{"id":5361,"date":"2020-03-04T13:59:00","date_gmt":"2020-03-04T19:59:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/genus-develop.go-vip.co\/pic\/?post_type=resources&#038;p=5361"},"modified":"2022-11-17T13:44:41","modified_gmt":"2022-11-17T19:44:41","slug":"improving-sow-retention-rates-a-case-study","status":"publish","type":"resources","link":"https:\/\/genus-develop.go-vip.co\/pic\/resources\/improving-sow-retention-rates-a-case-study\/","title":{"rendered":"Improving Sow Retention Rates: A case study"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p id=\"h-lower-sow-retention-can-be-the-result-of-a-higher-mortality-rate-several-risk-factors-contributing-in-different-ways-leave-producers-facing-a-very-complex-issue-the-solution-is-a-comprehensive-approach-to-drive-improvement-let-s-walk-through-a-case-study\">Lower sow retention can be the result of a higher mortality rate. Several risk factors contributing in different ways leave producers facing a very complex issue. The solution is a comprehensive approach to drive improvement. Let\u2019s walk through a case study.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>Case Study<br>Farm:<\/strong> 15,000-head sow operation<br><strong>Location:<\/strong> United States<br><strong>Issue:<\/strong> Increase rate of sow mortality<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The starting point<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p>The producer experienced an escalation in annualized mortality from approximately 7% to a peak at 12-13% (see Figure 1). A system review indicated stocking density and selection were the two most significant opportunities, with a few additional areas to address.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text alignwide has-media-on-the-right is-stacked-on-mobile\"><figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1421\" height=\"1032\" src=\"https:\/\/genus-develop.go-vip.co\/pic\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2021\/11\/Annualized-Sow-Mortality.png?resize=1421%2C1032\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5363 size-full\" srcset=\"https:\/\/genus-develop.go-vip.co\/pic\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2021\/11\/Annualized-Sow-Mortality.png?w=1421 1421w, https:\/\/genus-develop.go-vip.co\/pic\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2021\/11\/Annualized-Sow-Mortality.png?w=300 300w, https:\/\/genus-develop.go-vip.co\/pic\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2021\/11\/Annualized-Sow-Mortality.png?w=768 768w, https:\/\/genus-develop.go-vip.co\/pic\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2021\/11\/Annualized-Sow-Mortality.png?w=1024 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/figure><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<p><strong>Figure 1: Annualized sow mortality in a 15,000 sow US producer. <\/strong><br><em>Source: PIC Global Technical Services, unpublished<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Optimized stocking density in developing gilts<\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p>A data analysis revealed sow mortality was being driven by high losses of younger parity females. The producer and the PIC Technical Services team noticed pens in the gilt developer unit were overcrowded (relative to best practices) making it a tough situation for some gilts in each pen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As a response, an action plan was developed to improve ventilation and a holding area was created for non-selects once identified. Having a dedicated space to hold non-selects allowed the farm to better utilize floor-space through the growing cycle and reduce the number of gilts per water source and feeder space during critical age periods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>These changes increased the pool of selectable gilts and the quality of the gilts available to breed after selection. The changes resulted in a positive impact on the retention of younger parity sows, reducing sow mortality from over 10% to a single-digit percentage. Reducing overcrowding doesn\u2019t happen overnight. Production flow is typically set during facility construction and any decision to modify takes months to have any impact downstream. However, by proactively making small adjustments, you can still have a big impact on future gilt quality. For more information about optimal stocking densities by ages, please review the <a href=\"https:\/\/genus-develop.go-vip.co\/pic\/resources\/gilt-sow-management-guidelines-english\/\">Gilt and Sow Management Guidelines<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Lower sow retention can be the result of a higher mortality rate. Several risk factors contributing in different ways leave&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":5153,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"resource-category":[111],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v18.1 (Yoast SEO v19.10) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Improving Sow Retention Rates: A case study - PIC North America DEV<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/genus-develop.go-vip.co\/pic\/resources\/improving-sow-retention-rates-a-case-study\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Improving Sow Retention Rates: A case study\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Lower sow retention can be the result of a higher mortality rate. 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