18/04/2008 
Sow keeping: time per piglet makes the difference -A comment by Peter Spandau, North Rhine-Westphalia Chamber of Agriculture
Sow keepers sustainably suffer from low piglet prices. In connection with increased feeding-stuff prices, they won’t ever have their costs covered. Higher revenues on piglets still take a long time coming, and in view of the market forecasts, more favourable feeding-stuff prices are most unlikely to come into effect. In times like these, the question is asked again and again whether or not production resources – say: savings potential - can be made available. This is a question which cannot be answered easily by the piglet producer:
It is true that currently the number of weaners counted per sow increases as a consequence of breeding progress. Through this, the production costs per piglet are being decreased. But there are just few ways to accelerate the process for the individual farms.
The same goes for savings potential relating to direct costs. Cancelling inoculations may have the farmer expose himself to the danger of having to cope with output losses. Delayed raising of new gilts may lead to a suboptimal herd structure. When carrying out experiments with low-priced feeding stuffs, using them on his high-performance sows, the farmer most possibly puts the production robustness at stake.
So, for many of the pig keepers there will be left just the large part of building occupancy expenses and labour costs, amounting to an average EUR 20.00 per piglet. This, above all, needs to be taken into consideration. At the same time, the human resources management is required to be examined very carefully.
Timekeeping always indicates that the time needed per sow and year varies a lot even at herds of 250 to 300 sows, taking from 9 to 15 hours (equatable to about EUR 4 per piglet after all)! Labour time and performance do not seem to bear relation in this connection. The question rather is about organisation and management, also depending on the technical equipment used in the stable as well as on the structural facts.
Distances between the individual functional areas in the stables are of as much importance as are, for instance, the automation of feeding, group sizes, the housing system, the cleaning method applied, the health management and many more.
If optimisation of labour productivity proves to be no longer possible via organisation and management, it becomes necessary to question the structural facts. Building new stables in the open countryside may turn out to be more effective in the long run than might be the more cost-effective reconstruction of existing buildings. The saving earned for one working hour per sow and year complies with about EUR 150 investment costs per sow place. Insofar, in-vestment and extra work need to be balanced with each other very thoroughly.
In terms of sustainable competitive piglet production, labour productivity is as important as are the number of piglets and the size of the batch. No technical revolution is expected with reference to the saving of labour. Recognising and activating operational resources should be given top priority. Everyone should already have his master plan under his belt, pertaining to labour efficiency.
This comment is published in the SUS edition No. 2, April / May 2008
It is true that currently the number of weaners counted per sow increases as a consequence of breeding progress. Through this, the production costs per piglet are being decreased. But there are just few ways to accelerate the process for the individual farms.
The same goes for savings potential relating to direct costs. Cancelling inoculations may have the farmer expose himself to the danger of having to cope with output losses. Delayed raising of new gilts may lead to a suboptimal herd structure. When carrying out experiments with low-priced feeding stuffs, using them on his high-performance sows, the farmer most possibly puts the production robustness at stake.
So, for many of the pig keepers there will be left just the large part of building occupancy expenses and labour costs, amounting to an average EUR 20.00 per piglet. This, above all, needs to be taken into consideration. At the same time, the human resources management is required to be examined very carefully.
Timekeeping always indicates that the time needed per sow and year varies a lot even at herds of 250 to 300 sows, taking from 9 to 15 hours (equatable to about EUR 4 per piglet after all)! Labour time and performance do not seem to bear relation in this connection. The question rather is about organisation and management, also depending on the technical equipment used in the stable as well as on the structural facts.
Distances between the individual functional areas in the stables are of as much importance as are, for instance, the automation of feeding, group sizes, the housing system, the cleaning method applied, the health management and many more.
If optimisation of labour productivity proves to be no longer possible via organisation and management, it becomes necessary to question the structural facts. Building new stables in the open countryside may turn out to be more effective in the long run than might be the more cost-effective reconstruction of existing buildings. The saving earned for one working hour per sow and year complies with about EUR 150 investment costs per sow place. Insofar, in-vestment and extra work need to be balanced with each other very thoroughly.
In terms of sustainable competitive piglet production, labour productivity is as important as are the number of piglets and the size of the batch. No technical revolution is expected with reference to the saving of labour. Recognising and activating operational resources should be given top priority. Everyone should already have his master plan under his belt, pertaining to labour efficiency.
This comment is published in the SUS edition No. 2, April / May 2008
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