The problem of constipated barns Economics and throughput Focus on the Future conference March 27, 2007 Ben Woolley Vice President Sunterra Farms Ltd Constipation Noun 1. Irregular and frequent or difficult evacuation of the bowels; can be a symptom of intestinal obstruction or diverticulitis 2. The act of making something futile and useless (as by routine) 1
Constipation comes in many forms and can be caused by many things! 2
New Zealand men s room What causes barn constipation? Over production in the sow units. Fluctuations in production from the sow units. Slow down in growth rate in nursery or finisher. Increase in slaughter weights. 3
What can your farm handle? A set amount of nursery and finisher space: Can only handle a set amount of pigs. Can only handle a set amount of pork produced. Cannot handle fluctuations in numbers from the sow unit. What to do with extra pigs? What to do if you are short of pigs? What is your goal? If you have access to more finishing space: It provides flexibility Allows for variation in numbers Allows for marketing at optimum weights Potentially can cost you in empty space 4
Produce the right number from the sow unit Over production Causes constipation and production problems in nurseries and finishers Failure to hit production targets Causes expensive empty space Increases per pig fixed costs Determine the optimal production for your system Number of pigs Kgs of pork produced 5
Influence of Floor Space on Finishing Pig ADG ADG, g 1000 950 900 850 a,b P < 0.05 859 b 905 a,b 916 a 936 a 800 0.64 0.74 0.81 0.88 Floor Space, m 2 Anil et al., 2005 Leman Conf p 252 Calculate your capacity Nursery and finisher: Useable square ft divided by allotted space per pig. Allocation of space is determined by your weight at maximum stocking density. Minimum recommended K value = 0.028 6
Space calculation Nursery example: Assume k value of 0.03 and exit weight of 22.7 kg (50 lbs) 0.03 X (22.7).667 = 0.241 m 2 = 2.59 ft 2 per pig Space calculation Finisher example: K value of 0.03 and an exit weight of 125 kg 0.03 x (125).667 = 0.75m 2 = 8.073 ft 2 7
Typical example of units we all deal with Nursery (Farrow to finish unit): 6 rooms x 44 pens x 58 sq ft = 2552 sq ft per room 2552 / 2.59 = 985 pigs per week Finisher (Same unit): 16 rooms x 40 pens x 140 sq ft = 5600 sq ft per room 5600 / 8 = 700 pigs per week Problem! Nursery and finisher space do not match. Problem! Only 16 weeks of finisher space. What to do? 8
Plan Calculate the number of pigs to come out of the sow unit EVERY WEEK! A consistent flow is far easier to manage. Make good decisions! Setting breeding targets Fill in the yellow cells with your targets and actual projected results Blue cells will tell you your weekly breeding target. Pipeline target 985 per week Current born alive 11.4 Pre weaning mortality 11.00% Pigs weaned per litter 10.15 Sows needed to farrow to meet target 97 Projected farrowing rate 82.00% Actual nursery mortality 1.00% Budgeted nursery mortality 1.50% -0.50% Actual finisher mortality 4.00% Budgeted finisher mortality 2.50% 1.50% 1.00% Services needed to achieve target 120 per week Current capacity Dry sow and gilt spaces 2178 Farrowing spaces 400 Working space needed 10.00% Total capacity 2320.2 Weekly breeding capacity 116 If not troubleshoot! Can your breeding barn handle this? Space deficiency 4 per week Extra space needed to be found to achieve target 68 spaces 9
Failure to meet production targets Leads to under utilized assets Increased costs Failure to achieve income targets Lost opportunity But! Will get some gains in performance in nursery and finishers due to under-stocking. Is 30 p/s/y good? Remember produce the right number of pigs Increasing productivity provides efficiency gains - you can keep less sows and increase weaning age. Increased weaning age provides lower feed cost and improved performance in nursery and finisher. Do not produce more pigs than the system can handle unless you have an outlet Every extra pig produced in excess than the nurseries and finishers can handle will negatively affect the performance of the whole group. Causes overstocking. 10
What are my options for extra pigs? Find more finisher space Sell feeder pigs Sell isoweans Cut production? What will influence how much extra space I need in finisher? 11
Factors influencing finisher space Management considerations: We did that a minute ago! Optimum use of available space Feeder and drinker capacities and type Group size Seasonal variation Marketing weight and index Performance budgets and genotype (+800 gms) Nutrition and feed type Health Seasonal variation Shortage of weaned pigs in December! Source: Gene Noem, Murphy-Brown 12
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Seasonal variation The big guys buy feeder pigs to keep finishers in the US full when troughs appear Opportunity! This causes temporary increases in the weaned pig and feeder pig prices Possibly space available at that time in US Seasonal variation Price is higher in summer months Slaughter weights decrease in summer months Weight gain slows down as temperature rises Can we take advantage of this? PLAN AHEAD 14
