Sow Mortality and Feed Costs Continue to Increase in Swine Industry

MetaFarms, the information platform for agriculture, announced the release of its Production Index data that provides key performance indicators for the swine industry, including productivity, finishing, and mortality based on anonymized data from its leading agriculture platform

Leading indicators from the MetaFarms Production Index demonstrates that the industry continues to see an increase in sow mortality, with the MetaFarms Production Index showing that percent of sow mortality nearly doubled in just seven years from 2012 to 2019.

“In general, the swine industry has focused quite a bit on genetic improvements – meaning that we are seeing a steady increase in total born – but haven’t yet closed the gap for mortality,” said Brian Parker, chief operating officer, MetaFarms. “From the tightening trade market due to geopolitical factors to environmental impacts caused by climate changes and growing populations, this will need to be a key focus in the years to come to ensure that we are able to meet the growing demand in the market.”

“Leveraging key data points in real-time can help producers make data-driven decisions to improve performance, which positively impacts their bottom line and ultimately, revenue”

 

Other key findings include:

Feed cost continues to rise. Feed cost is the highest it’s been since 2013, coming in at $309.76 per ton on average. However, the data shows that, on average, pig feeds were on feed for nearly a day less, even though the average out weight was up nearly two pounds compared to 2018.

U.S. sow farm productivity increases over Canada. Since 2016, Canada farms have seen a significant decrease among pigs weaned by mated female per year (PWMFY). Among U.S. farms, this number continues to increase, demonstrating a higher sow farm productivity rate. In addition, the MetaFarms Production Index shows that sow mortality has increased by nearly 15 percent from 2018 to 2019, whereas U.S. farms only saw an increase of 0.2 percent.

Lighter start weights lead to lower performance. On average, the MetaFarms Production Index found that finishing groups with lighter average start weights saw higher mortality while adjusted feed conversion and average daily gain was significantly lower compared to other finishing groups.

“Each of these data points within the MetaFarms Production Index provides actionable insight for the swine industry to learn, and ultimately, improve operations,” said Parker. “Leveraging key data points in real-time can help producers make data-driven decisions to improve performance, which positively impacts their bottom line and ultimately, revenue.”

MetaFarms Production Index is an aggregate of more than 1.1 million female animals from the United States, Canada, New Zealand, Philippines, and Australia. MetaFarms offers the most comprehensive platform in the swine industry, focused on capturing data and delivering real-time insights to help producers optimize production and their overall operations.

Click here for more information about MetaFarms and its Production Index