Evaluation of litters per sow per year as a means to reduce non-productive sow days in commercial swine breeding herds and its association with other economically important traits

Abstract

Introduction Materials and Methods Results Discussion Implications Literature Cited CHAPTER 5: GENERAL CONCLUSION CHAPTER 6: LITERATURE CITED APPENDIX: TRAIT DISTRIBUTIONS vi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS First and foremost, I would like to thank my major professor, Dr. Kenneth Stalder. He has provided me with many opportunities and experiences to expand my knowledge and understanding of the swine breeding industry. He has allowed me to be a part of many projects during the past two years. Dr. Stalder has also been a great mentor and helped me to reach my full potential. I am truly grateful for the all the time and effort he has put into ensuring that I am fully prepared for my future goals. I would also like to thank Dr. John Mabry, one of my committee members. He has taught me many lessons about working with field data. He has been extremely helpful in guiding me through the data analysis. I appreciate Dr. Mabry's patience as I have learned the research process. My other committee members, Dr. Jack Dekkers and Dr. Philip Dixon, have been beneficial in ensuring my thesis is satisfactory by offering their comments and suggestions. I would also like to thank the faculty, staff, and students of the Animal Breeding Genetics Group as well as the Department of Animal Science for their support and collaboration. The financial support for this project was made possible through the Iowa Pork Producers Association and the National Pork Board. For this, I am grateful. I would also like to thank the two companies that have supplied the data for this project. The greatest influences in my life have been my parents, Paul and Cathy Abell. They have provided me with the means to pursue all of my goals. I appreciated their support and encouragement as I have worked toward this degree.

Estimation of Genetic Parameters and Trends for Length of Productive Life and Lifetime Production Traits in a Commercial Landrace and Yorkshire Swine Population in Northern Thailand

“…Sows that have long LPL would be more productive and profitable than sows with short LPL (Stalder et al, 2003; Abell, 2011). Highly productive sows are preferred by commercial swine producers and kept for as long as possible in the production system.…”

“…Length of productive life (LPL) and lifetime production traits (lifetime number of piglets born alive [LBA], lifetime number of piglets weaned [LPW], lifetime litter birth weight [LBW], and lifetime litter weaning weight [LWW]) are important for commercial swine operations because they affect efficiency of production, costs, and profitability. Sows that have long LPL would be more productive and profitable than sows with short LPL ( Stalder et al, 2003 ; Abell, 2011 ). Highly productive sows are preferred by commercial swine producers and kept for as long as possible in the production system.…”

Study on the influence of different production factors on PSY and its correlation

“…It is closely related to number of weaned piglets per litter, farrowing rate, non-productive days (NPD) and other production factors [ 1 ]. By increasing PSY, the purchase cost of gilts and the feeding cost of sows can be shared equally among more weaned piglets, to improve the profits of commercial pig farms [ 2 ]. PSY has been used to provide target for the reproductive performance and productivity of breeding herds [ 3 ].…”

The Application of an Augmented Gravity Model to Measure the Effects of a Regionalization of Potential Risk Distribution of the US Cull Sow Market

“…Collection points continuously buy animals from farms, then sort sows by weight and body type to sell them to the proper slaughter facility based on preference [ 4 ]. By allowing sow farms to remove small batches of cull animals at convenient times, collection points relieve the farm of the additional expense associated with retaining non-productive sows [ 5 , 6 ].…”