2014
IS CONSISTENTLY HIGH
QUALITY JUST
PIG’S LUCK?
// 02
NOT REALLY.
DANAVL IS A PIGBREEDING PROGRAMME
WHERE NOTHING IS
LEFT TO CHANCE.
// 03
DANAVL
CONTINUES
ITS JOURNEY
TOWARD
AMBITIOUS
2020-GOALS
2014 was a good year for DanAvl. A year in which, once again, we raised the
bar for breeding-programme achievements. We will continue these efforts,
albeit with increased strategic focus on future growth.
// 04
CONTENT
DANAVL OPTIMISES BUSINESS
GOALS AND OPPORTUNITIES . . . . . 6
THE ECONOMIC VALUES IN
THE BREEDING OBJECTIVE
MAXIMISE PROFITS . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
ONCE AGAIN, DANAVL
INCREASES THE PRESSURE
ON GENETIC GAIN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
BREEDING FOR MOTHERING
ABILITY - A FAIRLY DIFFICULT
CHALLENGE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
SCANDINAVIAN FARMS PIG
BREEDING TECHNOLOGY A DANISH SUCCESS IN CHINA . . . . 16
THE HANDLING OF
LARGE LITTERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
DANAVL AND AI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
MEET DANAVL ON THE
INTERNATIONAL STAGE . . . . . . . . . 24
SALES, TURNOVER
AND RESULTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
For more information
on DanAvl please go to
danavl.com
// 05
FACTS ABOUT KLAUS JØRGENSEN
• Market Director for DanAvl since August 2014.
• Joined DanAvl with extensive experience within international sales and marketing from the field of industrial production.
• Klaus Jørgensen is 56 years old.
// 06
DANAVL OPTIMISES
BUSINESS GOALS
AND OPPORTUNITIES
“I have now had a few months’ learning about DanAvl - and as the new front
figure for the future development of DanAvl’s potential in the world market
for genetics, I can only say that I am looking forward to this journey.”
“I soon learned what a great foundation we have in DanAvl. There is
considerable knowledge, insight and meticulousness in breeding work.
I consider this a major reason for DanAvl’s worldwide success. These are
not just words - we have a best-in-class quality in the field of genetics,
which is based on more than 100 years of breeding work carried out by
possibly some of the world’s best researchers and developers. In DanAvl,
we are ready to take the next step on the journey towards further development of both our business and our potential.”
On this journey we will continue to develop our competitiveness based on
our sound professional foundation and the most outstanding genetic
quality. Furthermore, we will focus on a total optimisation of the global
producers’ bottom line and their potential for increased sales locally. In
our continued development of DanAvl as a business, we will be geared
towards increased productivity. This development will be driven by means
of our high genetic quality, which will contribute to create the world’s best
pork producers.
Worldwide success
We are, and always will be determined to act in a responsible manner in
our breeding work, for instance in relation to animal welfare and environmental impact. This is why we are already a part of the European code of
sustainability - Code EFABAR. This code was re-launched in 2014, when
DanAvl, together with the Danish Pig Research Centre, DPRC, as administrator, received the first certificate.
Since 2008 DanAvl has undergone rapid development - from being a local
Danish genetics operation to being an enterprise of worldwide recognition.
Today, more than half of the sales take place to the global market. The Danish success story is in strong demand with pork producers. A success,
which is based on increased genetic gain and a stronger impact on the
bottom line. DanAvl has come a long way on its journey, passing many
milestones and achieving many objectives. Now is the time to consolidate
the business model and proceed from the existing strategic foundation. We
need to scale our business to achieve our ambitious 2020 target to become one of the world’s two largest breeding programmes. On this continued journey, we will extensively emphasise our strengths and competitiveness while securing value creation for the global producers.
In DanAvl, we consider it a great responsibility to develop our business
and to apply our deeply rooted passion for creating even more value for
the global producer.
