Economic value of feed efficiency and body condition scoring in a sow herd

摘要

Producers have been focused on feed efficiency in terminal sire lines for a number of years. But when they choose maternal genetics for their sow herd, they tend to look primarily at reproductive performance. In the past, relatively low ingredient costs meant that little emphasis was placed on the feed efficiency of the sow herd. In addition, the female provides 50% of the genetic contribution to feed efficiency in the commercial market pig. The increase of ingredient prices has brought greater interest to both of these issues.