April 20, 2009
TOPIGS farmers achieve increased sow production in 2008
Pig farmers with TOPIGS sows achieved an average production of 27.3 weaned piglets per sow per year in 2008, an increase of 0.9 piglets compared to 2007.
This conclusion has been drawn from the technical results of 1006 farms with a total of almost 415,000 sows.
The top 25 percent of farms achieved 29.7 weaned piglets per sow in 2008 and the top 10 percent of farms managed 30.7 piglets per sow.
In 2008, 80 farms weaned more than 30 piglets per sow per year. The absolute top weaned more than 32.5 piglets per sow per year.
In 2006, just nine farms exceeded the boundary of 30 piglets. The increased production is due to an increased litter size. In 2007, this was still 12.8 whereas in 2008 this was 13.1. The litter index remained the same.
The results were compiled on the basis of overviews from the sow management system sent in by Dutch sow farmers.
