Swine Notes

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Swine Notes
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Leading states in hog production

• Iowa - 1
• Illinois
• Minnesota
• Indiana
• Nebraska
• Missouri
• North Carolina

• Ohio
• Kansas
• South Dakota

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People prefer to raise hogs because?

• Faster turnover in money
• - breeding to marketing offspring is only 9-10
  months
• Hogs eat large amounts of grain
• -more efficient in converting feed
• Hogs give birth more than once per year
• Hogs produce more young per birth than any other
  animal
• Labor is low
• Hogs are profitable 9 out of 10 years

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4 prime cuts of meat

• Picnic shoulder
• Loin
• Boston shoulder
• ham

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Factors for selecting a herd boar

• Reproductive soundness (testicles)
• Type and quality (length, loin-eye, back fat
  thickness)
• Performance testing results
• Pedigree (ancestry)
• Health (brucellosis, leptospirosis, pseudorabies)
• Age (dont breed before 9 months old)
• Show ring performance

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Selecting sows

• Soundness (sexual and structure)
• Conformation
• Gain and feed efficiency
• Litter size
• health

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Sow Productivity Index

• pigs born alive
• pigs weaned
• Litter weight at 21 days of age
• litters per sow per year

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Feeder pig selection

• Health
• Type
• Size (35-80 lbs.)
• Uniformity

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Feeding Swine

• Corn basic energy feed used in hog rations
• -lacks several amino acids necessary (lysine and
  tryptophan)
• -must be supplemented with protein, minerals, and
  vitamins

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Feeding Swine

• Barley substitute for corn
• -higher fiber and less digestible energy than
  corn
• -check barley for scabs (disease in barley)
• -must be supplemented also

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Feeding Swine

• Milo (grain sorgum)
• -ground in the south
• -Higher protein than corn
• -substitute for corn
• -add supplements also

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Breeding Facts

• Gilts should be 8 months before they are bred
  (weigh 250lbs)
• Boars should be 9 months old before they are bred
• Breed gilts twice at 12 hour intervals
• Breed sows twice at 24 hour intervals
• Put in farrowing crate 1 day before they should
  give birth
• Keep newborns at 90-95 degrees

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• Clip needle teeth and naval cord right away
• Dock tails of pigs and give iron shots
• Castrate young
• Wean 5-8 weeks old and at least 12 lbs.
• Ear notch

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Kinds of swine markets

• Direct marketing
• -selling to packing plants, order, buyers, or
  country buying stations
• -76 of hogs are sold this way
• -producer deals with the buyer
• 2. Terminal markets
• -hogs are cosigned to a commission firm
• -the firm deals with the buyer
• -12 of hogs are sold this way
• -buyers compete and can raise the profit more
  than in the direct market

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• 3. Auction markets
• -8 in US sold this way
• -cost to market the swine are commissions,
  insurance, yardage, and feed costs
• 4. Group marketing
• -groups pull together in a co-op to fight for
  better market prices

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Pricing methods

• Sold on weight at market
• Sold on weight and grade groups at market
  standards (standards are set by the buyer)
• Grade and yield
• -determine price after slaughter
• -in an error is made, no possible way to re-grade
  the animal

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Market Classes and Grades

• Determine classification by
• Sex
• Use (slaughter or feeder)
• Their grade
• Barrows and gilts grades are based on carcass
  quality and the yield of the 4 lean cuts

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5 USDA grades

• US No1
• US No2
• US No3
• US No4
• US Utility

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To determine official grade, estimate

• Backfat thickness
• Muscle score
• Equation
• (4.0 x backfat thickness over last rib, in
  inches)-(1.0 x muscling score)

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Muscle Scores

• Thin 1
• Average 2
• Thick (superior) 3
• Exp backfat 1.05 inches and superior muscling
• Answer 1.2 (US No 1 Grade)

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Preliminary Grades

• lt1.00 in US No 1
• 1.0 1.24 in US No 2
• 1.25 1.49 in US No 3
• 1.5 -gt in US No 4

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Shrinkage

• Hogs lose weight when shipped
• Youll always have at least 2 shrinkage no
  matter the distance