Benchmark Magazine Article Archive

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.

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.

Total number of farms = 174

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.

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.

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.

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.

These are turbulent times for pork producers. Because of that, in addition to benchmarking data, this year our theme for Benchmark magazine is “Building Blocks for the Long Haul, Bringing Longevity to the Farm.”

Within the pork industry, heat stress poses a significant threat to overall pig production, impairing health, productivity, and well-being at all life stages.

As an industry, we have realized the steady increase in sow mortality throughout the past decade and employed various efforts to respond to this critical production issue.

We’ve been using data to analyze past, current, and future hog producer productivity and profitability for some time.

Total number of farms = 167

Total number of farms = 18

Gilts are the foundation of the herd, which allows it to have the best farrowing rates and to have a total of 14–15 pigs in their first litter.

Achieving 30+ pigs per sow per year was once a lofty goal, but today it is a fairly common achievement thanks to genetic improvements in litter size.