1. Using Variation in Pig Body Weight to Optimize Facility Throughput
Beau Peterson, Ph.D.
Associate Director, Swine Production Scientist
The Maschhoffs

2. Understanding and Utilizing Body Weight Variation to Your Advantage
Variation in body weight within a pen of pigs will always exist
Weaning weight is not always a good predictor of a pigs potential for growth
Even when reduced by sorting, within pen variation will return to normal levels after a short period of time
Therefore attempting to manage variation through sorting at placement is not always effective
Using variation within a pen to optimize space utilization can actually be beneficial for increasing throughput
BP will present some concepts and the research behind many of the management practices we have in place today. CJ is going to give you ideas on how to actually take the concepts and apply them in your barn.
End result is OPTIMIZING your time spent with your pigs and increasing Grade A throughput in your barns

3. Research Suggests Pigs in Commercial Production Do Not Achieve Potential
Research Farm
Commercial Farm
The last thing I would like to talk about is the third driver we presented in the beginning – using your barn to its fullest to capture lean growth potential
The pigs have a great deal of genetic potential and the more we capture, the more profitable we are (compare to fuel economy in a car)
Again, we are talking about strategies to drive throughput
This graph suggests that there is more genetic potential to be captured in our pigs

4. Impact of Environment on Pig Growth Potential
Simple Management Strategies Can Help Capture More of the Pig’s Growth Potential
Simple steps to achieve this
Load the pens correctly at start-up to take full advantage of natural variation
Standardize stocking rate in all pens at the beginning of the finishing phase
Strategically use the barn to capture extra potential
Impact of Environment on Pig Growth Potential
Environment
Item
Commercial
Unrestricted
P value
ADG, lb
1.61
2.29
< 0.001
ADFI, lb
5.41
6.60
< 0.05
Feed:Gain
3.29
2.85
Combine example
Describe study to again highlight the potential of the pig
A great deal of opportunity exists!
Holck et al., 1998

5. Weaning Weight Can Be Influenced by Many Factors that have Little to do with the Pig’s Growth Potential
Peterson, et al

6. Effects of Weaning Weight on Overall Growth Performance
Peterson, et al

7. Body Weight and Growth Rate Follow a Normal Distribution within a Population
Item
Minimum
Average
Maximum
Standard Deviation
Weaning weight, lb
6.9
13.1
23.8
2.98
8 week weight, lb
20.0
65.1
110.0
13.18
20 week weight, lb
104.0
247.2
328.0
29.32
Overall ADG, lb
0.66
1.68
2.25
0.201
Describe in the context of reaching the upper limit, later
We know that the body weights of pigs in any natural population is normally distributed (compare to the people in the room)
Relate this to lbs/sqft – all big pigs will be more lbs/sqft than all small pigs or a mixture
Peterson, et al., 2005

8. If Variation within a Pen is Unavoidable, Why Not Use it to Your Advantage
Sorting based on weaning weight is not very effective
Variation is caused by multiple factors
Social status/Natural variation
Gender
Birth weight
Genetics
Variation within a pen is unavoidable
Why not use it to maximize space utilization and production efficiency?
BP will present some concepts and the research behind many of the management practices we have in place today. CJ is going to give you ideas on how to actually take the concepts and apply them in your barn.
End result is OPTIMIZING your time spent with your pigs and increasing Grade A throughput in your barns

9. If Variation within a Pen is Unavoidable, Why Not Use it to Your Advantage
Sorting based on weaning weight is not very effective
Variation is caused by multiple factors
Social status/natural variation
Gender
Birth weight
Genetics
Variation within a pen is unavoidable
Why not use it to our advantage then to maximize space utilization and production efficiency?
BP will present some concepts and the research behind many of the management practices we have in place today. CJ is going to give you ideas on how to actually take the concepts and apply them in your barn.
End result is OPTIMIZING your time spent with your pigs and increasing Grade A throughput in your barns

10. Impact of Floor Space on Growth Performance
Floor Space, ft2
Item
8.0
7.3
6.6
P value
Start weight, lb
74.7
75.0 NS
End weight, lb
283.1a
281.6a
276.4b
0.001
ADG, lb/day
2.08a
2.07a
2.01b
ADFI, lb/day
5.15a
5.08a
4.97b
Feed:Gain, lb:lb
0.41
One of the biggest factors we can influence is floor space
Pigs are very sensitive to lower floor space and therefore we need to do all that we can to ensure it has a minimal effect.
Throughput and maximum growth rate is an inverse relationship
Describe study – emphasize the difference going down versus going up in floor space
Peterson et al., 2003

11. Measuring Stocking Rate in lbs/ft2
Lbs/ft2 is a way of assessing the effects of stocking rate at any point in the growth period
There is an upper limit to the number of lbs/ft2 after which growth is impacted
Pens should be stocked so that this upper limit is reached as late as possible within the pen
Even mix of barrows and gilts to take advantage of growth variation and feed efficiency differences during marketing period
Randomly fill pens to ensure variation in body weight and thus lower lbs/sq ft with the same number of pigs at the beginning of marketing
Use table after first bullet point to illustrate
You can get more small pigs in a pen without impacting growth than you can big pigs – pretty simple
Therefore if we measure in lb/sqft its an absolute measure of stocking rate at any size of pig
Stocking rate and lbs/ft2
Body weight
Lbs/ft2
Pigs/pen
100 30
300
250
120

12. Other Considerations for Maximizing Facility Utilization
Improper Number of Cull Pens
Item 8 4
ADG, lb
1.71
1.75
Days to market
152
148
Uneven Stocking Rates in all Pens
Item
135
150
165
Floor space, ft2/pig
7.3
6.6
6.0
ADG, lb
1.79
1.75
1.65
Days to market
145
148
158
Another way to impact floor space is to have to many cull pens
Use picture to describe – empty pens is space that could be used to raise pigs and give all of them more room
4 days to market

13. Begin With the End In Mind
Barn stocking strategies will allow you to:
Optimize the space in every pen
More easily identify big pigs at market
Improve the growth performance of the smaller pigs in the barn after top out
Improve efficiency by leaving gilts in the barn longer than barrows
Reduce variability within the barn and site
Reduce the days required to turn the barn
Increase throughput and get the most out of your investment

14. Thank You