The Use of Data for Cost Effective

Management

Doug MacDougald

MacDougald and Morris, 11 William Street S., Wellesley, ON, Canada, N0B 2T0

The challenge of data use is to simplify the data to the point at which they can be effectively analyzed without compromising the decision making process. This paper will use two key production areas; lactation feed intake and gilt pool management, as examples of the use of data leading to good decision making.

The inter-relationship between factors influencing weaned pig output shown in Figure 1 highlights the importance of sows farrowed per week as the overwhelming driver of pigs weaned per week. Dial et al. (1996) showed this component accounted for 96% of the variation in pigs weaned per week. Sows served per week accounted for 94% of the variation of sows farrowed per week and sows served were driven by two key factors, normal wean to service intervals (<7 days) and gilts served per week.

Lactation Feed Intake

This is one of the key factors affecting the consistency of wean to service interval (Koketsu et al., 1996) and much has been written on the management and monitoring of lactation feed intake. However, there has been little effort in putting this information into a format that is useful as a management guide or staff feedback tool. Three key components of lactation feed management include:

1. Have a written standard operating procedure detailing exactly how the sow is to be fed from entering the farrowing room before farrowing to leaving at weaning.

2. Actual feed intake charts recording daily feed levels (Figure 2).

Figure 2. Example of a simple lactation feed intake record sheet.

3. A weekly monitor showing average feed intake per lactating day. This is calculated by totalling the lactation feed delivered to the lactating sows for the interval and dividing it by the total lactating days for the same interval. Total lactation days is derived from PigCHAMP® using the Productivity Analysis Report (Table 1).

This type of report has the advantage of an external monitor of actual weekly feed levels that gives immediate feedback to staff and management.

Table 1. Productivity analysis records recovered from PigCHAMP® 4.02 showing the key information used to calculate "Total Lactation Days".

Non-Productive Sow Days Entry to first service Entry to removal (no service) 1st service to concept (gilts) 1st service to removal (gilts) Wean to 1st service Wean to removal (no service) 1st service to concept (sows) 1st service to removal (sows) Total non-productive sow days	13.4 0.0 2.1 .0 11.9 2.5 9.1 4.3 43.3	Oct. 25-31, 1997 (A)
Productive Sow Days Lactation Gestation Total productive sow days	33.9 287.8 321.7	(B)
Key Intervals (Days) Entry to 1st service Entry to removal (no service) Old 1st service to concept (gilts) New 1st service to concept (gilts) 1st service to removal (gilts) Wean to first service Wean to removal (no service) Old 1st service to concept (sows) New 1st service to concept (sows) 1st service to removal (sows)	18.7 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 5.3 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
Percent of Ave Female Inventory Maiden gilts Served gilts Lactating sows Weaned sows Served sows Average female inventory	3.7 5.8 9.3 3.9 77.3 858.0	(C)
Female Removal Information
Number of gilts entered		Total location days/interval
Number of gilts served Percent served then removed Percent with know results	3 0.0 0.0	= A ÷ 365 × B × C
Number of sows weaned Percent removed (no service) Percent with know results	32 6.3 93.8	= 7 ÷ 365 × 33.9 × 858 = 558
Number of sows served Percent served then removed Percent with known results	37 0.0 0.0

The data from the two herds in Figures 3 and 4 show some of the differences that exist from herd to herd and forms a basis for correcting any shortfall in intake. It is not a surprise that the herd in Figure 3 was achieving 19.4 pigs weaned /mated sow/year compared to 24.8 pigs in the herd in Figure 4. Note this projects to a difference of > $3.00 in sow feed cost per weaned pig.

Gilt Pool

Gilts served/week accounted for the second largest component affecting the variation of females served per week. Similar to lactation feed intake, much has been written about gilt pool management. However, again the problem has been lack of direction on practical application of data to drive an efficient breeding program. Two key components of gilt pool management are:

1. Have a written standard operating procedure detailing exactly how the gilt pool is to operate. Some of the key points include:

• Gilts enter the herd at 140 to 160 days of age with a weight range of 100 to 110 kg and with no prior boar exposure or unnecessary moving or mixing. This is based on the source herd supplying preconditioned gilts that will not have any significant acclimation challenge.
• The tag ID in the gilt will be recorded as Alt ID and a farm specific tag sequence and colour will be given to the gilt as their main ID.
• Vaccination program - farm specific.
• Feed from entry to service at full feed with 2x per day feeding with the designated open gilt feed on the floor or by using a feeder. Target intake is 3.5 kg (7.7 LB)/gilt/day, and actual intake needs to be checked every month.
• Minimum floor space of 1.2 sq. m (12 sq. ft.) per gilt.
• Lighting has to be bright and on for 14 hours per day using a timer on exactly the same on-off sequence as the rest of the breeding and farrowing areas.
• All gilts should receive daily (direct) contact for a minimum of 10 minutes with a boar that is over one year old. This daily boar contact will continue until 90% of gilts have a recorded heat. Record this heat in PigCHAMP® as a HNS (heat no service). A record of HNS gilts with their next two projected heat dates will be updated weekly.
• The non cycling gilts will be removed and mixed with other non cycling gilts or newly introduced gilts. The boar is penned away from the open gilts. Note: A target is 90% of gilts showing first heat within 7 days of entry.
• On the first heat the gilt will be handmated with a vasectomized boar. This is recorded in PigCHAMP® as a Flag "V".
• After 90% of gilts in the pen have a recorded heat the boar is not introduced into the pen until three days prior to the first gilt's next projected heat. Twice per day boar exposure in the pen as above is done for accurate heat detection.
• Upon detection of standing heat, gilts are removed from the pen, placed in a stall, and 12 hours later bred by AI, in the presence of a boar. The boar is placed immediately in front of the gilt and within a restricted area no larger than five stalls. Heat detection is repeated in another 12 hours and the AI mating is repeated if the gilt is in heat.
• In general, crossbred gilts should be bred on their second heat or 170 to 190 days of age.
• In general, if a crossbred gilt is not bred by 50 days after entry, culling should occur.

