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GB breeding herd shows performance gains

15th Sep 2020 / By Alistair Driver

The GB breeding herd has achieved significant performance gains over the past 12 months, the latest data from Agrosoft shows. 

The average number of pigs weaned per sow per year increased to 26.51 in the 12-months ending June 2020, 0.38 pigs more than in the year to June 2019. This equates to ten additional piglets for every 26 sows.

Breeding herd June 20

This improvement in performance is expected be reflected in supplies at the end of this year, and into the start of next, AHDB analyst Felicity Rusk said. 

While improvements were recorded in both the indoor and outdoor breeding herds, the rise was more marked in indoor systems, in contrast to the trend of the last couple of years, where the outdoor herd has seen stronger gains.

In the 12-months to June 2020, the number of pigs weaned per sow per year in indoor systems averaged 27.89, 0.42 pigs more than in the 12-months ending June 2019. This increase was driven by a rise in the number of pigs born alive per litter. However, a slight increase in pre-weaning mortality and a reduction in the number of litters born per sow per year hampered gains.

graph

Productivity within the outdoor breeding herd increased by 0.33 to 24.46 pigs weaned/sow/year in the year to June 2020. Outdoor herds recorded improvements in both the number of pigs born alive per litter and the number of litters born per sow per year. However, a rise in pre-weaning mortality offset some of these gains.

A considerable proportion of the gains made in the 12 months to June 2020 were made in between April-June this year alone. Compared to the 12 months ending March 2020, the number of pigs weaned per sow per year for indoor and outdoor herds increased by 0.37 pigs and 0.16 pigs respectively, Ms Rusk added.

"Looking ahead, a rise in the numbers of pigs weaned indicates that we could see growth in pigs slaughtered per sow towards the end of this year and into next, which agrees with our expectations for UK pig meat production for this period. Nevertheless, this will depend on performance throughout the rearing and finishing stages," she said. 

The latest physical performance data for the GB pig herd can be found on the AHDB website here.