More pigs have been weaned per sow per year

By Bethan Wilkins

The British pig sector continues to face a challenging time, with high feed costs and difficulties getting pigs to slaughter on time. It is expected that sow numbers will have noticeably declined in the second half of this year.

However, before this can have an impact on slaughter pig availability, it seems that the physical performance of the breeding herd was good this summer. This will be supporting the number of slaughter pigs available this winter. Performance improvements would normally be positive for pig producers, but limits to processing capacity further up the supply chain means these gains have likely contributed to the challenges dealing with the numbers of live pigs available. The number of breeding sows in the UK was relatively stable in June.

For the 12 months to September 2021, the number of pigs weaned per sow per year in Britain averaged about 26.75, according to the latest Agrosoft data. This was about 0.3 pigs more than in the previous 12-month period and is the highest level on records going back to 2009. This improvement came from a breeding sow herd that was relatively stable.

Looking at the indoor herd alone, the average was 28.0. Compared to the 12-months to September 2020, this was an increase of more than 0.3. It was also over 0.4 more than the 12-months to June 2021, showing that performance in the most recent Q3 period was greater than during the same quarter last year.

It was a similar picture for the outdoor herd, although the performance improvements were milder. The average for the 12-months to September 2021 stood at 24.8, an increase of about 0.2 compared to both the previous year and the 12-months to June.

Rising numbers of pigs born alive per litter have been primarily responsible for the increasing numbers of pigs weaned. In the 12 months to September 2021, indoor herds recorded an average of 14.2 born alive per litter and outdoor herds averaged 12.6. Looking at an overall average, this was an increase of about 0.2 pigs per litter compared to the 12 months to September 2020. The latest figures are a record high.

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