BANFF, Alta. -Weaning more pigs per sow and rasing bigger market hogs has meant crowded barns across North America.
Packers and processors want larger carcasses, but the typical finisher barn is not big enough to accommodate them.
While there are suggestions to squeeze in more hogs per pen, the tradeoff is the risk of disease and lower weight gain, said two swine experts at the Banff pork seminar Jan. 17.
Finding more space could become an animal welfare consideration as well, so the best solution is to either expand older barns or build new ones.
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“We will build. That is the lowest cost option in terms of meeting the future space requirements in the industry,” said Michael Brumm, a swine housing specialist from Minnesota.
He is working with other researchers to present options on how to best use space. There may also have to be an education campaign to convince consumers and neighbours that hog operations need more space.
Another question is whether lenders are willing to finance a larger barn with future expansion in mind, said Harold Gonyou of the Prairie Swine Centre in Saskatoon.
Ten years ago, barns were built to minimum standards, even though producers knew market weights were trending upward. There could be a 30-40 percent shortage of finishing space in Canada and the United States.
For example, 10 years ago, a 600 sow farrow-to-finish operation averaged 22 pigs per sow per year. Pigs were weaned at three weeks of age, moved into a nursery for five weeks and then to the finisher area until they reached market weight of 105 kilograms.
Sows are weaning more pigs, and more hogs are five to 15 kg heavier in 2007, which means producers have to increase the space allowed per animal.
“We have to plan our facilities now so that 15 years from now we can make that expansion of 45 percent additional space to accommodate the increased number of larger pigs that we have,” Gonyou said.
If a hog weighs 105 kg, it should have 0.67 sq. metres each. Pigs marketed at 120 kg need more space because they are longer and thicker.
Floor space is a two dimensional value of length times width to estimate area. A hog is three dimensional representing length, width and height. To calculate volume, a formula called the allometric approach is used to determine the appropriate relationship between floor space and body weight in pigs.
The formula is K=area (metre 2)/weight 2/3 (kg)
The appropriate k value for pigs is 0.0335. Using that formula for modern pigs means they need 0.74 square metres.
Rather than using the typical 16 room finishing barn described in the example to handle the same number of pigs, 18 rooms would be required in the finisher barn. Gonyou said that would mean 41.4 percent more space using the formula.
Bigger barns are needed, but banks are reluctant to finance larger operations and some jurisdictions have placed moratoriums on more building, said Brumm.
More pigs can be crowded into existing pens and flows from one barn to the next may be altered, but for each three percent change in space, there is a one percent loss in weight gain. Pigs appear to drink enough but may have more difficulty getting to feed if they are crowded. Also, crowding leaves them more vulnerable to disease.
Another logistical problem occurs when a farm may wean 200 pigs one week and 400 the next.
“The challenge with space is that we never match what we have for flow,” he said.
The bottleneck could be resolved with major changes like moving to a different kind of production system. Instead of running a farrow-to-finish system, a farm may need to eliminate the sow business and switch to a finishing operation. Lenders see finishing operations as less risky than swine nurseries.
