From research to farm: ex ante evaluation of strategic deworming in pig finishing

Abstract

This paper upgrades generic and partial information from parasitological research for farm-specific decision support, using two methods from managerial sciences: partial budgeting and frontier analysis. The analysis focuses on strategic deworming in pig finishing and assesses both effects on economic performance and nutrient efficiency. The application of partial budgeting and frontier analysis is based on a production-theoretical system analysis which is necessary to integrate parasitological research results to assess aggregate economic and environmental impacts. Results show that both statistically significant and insignificant parasitological research results have to be taken into account. Partial budgeting and frontier analysis appear to be complementary methods: partial budgeting yields more discriminatory and communicative results, while frontier methods provide additional diagnostics through exploring optimization possibilities and economic-environmental trade-offs. Strategic deworming results in a win-win effect on economic and environmental performances. Gross margin increases with 3 to 12 € per average present finisher per year, depending on the cyclic pig price conditions. The impact on the nutrient balance ranges from +0.2 to -0.5 kg nitrogen per average present finisher per year. The observed efficiency improvements are mainly technical and further economic and environmental optimizations can be achieved through input re-allocation. A user-friendly spreadsheet is provided to translate the generic experimental information to farm-specific conditions. Keywords: partial budgeting; frontier analysis; pig finishing; strategic deworming Supported by the Institute for the Promotion of Innovation by Science and Technology in Flanders (IWT Vlaanderen).Endoparasites in livestock cause discomfort, physical damage and economic losses (Stewart and Hale, 1988;Corwin, 1997;Vercruysse and Dorny, 1999;Jaeger et al., 2005;Kemper and Henze, 2009). Many efforts are made by scientists and veterinary pharmaceutical companies to develop anti-parasitic products and/or strategies (e.g. Murrell, 1986;Roepstorff and Jorsal, 1989;Roepstorff and Nansen, 1994;Williams, 1997;Nansen and Roepstorff, 1999;Vercruysse and Dorny, 1999;Joachim et al., 2001;Beloeil et al., 2003;Jaeger et al., 2005;Kemper and Henze, 2009). In order to get adopted by farmers, these strategies must guarantee net improvements in economic farm results. As long as parasitological research outcomes demonstrate significant improvements in key performance indicators such as productivity, quality or mortality, traditional techniques like partial budgeting (see e.g. Dijkhuizen and Morris, 1997) suffice for aggregating these outcomes to assess net economic effects and for extrapolating results to a larger set of farms. In its most simple form, aggregation and extrapolation can even be done with rough back-of-the-envelope simulations.

Serological examination of fattening pigs reveals associations between Ascaris suum, lung pathogens and technical performance parameters

“…The obtained results also support previous findings indicating that the presence of A. suum on a farm negatively impacts economically important parameters (Kipper et al, 2011;Nilsson, 1982;Stewart and Hale, 1988;Van Meensel et al, 2010) since significant correlations were detected between the average Ascaris S/P values, the percentage of affected livers and average daily weight gain in the Belgian farms. Although the same associations were not significant in the German farms, a similar trend was also visible.…”

“…result in significant economic losses to the pig industry (Bernardo et al, 1990;Hale et al, 1985;Kipper et al, 2011;Knecht et al, 2012;Miskimins et al, 1994;Nilsson, 1982;Stewart and Hale, 1988;Van Meensel et al, 2010), the prevalence of this parasite in commercial pig farms remains high (Eijck and Borgsteede, 2005;Haugegaard, 2010;Joachim et al, 2001;Vlaminck et al, 2012). This is mainly because an Ascaris infection is in most cases a http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.vetpar.2015.04.012 0304-4017/© 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.…”

Impact of Ascaris suum in Livestock

“…An attempt to address some of the problems associated with economic evaluation of worm control has been reported, 91 indicating gross margin increases of 3e12 V per average present finisher per year after strategic de-worming during the fattening period. use of anthelmintics), (2) abattoir operator losses due to condemnation or downgrading of livers and lower product quality, and (3) potential interference with vaccinations and higher risk of co-infections.…”

Mind the gaps in research on the control of gastrointestinal nematodes of farmed ruminants and pigs

“…However, there are also several studies that failed to show any impact of infection in pigs, perhaps because of the lack of good diagnostic tools to detect the presence of infection (Vlaminck, Levecke, Vercruysse, & Geldhof, ) and the temporary effect on productivity in infected animals. Nevertheless, even if the production impact of subclinical nematode infections may be subtle, in current economic climates with small profit margins for farmers, GI nematode infection has been shown to exert a disproportionate impact on the economic profitability of farms (Van Meensel et al., ). Whereas an increasing amount of data are being generated for the direct production impacts of GI nematode infections, more emphasis should now be given to the production and economic impacts of AR.…”