// 07
THE ECONOMIC
VALUES IN
THE BREEDING
OBJECTIVE
MAXIMISE
PROFITS
// 08
// 09
The economic value in DanAvl’s breeding objective maximise the overall
profit for pig producers in general. Since the marginal economic value of
a sow’s properties decrease along with genetic gain, they now constitute
a less significant part of the breeding objective than was previously the
case. An increased share in the breeding objective, such as feed efficiency, will not result in a corresponding increase in the biological genetic
gain; and, hence, it would result in a lower overall profit.
In 2007, it was downgraded from EUR 5.5/pig to EUR 3.5/pig, and in 2011
it was further downgraded to EUR 3/pig. Since we still experience genetic
gain for LP5, this value is expected to be lowered even further. Furthermore, the economic value of lean meat content and feed efficiency will increase whenever live weight at slaughter increases. In 2007, the input for
live weight at slaughter changed from 100 kg to 117.5 kg, equivalent to a
carcase weight of 90 kg. This resulted for instance in a change of the economic value of feed efficiency from EUR -15 to EUR -24.6/FUpig per kilo.
Sow versus production traits
The relative economic value of the traits in DanAvl’s breeding objective is
to maximise the profits for the pig producer, regardless of whether they
produce sows, piglets or finishers. Thus, sow producers receive no preferential treatment when it comes to the weighting of traits in the breeding
objective.
The economic values of the traits in the breeding objective are mapped
by means of a bio-economic model that calculates the profit per kilo finisher in an integrated sow and finisher herd, based on more than 200 input parameters.
We measure parameters such as:
• feed prices
•wages
•investments
• maintenance of pens
•electricity
•production figures (such as litter size, mortality, feed efficiency and
daily weight gain).
These separate economic values indicate how much the total profit may
be increased by genetic gain of a particular trait in a specific unit. Thus,
we maximise the profit for pig producers as a whole.
This assessment is made for future pig production, at least 5-10 years
into the future, since genetic gain achieved in the breeding programme
today will first have an impact on production in 5-10 years. In addition, the
genetic gain affects changes in the economic weighting - for example,
the economic value of LP5 decreases with the increase in litter size.
// 010
DanAvl’s relative weighting of traits in the breeding objective therefore maximises the profit for an integrated herd. If you ask the specialised sow or
finisher producers, they might argue for a different weighting. The sow producers will say that sow traits (such as litter size and longevity) should be
weighted higher, while the finisher producers would argue that production
attributes (such as daily weight gain, feed efficiency and lean meat content)
should be weighted higher. But in reality, if profits are to be maximised for
sow producers as well as finisher producers, then the weighting must be
the same as for an integrated herd. Here, we assume that piglet producers
will be paid in relation to the real value of the piglets. This price is determined by free market forces and supply/demand.
For example:
Genetic gain in litter size increases profit in the sow unit by lowering the
costs. This will result in an increased supply of piglets, which in turn will result in a lower price for piglets which will benefit the producers of finishers.
Thus sow producers are not favoured in the weighting of traits in the
breeding objective. In fact, the part of the genetic gain, which is made up
of production traits, has increased in the last two revisions of the economic values. Latest in 2011, where sow traits decreased from 40% to
31% of the total genetic gain.
The economic values of the breeding objective is not an indicator of the size of the genetic gain
The maximum genetic gain, as we may expect to achieve in feed efficiency
in DanAvl Duroc, is, according to our models, approximately -0.050 units
per year. This is the biologically determined, maximum possible genetic
gain for feed efficiency in our current breeding programme, where the
genetic variation, heredity and number of measurements are given. We
could achieve this expected maximum genetic gain if we had a breeding
objective solely targeted at feed efficiency. In that case, it would be immaterial whether the economic value was -1, -50, -100 or -200, for that matter.
The economic values of the traits in the breeding objective do not indicate
the size of the genetic gain; however, it indicates the expected marginal
economic benefit by the genetic gain of one single unit in each of the traits
in the breeding objective.
In other words, genetic gain does not exclusively depend on the economic
value, but to a large extent also on heredity and the genetic variation in:
• the traits in the breeding objective,
• the link between them, and
• our ability to measure them.
