April 13, 2007

Improved feed conversion can save UK hog industry over US$79.3 million
 

A slight improvement in feed conversion could save the British hog industry over GBP40 million (about US$79.3 million) annually, said Stephen Curtis, chairman of UK pig breeding company ACMC, at a recent conference in Yorkshire.

Curtis warned that higher world energy prices would be the main cause of increased costs for hog producers, which will "hit our industry hard".

However, he added that hog diseases have also negatively impacted producers' profits.

Since joining the EU, the government has allowed imported semen and live animals with almost no controls, Curtis said. This might have led to the entry of PRRS (porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome) and PMWS (post-weaning multi-systemic wasting syndrome) into Britain, resulting in poor pig performance and high treatment costs.

Foot-and-mouth disease and swine fever have also led to bans on pork exports for extended periods, dampening farm gate prices, Curtis commented.

Curtis said improved genetics is the solution to cutting costs, with ACMC raising output by 0.8 pigs per litter, lowering feed conversion by 0.16, improving daily gain by 60 kilograms and lean meat by 0.9 percent over the last five years.

Assuming 22 pigs are reared per sow annually, the total value of improved growth, feed conversion and lean as well as additional pig numbers produced amounts to GBP264/sow/year, he said.