Producers who change to batch farrowing report that it can significantly help reduce PMWS mortality. MLC's Derek Armstrong explains how to make the changeover... Research and production experience has shown that all-in, all-out systems can lead to significant improvements in productivity. One of the main challenges is to have pigs in large enough groups from a single source. One approach has been to change to batch farrowing and to use subsequent pig flow to make up bigger groups. If the pig unit isdesigned for continuous flow, a switch from weekly to batch farrowing, every three weeks is an option. This permits all-in, all-out movement of pigs, with pigs grouped by age and immune status. Farrowing every three weeks rather than weekly has advantages for farm labour as well as for pig flow.
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