It was a treat for me to tour Mr. Hans Faber through Alberta’s swine industry in March (also to practice my German). Mr. Faber is a Breeding Leader for the Multiplier System of the Baden-Wuerttemberg Swine Breeders Association (B-WSBA), an organization that operates in that Province. This Association is a composite of a number of similar separate organizations we maintain across Canada. The B-WSBA maintains herd books for purebred Pietrain, Yorkshire, Landrace and Lecoma breeds as well as assuring the performance of these pigs; operating three AI studs with 500 boars total; provides research facilities for measuring productivity, performance, carcass and meat quality for these breeds. It imported Duroc boars from two Canadian herds to develop a new market in Switzerland for the improvement of meat quality (color, marbling) that is necessary in that country, as compared to the absolute demand for Pietrain-sired hogs for southern Germany. It was terrific for Mr. Faber to attend Alberta Pork Congress so as to meet our Western breeders and producers.

OLYMEL results on settlement slips for Wild Rose Colony in February show good carcass qualities. A second load averaged 111.0 index on 65 hogs with 17.0 mm backfat.

Trait	Value
Duroc gilts	107
Carcass weight, kg	90.4
Backfat average, mm	15.2
Average index	110.4
Loin depth, mm	58.1
Health bonus, $	0.71
Lean 60-66 mm, %	30

The object of the grow-finish feeding program is to optimize pig growth rate, at an acceptable cost. The biggest factor affecting growth rate in most cases is feed intake. So, if you want fast growth in the grow-finish barn, you must encourage feed intake. In both the grower and finisher phases, about one-third of the feed eaten goes to maintain the animal (blood circulation, respiration, digestion, maintain body temperature, etc.) The rest of the food goes to support growth.

Table 1. Proportion of feed intake for maintenance

Body weight range	20-60 kg	60-115 kg
Average feed intake/day	1.58 kg	2.87 kg
Feed for maintenance (M) percentage of total	34%	33%

To minimize maintenance requirements for feed, it is best to (a) encourage rapid growth, (b) lower the disease challenge and (c) house the pigs in a warm, comfortable environment to reduce body heat loss. Therefore, maximizing feed intake to encourage rapid growth is generally the most efficient and profitable way to raise grow-finish pigs, especially with modern, lean-type genotypes.

Feed intake

To maximize the feed intake of grow-finish pigs, it is not as simple as filling a feeder with feed and allowing the pigs to eat as much as they want. There are many factors that affect feed intake. These must be understood and managed if feed intake of grow-finish pigs is to be maximized. A list of factors affecting feed intake is shown below:

Genotype	Sex of hogs
Health Status	Acute disease Chronic disease
Management	Age and weight of pigs at entry and exit Moving/mixing pigs Stocking density (space allowance/pig) Number of pigs/pen
Environment	Barn temperature Fluctuations in barn temperature Humidity Drafts on the pigs
Production Systems	All in/all out by room or barn Fill-time length Number of sources of pigs in the barn
Water	Quality of water Flow rates in drinkers Ease of access to water Type of drinkers
Feeding Systems	Wet-dry feeders Dry feed/feeders Pellets vs mash Number of pigs per feeder space Ease of access Feeder management Split-sex feeding
Dietary Factors	Formulation of diet Quality of ingredients Presence of mold Presence of mycotoxins Quality of the diet: - digestibility - nutrient balance - fineness of grind Use of feed additives Feed budgeting

As can be seen in Figure 1, there are many factors that can affect feed intake. Most of them are under control of management.

An understanding of these factors can help producers to more clearly achieve the genetic potential in average daily feed intake of your pigs.

In the next series of articles, we will deal with some of the more important of these factors.