70.00 Average weekly slaughter price 1990 to 2006 IA/SM 65.00 60.00 55.00 50.00 45.00 40.00 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec Date Average weekly slaughter price 1990 to 2006 Options for taking advantage of seasonal variation Sell feeder pigs in spring (see previous chart) Allows for slow down in growth rate in summer months Lets you keep slaughter weights up Allows you to take advantage of incremental weight gain 15
Options for taking advantage of seasonal variation Retain more finishing space Buy feeder pigs in fall to keep barns full through winter Allows extra space for summer months for slower growth rate and achieving optimum slaughter weights What is my optimal market weight? Factors to consider Index and optimal revenue range Opportunity cost of adding incremental weight Incremental gain = projected income (extra feed + housing cost) Is it worth putting on the extra weight Do I have space to do it? 16
Health Health challenges don t just cost money in mortality! Circo virus decreases ADG by at least 10%! Challenges cause congestion in your system! Barns need to be empty and are not. Multi site production maintain biosecurity measures to keep groups clean. Poor health costs at least $10 per pig! Rough value of health Decrease morbidity by 3% > $3.50 per pig Decrease FCR by 0.1 > $4.80 per pig Increase growth rate by.15 > $1.85 Total > $10.15 per pig How much time do we spend trying to decrease costs in the sow unit by $2.00 per pig? 17
Identify risk factors Service personnel, employees, contractors. What are their biosecurity requirements? Do they follow them? Transport Is your transport company following your protocols? Are they putting you at risk? Audit your production system regularly to identify problem areas Sick pens How many sick pens do you leave in a barn? The more you leave, the higher the stocking density in other pens. REMEMBER the pens with the biggest, healthiest pigs are the ones that do not get sorted down! You are therefore compromising the performance of your most profitable pigs! 18
Sick pigs Make decisions early. We are all guilty of giving sick pigs too many chances. Sick pigs take up valuable space why do your worst pigs have the most space? Do you make money selling cull pigs? Destroy terminal pigs early. In the long run it will save you money. Sorting We now have many studies concerned with sorting. Studies show there is no benefit to sorting. So don t waste time on things that do not help. Spend your time on things that give proven benefits. 19
Effects of Sorting by Weight in the Nursery Steve Dritz et al KSU Pigs were weighed and divided up into light, medium, or heavy weight groups at weaning. The unsorted contained light, medium and heavy pigs in the same pen. The initial average weight of the medium and unsorted pigs was the same. Weight, lb 70 65 60 55 50 Minimal sorting and mixing of pigs 57.2 61.5 66.5 64.4 53.8 Light Medium Heavy Unsorted 64.7 59.4 60.7 45 21 Pigs/Pen 30 Pigs/Pen Steve Dritz et al. KSU 20
The brown bars are the average of the light, medium, and heavy pigs in the previous slide. Note the average of the three sorted groups was 2.7 lb lighter than the unsorted pigs for 21 pigs per pen and 1.4 lb lighter for 30 pigs per pen. Interpretation is that growth rate is decreased by sorting. 70 Minimal sorting and mixing of pigs Sorted 21 vs Unsorted 21 pigs per pen P <.02 21 Pigs vs 30 pigs P <.01 Sort Unsorted Weight, lb 65 60 55 61.7 64.4 59.3 60.7 50 45 Steve Dritz et al. KSU 21 Pigs/Pen 30 Pigs/Pen Should pigs be sorted by weight into the finisher? Steve Dritz et al. KSU 21
Initial Weight, lb 85.0 80.0 75.0 70.0 65.0 60.0 lb 81.7 a 75.0 b b 74.6 c 66.5 Heavy Medium Light Unsort Steve Dritz et al. KSU 2.10 2.08 2.06 2.04 2.02 2.00 1.98 1.96 lb 2.08 a ADG d 0 to 91 b 2.02 b 2.00 2.08 a Heavy Medium Light Unsort Unsorted pigs grew as fast as the heavy category and faster than the medium and light categories even though they were initially the same weight as the medium group. Steve Dritz et al. KSU 22
Final Weight, lb d 91 280.0 270.0 260.0 250.0 240.0 230.0 a 272.4 b b 264.6 259.6 249.6c Heavy Medium Light Unsort Steve Dritz et al. KSU Average Within Pen SD (variation) Steve Dritz et al. KSU 25.0 20.0 15.0 10.0 5.0.0 lb 3.1 d 0 and 91 16.2 16.7 a b 1.7 4.5 20.4 7.0 19.3 Heavy Medium Light Unsort c Blue placement Green at market Pigs were more variable weight in the unsorted at placement but at the end of finishing the variation was the same across all groups. d 23
Conclusion There appears to be no advantage to sorting into the finisher In fact, there may be growth performance benefits to not sorting Steve Dritz et al. KSU Marketing Do not let your employees and contractors be sloppy with marketing. It is easier to pull a bunch of pigs from one pen than one or two pigs from several pens. Thin ALL pens down as you start to pull pigs. This prevents overcrowding and decreases in growth rate. It also tightens up market weights. 24
Summary Produce the right number of pigs from your units. Do not overproduce unless you have an outlet for weaned pigs. Use increased production to increase weaning age and gain efficiency in nursery and finishers. Summary Use seasonal variation to your advantage. Plan ahead for decreased growth rate in Summer. Assess your optimum marketing weight. Maintain health. Be careful how you use sick pens. Use marketing to reduce stocking density. Don t waste time on things with no impact Use information to decide where you can make a difference. 25
Thank you! Barn constipation? 26