-mouth disease.

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2025

Making Technology Less Technical

While the company has always been driven by innovation, 2014-2015 marked a turning point. It was during this time that Ro-Main reinvented itself, embracing modern artificial intelligence - a set of tools previously untapped in livestock farming.

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2025

How Many Pigs Should a Sow Nurse?

Today’s modern hyper-prolific sow will often give birth to more piglets than the number of functional teats she possesses. For the farm business, it means that the producers are faced with the decision of having to either allow the sow to try and nurse the additional piglets above functional teat count or create more nurse sows.

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2025

Delivering Practical Improvements in Sow Robustness

Over the past decade, the modern sow has changed significantly. Increased productivity necessitates advancements in management strategies to support performance and longevity. Management improvements can also have a quicker impact than relying on genetics alone.

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2025

2025 Global Pork Outlook & Forecast

The 2025 global pork production is expected to grow by one percent thanks to a recovery from ASF. Animal diseases like ASF in China and PRRS virus in North America continue to remain a headwind for further gains in global hog production.

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2025

Enhancing Piglet Nutrient Access

As industry litter sizes have increased, challenges to piglet survival and piglet quality at weaning have frequently ensued. To maximize farm throughput and promote animal well-being, these challenges should be addressed.

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