The quantity of pigmeat produced per sow per year has increased by 7% since 2018 due to a combination of factors according to the National Pig Herd Performance Report 2023.
The report, by the Teagasc Pig Development Department, showed that the output of pigmeat per sow per year increased from 2,482kg in 2022 to 2,491kg in 2023.
Output rose due to an increase in the number of pigs produced per sow per year and increased carcass weights.
The report analysed the performance of the pig farms that participated in the Teagasc Profit Monitor (PM) recording system in 2023.
This included a total of 91 herds representing over 78,000 sows or 58% of the total Irish sow herd.
Pigmeat
The performance parameters in the report are the weighted average (weighted by the herd size) of the participating herds.
The average herd size included in the database is 864 sows and ranged from less than 100 sows to over 2,500.
The number of pigs born alive per litter rose by 14.94 and there was an increase in litters per sow per year, from 2.26 in 2023 compared to 2.24 in 2022.
This, combined with a slight rise in weaner and finisher mortality, has caused the number of pigs produced per sow per year to increase from 27.4 in 2022 to 27.9 in 2023, according to the report.
Since 2018, growth rates from weaning to sale have increased by 5.5%, according to Teagasc.
The feed conversion has remained quite constant even though the live weight at sale increased by 3.7%. The report states that there is still room for “further improvement” in this area.
Feed normally represents about 70% of production costs, according to Teagasc.
Feed costs per tonne fluctuate in line with ingredients, which will affect the feed cost from year to year.
Weights
The average dead weight in recorded herds decreased from 90.6kg in 2022 to 89.3kg in 2023 per pig sold.
There was an increase in growth rate from weaning to sale, from 736g/day to 757g/day.
There was also a decrease of 0.03 in the feed conversion from weaning to sale compared to 2022.
The average output of pigmeat per sow per year was 2,491kg in 2023. This amount of pigmeat was produced using 8,809kg of feed.
This means it took 3.54kg of feed to produce 1kg of pigmeat compared to 3.56kg in 2022.
The same figure ranged between 3.66 and 3.79 in the 10 years from 2001 to 2010.
There was a slight increase in the total feed fed to weaners in 2023 at 58kg, compared to 2022 at 57.4kg. The transfer weight did not change.
Weaner mortality rose to 3.42% in 2023 from 3.33% in 2022.
The report stated that there may be some level of inaccuracy, as on most farms the weight of weaners transferred to finishing accommodation is an estimated weight rather than actual weights at transfer.
The same qualification applies to finisher performance data as weaner transfer weights are usually estimated on most Irish pig farms.
Finisher growth rates increased from 909g/day to 940g/day from 2022 to 2023. There was a decrease in feed conversion from 2.70 in 2022 to 2.64 in 2023.
Pig slaughter weights fell from 118.4kg live weight in 2022 to 116.8kg live weight 2023.