LETTER TO THE EDITOR ▶▶▶
There is no need to rethink genetic selection
In Pig Progress 36.06, an article appeared by consultant Marcello Marchesi that asked whether it is time to fundamentally rethink genetic selection in pigs. In short, the answer to his question is “no”. Hans Olijslagers, CTO at breeding company Topigs Norsvin, explains why.
BY HANS OLIJSLAGERS, CTO TOPIGS NORSVIN W
e have already anticipated all of the problems Marchesi mentions almost two decades ago by introducing balanced breeding. That means we do not always choose the econom-
ic optimum, but find the right balance between economics, animal welfare, ease of management and societal concerns. I will briefly respond to the four trends Marchesi describes in the article.
Pre-weaning mortality In 2001, Topigs Norsvin introduced a vitality, teat-counting and piglet-weighing protocol. Breeding values for the moth- ering abilities of sows and piglet vitality were developed. The basis for our sow breeding goals is that every extra piglet born should be weaned at a sow. An increase in stillborn pig- lets is not acceptable to us. Thanks to this approach, piglet survival has increased.
Backfat and pork flavour Our company’s balanced breeding concept includes desired gains for meat quality traits. A phenotyping programme has been developed for quality traits to avoid leanness-related problems like drip loss, low intramuscular fat and colour issues. In 2006, NIRS phenotyping for meat quality was introduced and, in 2008, CT scanning was introduced for carcass quality. Large-scale sib testing is also done, and includes carcass dis- section to estimate more than a dozen meat quality traits. The company implemented selection against boar taint in all its lines. Boar taint levels decreased by more than 50%, resulting in far fewer tainted carcasses in the packing plants.
The cost of lameness The company has been farmer-owned for more than a centu- ry. Our farmers require a good conformation and need to work with robust animals that require little care and are easy to manage. This is reflected in our breeding goals. Intensive leg quality and locomotion scoring in nucleus farms com- bined with CT scanning for osteochondrosis and shoulder is- sues delivers dozens of robustness traits. Result: longevity of sows is increasing.
Hernias and other genetic defects At Topigs Norsvin, genetic defects are defined as traits in the selection index. Improved genomic relationship matrixes have driven the genetic response to genetic defects faster in the desired direction so that full litters do not have to be dis- carded as happened in the past. Full sequence genotyping is improving our knowledge about heritable deletions in DNA and providing us with extra selec- tion tools to avoid genetic defects. We will soon enter an era of predicting phenotypes based on genotypes in our data- base. Our customers can clearly see the outcomes. For exam- ple, more piglets weaned, high sow longevity, pigs that are more robust, lower mortality and increased efficiency.
▶PIG PROGRESS | Volume 36, No. 9, 2020 25
Hans Olijslagers, CTO, Topigs Norsvin
PHOTO: TOPIGS NORSVIN
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