I want to start this discussion with a few old adages. “ If you don’t know where you are going, any road will get you there” and “If you don’t measure it you can’t manage it”. I interpret this to mean that we must set targets for pig performance and we must keep records to know if we are meeting these targets. Obviously each unit must set its’ own target levels. Any target levels set must be realistic and achievable and take into account the quality of the facilities, disease level on the unit, quality of labour, entry and exit weights into barns etc. But some guidelines for better than average target performance levels:

Target performance levels in grow-finish

Entry weight	20 kg
Exit weight	115 kg
		kg feed
Feed usage	20-60 kg	100
	60-115 kg	155
	Total	255

birth to 20 kg		25
sow feed/pig, kg *		40
mortality allowance		20
	Total	85 kg
	Grand total	340 kg

*assumes 24 pigs weaned /sow/year, 965 kg feed/sow/year

Other target values for this example

Wt. Range, kg	20-60	60-115	0verall
Gain, kg/day	0.78	0.96	0.87
Feed intake/day, kg	1.58	2.87	2.65
Feed conversion ratio	2.50	2.82	2.66

Whole herd feed conversion 3.0:1
Days to market-approximately 164 days (i.e. 52 days in the grower and 58 days in the finishing unit, plus 54 days to 20 kg. This is considerably better than average, which is probably over 200 days.)

Calculating number of days in the grow-finish unit

If the number of pigs in the unit is reasonably constant from month to month you can estimate the number of days pigs spend in the feeder barn (Grow-Finish):

Average inventory in the feeder barn	950
Number of pigs sold/year	2850
Inventory turnover	2850=3.5
	950
Average days in Grow-Finish	365=122 3.0

If you want total days to market, add days in the nursery plus age at weaning.

If your days-to-market are too long, the most likely causes of this problem are:
• Disease problems
• Housing/management problems
• Nutrition and feeding management problems

It is self-evident that you cannot compare your herd’s performance levels to other herds’ target levels if you don’t keep records. The computer has been a big help for producers to monitor (1) production levels, (2) input costs and (3) income. But computerized records are only as good as the information entered. Garbage in - garbage out!

Always check the resulting output from your computer against real data. For example, do a quarterly check on days to market and feed conversion efficiency calculations or number of pigs weaned per sow.

Even if you don’t have a computerized record program, you can still keep a record of (a) feed usage, (b) days to market, (c) mortality and (d) kilograms of pig sold.

We have dealt with genetics and health in the previous issues. In the next issues we will deal with housing, management and nutrition.