Even a well-run pig unit can improve its bottom line dramatically by using benchmarking to identify areas where improvements can be made, says Quality Meat Scotland (QMS).
It cites Scotland’s current pig monitor farm, which is probably already among the top 25% performers in the country.
By looking at five areas for improvement it found potential for improving the unit’s bottom line by more than £150,000/year.
Admittedly this is a simplistic approach as many of the factors would have a knock-on effect elsewhere on the unit, but it does show the potential benefit, notes the QMS report.
Data from the Scotland’s Aberdeen benchmarking group was used to identify the following areas for improvement:
- pre-weaning mortality at 13% could be reduced to 10%;
- weaning weight at 7.6kg could be increased to 8.1kg;
- rearing-to-finish feed conversion could be reduced from 2.44 to 2.40;
- selling weight could be increased from 78.6kg to 83kg deadweight; and
- average feed cost could be reduced from £286/t to £250/t.