For sows that produce a lot of piglets, there are health benefits from weaning later.
Better Life label The Dutch Society for the Protection of Animals wants to in- crease the weaning age within the production criteria of the Better Life 1-star welfare concept, after consulting with par- ticipants and retailers. Their current weaning criteria is 25 days with a minimum of 23 days. Society expects that not only specific meat segments will demand piglets that are weaned at 5 weeks. Larger parts of the Dutch domestic mar- ket will also ask for older piglets at weaning, because delayed weaning simply yields more results in fattening. Less health problems and increased growth, even reaching the line of 1.000 grams or more growth per animal.
Extra yield per piglet Delayed weaning has health benefits, but how does the sow farmer get appreciation for doing this in practice? For piglets that are weaned at 4 weeks, a premium of 3% is given on the standard piglet price quoted in the Netherlands (BPP piglet quotation). Apart from the bonus per kilogram for heavier piglets, there is no standard tariff in the BPP for a higher sur- charge for a weaning age of 5 to 6 weeks. Financial adviser Erik van der Hijden, from the company FarmAdvies, does not see any advantages in a set extra bonus for piglets that are weaned later. What is now negotiated as an added value in a surcharge, will be the base price next year, which means you are again falling behind. Van der Hijden calculated the piglet
28 ▶ WEANING | JUNE 2020
Table 1 - Weaning age of 4 weeks versus 5 weeks. Weaning at 4 weeks Weaning at 5 weeks Difference
Number of sow spaces
Number of farrowing pens Total born Litter index
Percentage of farrowing sows Weaning age
Delivery weight
Package price piglet feed Annual yield
Source: Topigs Norsvin
• Piglet revenues decrease (120 sows less of which to sell piglets, but the piglets that do sell, yield € 4 per piglet more);
• Because there are more piglets in a litter, part of them needs to be reared motherless at this demo company; • Feeding costs for piglets stay the same. Of course, there are less piglets to feed, but for a longer period, with a higher feed conversion for less costs per kilogram of feed;
• Feeding costs for sows decrease because there are less sows. This is however not linear, because there is a longer lactation period per sow;
• Other costs (manure, artificial insemination and other costs) decrease; 120 sows less; • Labour costs theoretically decrease, 120 sows less to take care of; • Health costs decrease because there are less sows and piglets; • Replacement costs go down because there are less sows.
1000 240 16,3 2,36 87% 26 25 39
€ 347.823
880 240 16,7 2,26 89% 33 30 36
€ 328.067
-120 0
0,4
-0,10 2% 7 5
-3 € 19.756
PHOTO: HENK RISWICK
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