sources of pigs entering the grower/finisher phase on u.s ......the average number of pig sources...

Sources of Pigs Entering theGrower/Finisher Phase onU.S. Pork Operations

Swine producers have several options for obtainingyoung pigs to finish for marketing. Some producersfarrow pigs from their own, on-site breeding herd, andsome form cooperative sow centers from which eachproducer receives feeder pigs from the cooperativefarrowing unit. Other producers may purchase pigsdirectly from a feeder-pig or weaned-pig producer tofill their grower/finisher unit.

An alternative source of young pigs is an auction orsale. Since swine diseases are transmitted mostfrequently by pig-to-pig contact, many producersattempt to obtain pigs from a single source on onefarm. When producers find it necessary to obtainpigs from multiple sources, many maintain sometype of isolation to prevent commingling of pigsfrom different farms, thus lowering risk of diseasetransmission.

The USDA’s National Animal HealthMonitoring System described how swine producersobtained grower/finisher pigs in the Swine ‘95study. The 16 states1 involved in Swine ‘95represented nearly three-fourths of U.S. porkproducers and over 90 percent of the hog inventory.

The most common method of bringing pigs into thegrower/finisher phase of production was on-sitefarrowing and nursery units with 76.7 percent of theoperations using this practice. Ten percent of theswine operations used off-site farrowing and nurseryunits as a source of pigs, and 13.8 percent obtainedpigs from feeder pig producers, both contract andnoncontract. Only 5.9 percent purchased pigs from anauction, sale barn, or livestock market.

Use of off-site farrowing units and nurseriesappeared to be more common with the largerproducers. Although 10.2 percent of the operationshad off-site capabilities, 21.6 percentof the pigsentered the grower/finisher operation from off-sitefacilities (Figure 1).

Figure 1

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1 Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania,South Dakota, Tennessee, and Wisconsin.

The same information, presented by herd sizeshows that 9.7 percent of grower/finishers from herdsmarketing fewer than 2,000 pigs originated fromoff-site facilities. Whereas, for operations marketingmore than 10,000 pigs, 64.4 percent ofgrower/finishers came from off-site farrowing andnursery units. Sixteen percent of pigs from herdsmarketing 2,000 through 10,000 pigs were raisedoff-site.

The nearly 6 percent of operations that purchasedpigs from auctions, sale barns, or livestock marketsrepresented only 1.6 percent of the pigs entering thegrower/finisher phase of production. This avenuerepresented 4 percent of the pigs for producersmarketing under 2,000 head. None of theoperations marketing more than 2,000 head usedauctions, sale barns, or livestock markets as asource of pigs.

Fifty-three percent of the operations obtainingfeeder pigs from other producers were able tomeet the desirable one-source goal (Figure 2). Asswine operations became larger, sticking to thesingle source was more difficult.

The average number of pig sources for smallerproducers (fewer than 2,000 pigs marketed forslaughter) was 2.1 compared to the largest(10,000 or more pigs marketed) with 3.9 sources(Figure 3). The medium-sized producer (2,000 to9,999 pigs marketed) averaged 3.0 sources forobtaining pigs.

Producers are generally aware of the risks ofdisease transmission among several-source pigs. Ofoperations that received feeder pigs from more thanone source, 63.7 percent did not commingle pigs fromdifferent sources after they arrived in thegrower/finisher units. Over one-third (36.3 percent)did commingle pigs after arrival.

NAHMS collaborators on the Swine ‘95 studyincluded the National Agricultural Statistics Service(USDA); State and Federal Veterinary Medical

Officers and Animal Health Technicians; and theNational Veterinary Services Laboratories(USDA:APHIS:VS).

Other information from the Swine ‘95 is available.For more information on these topics or the study ingeneral, contact:

Centers for Epidemiology and Animal HealthUSDA:APHIS:VS, Attn. NAHMS

2150 Centre Ave., Bldg. B, MS 2E7Fort Collins, Colorado 80526-8117

(970) 494-7000NAHMSweb@aphis.usda.gov

N208.696

Figure 2

Figure 3

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