Genetic Potential:
How much profit do you lose?
Stephen Waite
Head of Technology Transfer
5 years at JSR
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2010 – In a tractor….
2011 – In the audience
2012 – Presented with Grant
2013 – Presented with Angus
2014 – Left to my own devices…..
How do I do this on my own?
Presentation Ideas
Most get written between 11pm and 2am…..
“Loins of King”
Royal Baby
Royal Bab-ies…
Looking forward to this again?
Speaking of the Royals….
What else has changed this
year?
Horse Gate
Rapid Meat DNA Testing
New welfare measures
Back to the topic…
Conference theme:
“Fit for Farm”
Year spent with customers
Buoyant times in the
pig industry
“Fit for Farm”
Becomes a concept
“No one fulfils their livestock's
genetic potential”
What is genetic potential?
Two failed trailer tests
‘Reckless overconfidence’
How do we alter
genetic potential?
Illinois Long-term Corn
Selection Experiment
Where is selection going?
Year
1950
2025
Production
85
20
Feed Efficiency
0
25
Human Health
0
5
Robustness
0
10
Reproduction
10
20
Product Quality
5
10
Environment Efficiency
0
10
Do we all see this
improvement?
Animal
Utilisation of
Genetic Potential
Range
Pigs
35%
5%-80%
Chicken
75%
55%-90%
Why not?
GxE
(Gene-environment interaction)
What effect can the
environment have?
Twin Studies
Different Environment
Different Lives
Similar Environment
Similar Lives
How does this apply to pigs?
Litter mates in different
situations
Gilts to different breeding units
Bacon pigs go to different
finishing units
The results
Identical genetics perform
differently in varying production
environments
Do these effects apply to all
production?
Top class indoor
Precision outdoor
All production
Genetic Progress
vs. Unit Environment
10
8
6
4
Genetic Progress
Enviroment Degrading
2
0
1
-2
-4
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Losing Profit
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•
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Always room for improvement
Even the ‘best’ aren’t exempt
Affects all production systems
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Where can we improve?
What’s happening in research?
Individual pig feeding
Pig nutritional requirements
Total monitored control
Mastering the environment
Better control of pig
environments is available by
technology
Where does JSR come in?
We supply the genetics
We supply the expertise to tailor
the environment
Waite Innovation Curve
Number of People
34%
Early Majority
34%
Late Majority
13.5%
Early Adaptors
16%
Laggards
2.5%
Innovators
Time
Process is still happening at
JSR…
“If we were to
achieve an
additional 30% of
our genetic potential
we'd make an further
£1m profit per year”
JSR’s loss of potential profit
•
Average FCR at Nucleus level
– 1.91 – ~90% of Genetic Potential
•
JSR’s current feed efficiency
– 2.35 - ~50% of the Genetic Potential
•
To achieve a further £1million profit
– 2.15 – ~80% of the Genetic Potential
Nucleus Performance 2013
•
•
Geneconvertor
Sirelines
FCR
Elite Nucleus
Population
1.71
Close to maximum genetic potential
Highly controlled environment
Where does the environment
start?
Service/Gestation
Temperature and
Gilt Performance
25
15.00
14.50
20
14.00
13.50
15
13.00
12.50
Av. Temp @ Service
Av. Born
10
12.00
11.50
5
11.00
10.50
0
10.00
Apr-12
Jun-12
Aug-12
Oct-12
Dec-12
Feb-13
Apr-13
Jun-13
Controlled Temperature and
Gilt Performance
15.00
28
14.50
26
24
22
14.00
20
13.50
18
13.00
16
10
8
11.50
6
11.00
4
10.50
2
10.00
0
Av. Born
12.00
12
Av. Temp @ Service
12.50
14
Feb-14
Jan-14
Dec-13
Nov-13
Oct-13
Sep-13
Aug-13
Jul-13
Jun-13
May-13
Apr-13
Mar-13
Feb-13
Jan-13
Dec-12
Nov-12
Oct-12
Sep-12
Aug-12
Jul-12
Jun-12
May-12
Apr-12
Mar-12
Feb-12
Jan-12
Accessing Gilt Genetic Potential
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Uncontrolled environment
– 11.5 Born Alive
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Controlled environment
– 13.3 Born Alive
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~4 more pigs sold/year/gilt
– £80 profit/gilt/year
Creep Feeding
GC900 effect on creep intake
•
Pre GC900 lowest ever result in a feed
companies creep trial
•
Post GC900 in the top 5% of results
•
GC900 genetic potential more accessible
•
Yet again more gains can be made…
Creep feeding
JSR Creep Trial Work
500
450
400
Intake G/day
350
300
250
Rotecna
Stainless
200
150
100
50
0
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
Day
18
20
22
24
26
GC900 and enhanced feeder
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400% more creep intake
1.3kg uplift in weaning weight
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Lift in performance worth £2/pig
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Better utilisation of Genetic Potential
Finishing
GC900 vs. Competitor
100.00
90.00
80.00
70.00
Weight (kg)
60.00
GC900
Comp.
50.00
40.00
30.00
20.00
10.00
0.00
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
Days
90
100
110
120
130
140
150
160
Genetic Potential Constant
Improvement
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BPEX average of FCR of 2.4
– 40% of Genetic Potential
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An FCR of 2.2 deemed as good
– 60% of Genetic Potential
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Harper Adam’s have achieved 1.97
– FCR 90% of Genetic Potential
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0.23 FCR improvement worth £5/pig
The Final Outcome
“Fit for Farm”
Genetic Progress
vs. Unit Environment
10
8
6
4
Genetic Progress
Enviroment Degrading
2
0
1
-2
-4
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
2013
2012
2011
2010
2009
2008
2007
2006
2005
2004
2003
Numbers Born Alive per Litter
Genetic Progress
Damline Gilts
Customer Breeding
Performance
15.00
14.50
14.00
Born Alive
13.50
13.00
12.50
Born Alive
BPEX
12.00
11.50
11.00
10.50
10.00
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
Year
2011
2012
2013
2014
Nucleus Performance 2013
Genepacker 1
Born Alive
Elite Nucleus
Population
17.5
Genepacker 2
Born Alive
Elite Nucleus
Population
17.4
Controlling all of
the Environment
When the minimum is
not enough
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New builds
– Minimum water access
– Minimum feeder space
– Minimum floor space
•
These minimums don’t change with
genetic progress
Customer Growth Performance
120
110
100
90
80
Weight (KG)
Customer A
70
Customer B
Customer C
60
Customer D
50
Customer E
40
30
20
10
0
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
Days of Age
90
100
110
120
130
140
150
Summary
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We all have access to powerful genetics
Improvements can be made at each stage
Farrowing
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Nursery
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~£44/year/sow
Finishing
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~£80/year/sow
~£66/year/sow
What were these examples losing?
– £204/year/sow
Genetic Potential:
How much profit do you lose?
Thank You