Integration of factors affecting sow efficiency: a modeling approach

Area of Science:

• Animal Science
• Mathematical Modeling
• Agricultural Economics

Background:

• Optimizing sow reproductive performance is crucial for efficient pork production.
• Existing models may not fully capture the dynamic and stochastic nature of herd reproductive cycles.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and present a dynamic, partially stochastic mathematical model for sow herd reproductive performance.
• To simulate and evaluate alternative management strategies for improving herd efficiency.

Main Methods:

• Development of a dynamic, partially stochastic mathematical model.
• Simulation of a sow herd with average performance metrics (17.27 sow days/pig, 9.06 pigs weaned/litter, 2.327 litters/sow/year).
• Evaluation of several alternative management options through simulation.

Main Results:

• The model simulates a sow herd with specific average reproductive parameters.
• Simulation results indicate that strategies increasing litter size at weaning are highly effective.
• These strategies demonstrate improvements in both biological and economic efficiencies.

Conclusions:

• The developed mathematical model provides a valuable tool for analyzing sow herd reproductive dynamics.
• Increasing litter size at weaning is identified as a key strategy for enhancing swine production efficiency.
• The findings support targeted interventions to improve piglet survival and growth for economic gain.