ROBUSTNESS <\/em><\/strong>\u2026
\u2026 is the ability of the pig, through genetic improvement, to grow and convert feed, to be-come a full-value market hog with a low potential for mor-tality, and to wean many high-quality piglets in the face of normal disease challenges.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\nFrom a genetic improvement perspective, Herring puts robustness into three categories: gilt and sow soundness, pre-weaned piglets, and wean-to-finish pigs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sow soundness<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf you look at one of the primary causes of fallout, and ultimately sow mortality, lameness is one of those causes near the top of the list, regardless of the system,\u201d Herring says. \u201cWhen we weigh, scan and evaluate underlines, we also score both future parent boars and gilts for front and back leg soundness. We watch them walk and give them a score from 1 to 9. Those scores get blended into an estimated breeding value (EBV) that ultimately goes into the index.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Regardless of how outstanding an animal is on its PIC Genetic Index, it must pass a visual, independent culling level for sound feet and legs to make it into the elite breeding herd, Herring says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe have supportive historical data, and we also have on-going field trials in large production settings, in which we score animals and track them all the way through to later parities to be sure that our leg scoring system remains effective,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Such factors contribute to pigs weaned per sow per year (PSY), he notes, and other traits like milk production and high quality underlines are critical.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Pre-weaned piglets<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe look at the ability of the pig to make it to weaning and have a heavy weaning weight,\u201d Herring explains. \u201cWe\u2019ve tackled that very specifically within our breeding program. We weigh every individual piglet of our maternal lines at birth, because we know that a higher birth weight sets the table for that piglet\u2019s life.\u201d These pigs grow faster and are more robust post-weaning, giving them a greater probability of becoming a full-value market pig. Weaning weight and milk production also are important measurables.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe included pre-weaning livability into our PIC breeding objective for all of our maternal lines in 2013,\u201d Herring says. \u201cWe still want large litters, but we also want larger piglets on average at birth. Without that, you have the unintended consequence of driving litter size up but farrowing lighter piglets at birth\u2026and we\u2019ve seen positive responses in actual production.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wean-to-finish pigs<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Herring says PIC directly tackles the trait of wean-to-finish livability with unique data captured from its genetic nucleus (GN) crossbred program, which began 20 years ago. PIC has commercial sow herds across the world that are typical in size, management and health to that of their customers. These herds range from being positive for porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) to PRRS-stable, and all within the U.S. have experienced porcine epidemic diarrhea breaks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe take our elite great grandparent (GGP) terminal line semen from our PIC327, PIC380, PIC337, and PIC800 lines, and we single-sire breed them to those commercial sows,\u201d Herring says. \u201cWe identify their piglets with unique individual tags at birth. We track each pig all the way through as it enters the finisher until it exits the finishing department for slaughter , and if that pig ends up being a mortality or cull pig during the process, we capture that unique event. We\u2019re able to trace each pig back to its respective sire and dam, and this creates a data flow that is meaningful for use in genetic improvement at the elite nucleus sites where the same genes exist.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The welfare component<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
In addition to the direct traits related to livability described above, robustness carries an important animal welfare element. Producers have a responsibility to ensure animals thrive in their environment, that they are well-cared for, and that they are in good health, says Dan Hamilton, Ph.D., PIC Director of Product Performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe definitely want to put animal welfare first and foremost,\u201d he says. \u201cAdditionally, it\u2019s a huge economic cost to the producer if an animal fails to thrive.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The cost associated with producing, maintaining and housing an animal is significant, so every animal must be productive to meet cost demands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAnytime you have a mortality or morbidity, additional treatments may be needed, so robustness is a big economic driver as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAnd don\u2019t forget staff morale,\u201d Hamilton adds. \u201cA robust animal is an animal that is doing well. Farm staff definitely care about their animals so that\u2019s positive all the way around.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Collective progress and value<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
When these multiple traits are bundled together into the PIC Genetic Index, Herring says PIC can drive genetic progress faster by incorporating relationship-based genomic selection (RBGS) into its indexing program, a process that has been used for the last seven years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSince the introduction of RBGS we\u2019ve seen the rate of genetic progress increase approximately 35%,\u201d Herring says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some systems have excellent health and performance, but for the bulk of global commercial producers, robustness is \u201can incredibly important trait,\u201d Herring says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe cost of losing a pig in late finishing is very expensive, relative to the cost invested in that pig,\u201d he notes. The same is true for elite replacement gilts, or early parity gilts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not the salvage value of a replacement female or the cost that went into the replacement female,\u201d he continues. \u201cIt\u2019s actually the number of piglets that you\u2019ll not realise in the grow-finish system and that the sow will never produce if she is culled in parity 1. That becomes an extremely substantial number.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For example, if a producer has a system that is operating at 32 PSY, and a female leaves the system a year early, that is a potential loss of 32 market pigs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou see how large the financial impact is when you look at it in those terms. It\u2019s as critical as any trait complex we have in genetic improvement,\u201d Herring adds. \u201cThere\u2019s not a single producer who wants to see an animal die or leave the system too early. We all want to be good stewards of the animals we raise. However that is an aspect that\u2019s difficult to measure but it\u2019s incredibly important, so genetic improvement goes hand-in-hand with good management.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For more information on robustness, contact your PIC team<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\nArticle featured online in Farm Journal\u2019s PORK (USA)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Three areas help determine an animal\u2019s robustness. The term \u201crobustness\u201d means different things to different people, but producers know it\u2019s…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":5957,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"resource-category":[51],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
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