Acta Univ. Agric. Silvic. Mendelianae Brun. 2020, 68(3), 567-572 | DOI: 10.11118/actaun202068030567

The Effect of Farming System Type on Piglet Production

Kamila Pokorná1, Jaroslav Čítek1, Kateřina Zadinová1, Monika Okrouhlá1, Nicole Lebedová2, Roman Stupka1
1 Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agrobiology, Food and Natural Resources, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Kamýcká 129, 165 00 Prague 6, Czech Republic
2 Department of Cattle Breeding, Institute of Animal Science, Přátelství 815, 104 00 Prague - Uhříněves, Czech Republic

Reproductive performance of sows is the main factor influencing the profitability of piglet production, and simultaneously it is a basic indicator of farm management quality. The aim of this study was to compare reproductive performance of sows from intensive and extensive feeder pig operations and the costs on those farms. Evaluated were 42 sows from extensive pig farming and 464 sows from intensive pig farming. Lifelong performance was determined for all sows. The study's results show that sows from intensive pig farming achieved a mean 2.04 fewer lactations per lifetime and were culled earlier (P < 0.0001). The mean total number of live-born piglets was 11.59% lower among sows from intensive pig farming, but these sows achieved 23.35% (P < 0.0001) higher mean number of piglets per litter. Despite shorter mean productive life, sows from intensive pig farming were more profitable. Maximizing the reproductive potential of sows has positive effect on farm profitability, and simultaneously it has no negative effect on sows' reproductive performance.

Keywords: profitability, reproduction, herd, sow, litter size, intensive farming, extensive farming
Grants and funding:

This study was supported by the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports of the Czech Republic (Project No. MSM 6046070901) and by the project (NAZV: QJ1510191).

Received: February 19, 2020; Accepted: April 29, 2020; Published: July 1, 2020  Show citation

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Pokorná, K., Čítek, J., Zadinová, K., Okrouhlá, M., Lebedová, N., & Stupka, R. (2020). The Effect of Farming System Type on Piglet Production. Acta Universitatis Agriculturae et Silviculturae Mendelianae Brunensis, 68(3), 567-572. doi: 10.11118/actaun202068030567
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