SOW MANAGEMENT
Top five breeding challenges in China
Producing pigs in China can be a challenge for even the best producers. The challenges related to pig production are endless starting with health issues, management issues, feed quality and much more. Which are the five that jump out?
By Michael Ellermann, Carthage and MHJ Agritech Consulting, China
1. Turnover of staff Most pig producers in China have a problem with turnover of farm staff. At some of the farms we visited, the turnover can hit 100% per year. As the development from backyard to large scale commercial farms is occurring, producers are afraid of contamination of new diseases. Therefore, the new large scale farms are built with a dormitory where the staff live for a shorter or longer time without being able to leave the farm area. This means that the farm technician or herdsman is away from his or her family and social life while working on the farm. Farm staff consists of a mix of highly educated people with a bachelor’s, master’s and even PhD degree while the rest is unedu- cated or have very limited education. The highly educated staff have ambitions and do not want to live on a farm for a long peri- od of time but use maybe a six-month stay as a jumping board to a better job. By having a large turnover of staff, the farm is always in training mode, where the best staff is busy training new staff instead of working with the animals which he/she is best at. So how to deal with the turnover on farms, this is a big challenge. Some pig farm companies have acknowledged the problem and seek solutions on how to solve the problem. One solution for companies is to develop their own internal train- ing programme suited to their need and situation. It is not just
training and education of staff that is being implemented, farms and pig producing companies are creating environments where the staff can bring their families. Another solution is to have the staff work three weeks and have one week off every month. There is currently no perfect model for reducing staff turnover but companies know they need to address the issue before it is too late.
2. Feeding strategy and water availability A large number of farms that are visited have a strategy of not feeding sows on the day of weaning. The theory behind this is that the sow will wean herself quicker if she is not fed feed. After weaning many farms also limit the feed until oestrus occurs, resulting in a prolonged wean-to-oestrus interval. This results in increased non-productive days (NPD) and a lower efficiency of the farm. Water availability for sows is another problem checked at many farms. Low availability of water during breeding and early stages of gestation interfere negatively in reproductive parameters. Results from urinalysis performed at different farms during last year in China showed significant prevalence of sows with high density urine, a condition associated with low daily consumption of water. At Carthage MHJ Agritech Consulting, the experience is that some farms starve sows on wean day but also decrease the feed amount daily from day 4 prior to weaning. This strategy also leads to an increased wean-to-oestrus interval as well as lower litter size in the next litter and increased NPD in the herd. It is
Lance Dunbar, senior
consultant at Carthage & MHJ Agritech Consulting, gives
instructions and train- ing to Chinese farm staff on post-cervical
artificial insemination (PCAI).
PIG PROGRESS VOLUME 32, No. 6, 2016 21
PHOTOS: MICHAEL ELLERMANN
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