In overall terms, all these factors determine the weighted biological composition of the genetic gain. Should we alter the economic value of one
trait, then we will be limited to change the genetic gain to such an extent
that it is biologically determined by the above factors. And this would not
be economically viable in relation to the total pig production.
Let us illustrate this by an example.
Currently, the economic weight of feed efficiency lies at -132. In our current breeding programme for DanAvl Duroc, we expect as a result, a genetic gain of approximately -0,044 units in annual feed efficiency. The
estimated total economic advance in the breeding objective for this model lies at EUR 1.64/finisher per year. If we lower or raise the economic
value of feed efficiency by 40% to -80 and -184, respectively, we will also
achieve a lower and higher genetic gain for feed efficiency. But the genetic gain is not 40% lower or higher, but rather 11% (-0,039) lower and
2% (-0,045) higher. In addition, the following should be taken into account: the estimated total economic advance in the breeding objective
will in all cases be lower, that is to say EUR 1.61 and EUR 1.62/finisher per
year. The marginal improvement of the genetic gain for feed efficiency
decreases with the increase of the economic value - and this is at the
expense of the genetic gain of the other traits in the breeding objective.
FACTS
An increase of 40% in the current economic
value of feed efficiency for DanAvl Duroc is expected to increase the genetic gain for feed efficiency with 2%; but, at the same time, it will
also result in an even larger reduction in genetic gain for the rest of the breeding objective.
Therefore, the economic value in the breeding objective is no indication for the size of
the genetic gain for the traits in the breeding
objective. A greater economic value for one of
the traits cannot result in a corresponding increase in the biological genetic gain, and the
modification would even be at the expense
of the genetic gain for the other traits of the
breeding objective.
// 011
ONCE AGAIN,
DANAVL INCREASES
THE PRESSURE ON
GENETIC GAIN
In January 2014, the Danish Pig Research Centre increased the
number of animals to be DNA tested in the DanAvl programme
for the purposes of achieving even greater genetic gain.
Advanced software has made it feasible to select less costly DNA tests
without compromising the certainty of the genetic value. This means that
the Danish Pig Research Centre (DPRC) has more than doubled the number of DNA tested animals and thus increased the genetic gain of genomic selection. At present, we perform DNA tests on more than 20,000 animals annually, corresponding to about 25% of all breeding stock.
Genomic selection leads to increased genetic gain
Genomic selection generates greater genetic gain through more specific
kinship between the animals, and this increases the certainty of the
breeding value. At the same time, higher certainty of the breeding values
enables us to select suitable animals for the next generation. Our annual
DNA testing of 20,000 animals is expected to increase the genetic gain by
15-25% as compared with results prior to genomic selection.
Why be satisfied with less expensive DNA testing?
The price of a DNA test depends on the number of fragments of the DNA
strand to be tested. Previously, the DPRC tested 30,000-40,000 properties of the DNA strand. However, we can reduce the costs of a DNA test
by 50%, if 5,-8,000 properties of the DNA strand will be satisfactory. New
software has now made it possible to derive the missing properties of the
DNA strand, thus enabling us to achieve the same result as previously
// 012
reached by more expensive DNA testing. The only requirement is an occasional performance of the more expensive DNA tests of individual animals in order to update links between the properties of the DNA strand.
This method requires extensive computing power
The challenge is to get such huge numbers of DNA information data processed in time for the weekly index running - preferably within just a few
hours in order to avoid any delays in the index calculation. For this reason,
we have optimised the programmes and purchased more computing
power. We constantly optimise the speed of these processes. Currently,
we are down to 12 hours’ processing time of the weekly data prior to the
index calculation. New challenges will constantly arise, and genomic selection will continue to constitute a significant element in the work carried
out within the framework of DanAvl.
The development of genomic selection in DanAvl is carried out in collaboration between Aarhus University, Foulum and the Danish Pig Research
Centre, DPRC, with the support of the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and
Fisheries of Denmark under the GUDP-scheme (Green Development and
Demonstration Programme) in the project: “The development of genomic
selection for a pig breeding system based on crossbreeding - Journal no.
3405-11-0279.”