2. Using the HNS event has greatly improved the accuracy of projected gilts available to breed within specific dates. This report (Table 2) is generated by exporting the information from PigCHAMP® into a spreadsheet.

In summary, sows served per week is the key component to work on for reducing variation in pigs weaned per week. Lactation feed intake and gilt pool management are crucial management areas that data can be used to fine tune productivity.

References

Dial et al. (1996) The influence of the gilt pool on weaned pig output. Proceedings of the Allen D. Leman Conference. pp. 39-41.

Koketsu et al. (1996) The influence of nutrient intake on biological measures of breeding herd productivity. Swine Health and Production. 1996; vol. 4(2): 85-94.

Table 2. Gilt Pool Report - Total Gilts = 48; Date: 17-Nov-97.

ID	Entry Date	Heat NS Date:	2nd Projected Heat	3rd Projected Heat	Entry-HNS Interval	Days in Herd	Flag	Pen
480	23-Sep-97	29-Sep-97	20-Sep-97	10-Nov-97	6	55	X	22
568	17-Oct-97	21-Oct-97	11-Nov-97	02-Dec-97	4	31		14
498	17-Oct-97	21-Oct-97	11-Nov-97	02-Dec-97	4	31		22
497	17-Oct-97	21-Oct-97	11-Nov-97	02-Dec-97	4	31		22
560	17-Oct-97	22-Oct-97	12-Nov-97	03-Dec-97	5	31		14
500	17-Oct-97	22-Oct-97	12-Nov-97	03-Dec-97	5	31		22
664	05-Nov-97	09-Nov-97	30-Nov-97	21-Dec-97	4	12		25
607	05-Nov-97	09-Nov-97	30-Nov-97	21-Dec-97	4	12		23
603	05-Nov-97	09-Nov-97	30-Nov-97	21-Dec-97	4	12		23
661	05-Nov-97	09-Nov-97	30-Nov-97	21-Dec-97	4	12		25
660	05-Nov-97	09-Nov-97	30-Nov-97	21-Dec-97	4	12		25
623	05-Nov-97	09-Nov-97	30-Nov-97	21-Dec-97	4	12		24
620	05-Nov-97	09-Nov-97	30-Nov-97	21-Dec-97	4	12		22
621	05-Nov-97	09-Nov-97	30-Nov-97	21-Dec-97	4	12		24
51	05-Nov-97	09-Nov-97	30-Nov-97	21-Dec-97	4	12		22
61	05-Nov-	10-Nov-	01-Dec-	22-Dec-	5	12		22
520	05-Nov-97	10-Nov-97	01-Dec-97	22-Dec-97	5	12		23
614	05-Nov-97	10-Nov-97	01-Dec-97	22-Dec-97	5	12		22
624	05-Nov-97	10-Nov-97	01-Dec-97	22-Dec-97	5	12		24
514	05-Nov-97	10-Nov-97	01-Dec-97	22-Dec-97	5	12		22
510	05-Nov-97	10-Nov-97	01-Dec-97	22-Dec-97	5	12		22
52	05-Nov-	10-Nov-	01-Dec-	22-Dec-	5	12		23
605	05-Nov-97	10-Nov-97	01-Dec-97	22-Dec-97	5	12		22
522	05-Nov-97	10-Nov-97	01-Dec-97	22-Dec-97	5	12		23
608	05-Nov-97	10-Nov-97	01-Dec-97	22-Dec-97	5	12		23
524	05-Nov-97	10-Nov-97	01-Dec-97	22-Dec-97	5	12		23
657	05-Nov-97	11-Nov-97	02-Dec-97	23-Dec-97	6	12		25
652	05-Nov-97	11-Nov-97	02-Dec-97	23-Dec-97	6	12		24
669	05-Nov-97	11-Nov-97	02-Dec-97	23-Dec-97	6	12		25
655	05-Nov-97	11-Nov-97	02-Dec-97	23-Dec-97	6	12		24
654	05-Nov-97	11-Nov-97	02-Dec-97	23-Dec-97	6	12		24
662	05-Nov-97	11-Nov-97	02-Dec-97	23-Dec-97	6	12		25
663	05-Nov-97	11-Nov-97	02-Dec-97	23-Dec-97	6	12		25
666	05-Nov-97	11-Nov-97	02-Dec-97	23-Dec-97	6	12		25
667	05-Nov-97	11-Nov-97	02-Dec-97	23-Dec-97	6	12		25
622	05-Nov-97	11-Nov-97	02-Dec-97	23-Dec-97	6	12		24
619	05-Nov-97	11-Nov-97	02-Dec-97	23-Dec-97	6	12		24
668	05-Nov-97	12-Nov-97	03-Dec-97	24-Dec-97	7	12		24
658	05-Nov-97	12-Nov-97	03-Dec-97	24-Dec-97	7	12		24
523	05-Nov-97	12-Nov-97	03-Dec-97	24-Dec-97	7	12		23