Producers and industry representatives discussed the feasibility of the U.S. pig industry reaching 30 pigs per sow per year at the Feeding for 30 Forum at World Pork Expo. Pig farmers highlighted areas that have helped them move closer to 30 pigs per sow per year.
Areas of focus include: full-feeding sows through lactation, increased attention to birth weights and colostrum, and piglet care immediately after farrowing. The producer panelists have current pigs per sow per year rates between 26 and 30.4 and together manage close to 30,000 sows. The panel was comprised of three producers nearing 30 pigs per sow per year and three industry representatives involved with sow nutrition and management.
"The panel discussion and the success of these producers in the field show that 30 pigs per sow per year is a goal that we can achieve," says Dan McManus, DVM, young animal specialist-swine for Purina Animal Nutrition. "When you're trying to hit that goal, it's a package deal. You need good genetics and you need good nutrition. Beyond those pieces, the farms that are the most successful also have a very good, motivated team of people through all stages of production."
Panelists of the Feeding for 30 Forum included:
- Dan McManus, DVM, young animal specialist-swine for Purina Animal Nutrition
- Jon Bergstrom, Ph.D., market development manager-swine for DSM Nutritional Products
- Derald Holtkamp, DVM, associate professor of veterinarian diagnostic and production animal medicine for Iowa State University, College of Veterinary Medicine
- Steve Huegerich, national director of swine operations for GSC Agribusiness in Coon Rapids, Iowa
- Dave Hansen, owner/operator of Hansen Haven and Hansen Hog West in Coleridge, Nebraska
- Steve Stitzlein, production supervisor at Heimerl Farms in Johnstown, Ohio
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