// 013
BREEDING FOR
MOTHERING ABILITY A FAIRLY DIFFICULT
CHALLENGE
The mothering ability of crossbreds is hereditary. However, heredity is difficult to exploit within a breeding programme, since the difference in mothering ability is relatively
insignificant with respect to the kinship of animals within nucleus herds of DanAvl
Landrace and DanAvl Yorkshire. This is the result of a new study, where the mothering
ability trait of 9,902 DanAvl Hybrid (LY) sows were examined in two commercial herds.
The number of weaners represent an important
factor in productivity increase in pig production. Over the past decades, the increase in litter size and survival up to day 5 after farrowing
(LP5) have been important attributes for DanAvl
in our efforts to increase the number of weaners - and thus productivity in pig production. In
addition, heterosis between DanAvl Landrace
and DanAvl Yorkshire contributes further to increase the survival of piglets. It is, however, still
important to reduce piglet mortality, since low
piglet mortality has a positive effect on productivity and improves animal welfare in pig production. In the suckling period, it is important
that the sow provides good care for her piglets
with plenty of milk. Traits, such as the number
of teats and milk yield, have been proposed to
improve piglet survival.
surviving piglets compared with the more inferior sows with fewer surviving piglets. In this
study, the focal point has been to examine if the
sows’ mothering abilities are hereditary, i.e.
that some families’ ability to nurse their piglets
is better than others. The study was limited to
first parity sows. Measuring the gilt’s ability to
nurse piglets is based on the number of piglets
she lies with three weeks after farrowing, since
all gilts have been assigned 14 piglets during
litter equalization no later than three days after
farrowing. The intention of this study was to develop a new trait that describes the mothering
abilities of hybrid sows in which the genetic effects should be traceable to the two pure
breeds DanAvl Landrace and DanAvl Yorkshire
- and to calculate the genetic link to total born
and LP5.
Small variation in the number of piglets nursed
The study result was that if gilts were assigned
14 piglets no later than three days after farrowing, most gilts would have 12 remaining piglets
We consider great sows to be sows with many
// 014
three weeks after farrowing, see Figure 1. The
variation in the number of nursed piglets is relatively small. Most gilts have 10 piglets or more
three weeks after nursing.
4,000 gilts out of a total of 9,902 gilts had more
than 12 piglets three weeks after farrowing, and
500 gilts had all 14 piglets after three weeks.
The mothering ability is hereditary but the genetic variation is low
The genetic results showed that the mothering
ability is hereditary. Gilts with good “weaning
genes” wean a greater number of piglets than
those with inferior genes. The calculated predisposition is between 0.04 and 0.05, depending on whether it is linked back to the DanAvl
Landrace- or the DanAvl Yorkshire-breeds (Table 1). This does not represent a particularly
high predisposition, but nonetheless it is at the
same level as heredity for LP5.
F I G U R E 1:
D I S T R I B U T I O N O F L I T T E R S I Z E W I T H D A N AV L H Y B R I D ( LY ) - S O W S T H R E E W E E K S A F T E R FA R R O W I N G .
14P
4500
NUMBER OF GILTS
4000
3500
3000
2500
2000
1500
1000
500
0
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
NUMBER OF NURSED PIGLETS
FACTS
TA BL E 1:
H E R E D I T Y F O R M OT H E R I N G A B I L I T Y R E G I S T E R E D F O R
C R O S S B R E D S ( LY ) A N D A S S O C I AT E D TO R E L AT E D A N I M A L S
I N T H E D A N AV L B R E E D S: D A N AV L L A N D R A C E A N D D A N AV L
YO R K S H I R E .
Trait
h2 L
h2 Y
Total born
0,06
0,09
LP5
0,04
0,07
Mothering ability
0,04
0,05
On the other hand, genetic variation for this trait
is not very high. This variation is between 0.05
and 0.06, which is significantly lower than for
LP5 with a genetic variance of around 0.6. The
lower genetic variation in mothering abilities
means that even intense breeding for increased
mothering ability, several years will have to pass
before piglet mortality will drop as a result of
breeding for improved mothering ability. Thus, it
would be more profitable to increase the sows
mothering ability by means of improved management such as the installation of milk cups in
the farrowing section.
No link between mothering ability and
the total number of piglets born
•
The project data was collected in the period from July
2010 to March 2013 from
a large German herd (Gut
Thiemendorf) with 9,000
DanAvl sows.
When we confine our study to the data from LYsows, the results show that there is no correlation between mothering ability and total number
of piglets born per litter, or the number of live
pigs per litter 5 days after farrowing (LP5).
•In total, the data of 11,247
gilts was collected, all of
which were DanAvl Hybrid (LY) crossbreds with
known DanAvl genetics.
As a result of this study, we will continue to perform DNA analyses of LY-sows and examine
how they can be used in relation to genomic selection. DNA analyses were performed on hair
samples from LY-gilts, collected from the herd.
•
11,247 registrations for total
born, 9,647 registrations for
live piglets 5 days after farrowing (LP5) and 9,902 registrations of the mothering
ability.
New statistical models, such as combining
DNA information with traditional information on
kinship, will be developed in collaboration with
scientists from Foulum.
• D
ata is a part of the project
Genomic Selection, supported by the GUDP (J. no340511 -0279).
// 015
SCANDINAVIAN
FARMS PIG BREEDING
TECHNOLOGY A DANISH SUCCESS
IN CHINA
Danish genetics, Danish production systems and
Danish production management shall contribute
to make Chinese pig production efficient and
improve food safety significantly.
// 016
A group of Danish investors have joined forces
in the Chinese-based companies Scandinavian
Farms Pig Breeding Technology, SFPBT, and
Scandinavian Farms Pig Industries, SFPI. The
aim of SFPBT is, in cooperation with SFPI, to
produce large scale high-end pork to the rapidly growing Chinese market. The objective is
the production of 500,000 finishers per year,
which is the equivalent to what one million Chinese will consume annually. In addition to the
production of finishers, SFPBT will be able to
provide locally produced DanAvl breeding animals for the Chinese market.
Safe pork to the Chinese food market
In recent years, a series of food scandals have
resulted in food safety becoming an increased
concern in the People’s Republic of China. As a
direct consequence, the Chinese authorities
have reacted by enforcing stricter standards for
China’s food production. In the light of these
food scandals, the Chinese consumers have
become more conscious about the products
they buy. Thus, an increasing number of the
Chinese are willing to pay a higher price in order to be assured that a product has been produced under the right conditions.
High Danish standards of quality,
health and the environment
SFPBT and SFPI have the intention to provide
safe as well as environmentally friendly pork to
the Chinese people. The SFPBT & SFPI farms
have been built on the basis of advanced Danish
technology and subject to Danish quality standards. This will not only ensure a high level of
health in the herds, but also a high degree of
traceability of pork produced by SFPBT. In addition to health-related conditions, SFPBT & SFPI
have made considerable investments in environmental technologies such as e.g. slurry-disposal
technology for handling livestock slurry, which
can be used as organic fertiliser, a practice
which is not particularly widespread in China.
SFPBT expects these investments to benchmark the development of modern, efficient and
sustainable pig production in China.
World-leading genetics to the
Chinese pig industry
The first stage of the SFPBT project was the establishment of the Lianyungang DanYu pig
breeding farm - a DanAvl multiplier herd located
in the Chinese province of Jiangsu. Built from
the ground, the farm was equipped with new
pens and production systems established according to Danish standards. On January 17,
2013 the DanYu herd received the first delivery
of 600 breeding pigs directly from Denmark.
In May 2014, the second phase of the construction was initiated: An expansion of the
herd with 1,000 sows will be concluded by the
end of 2014.
When phase two of the DanYu herd has been
finalised, the full production capacity of the
multiplier herd will amount to a total production
capacity of 15,000 gilts and 500 boars. The
third phase, the establishment of a commercial
AI-station, has already been approved.
97,000 finishers from SFPI end of year
2015
The first commercial herd was established
concurrently with the establishment and launch
of the production of the DanYu herd. SFPI’s first
commercial herd with a capacity of 2,500 sows
was put into operation in December 2013. SFPI
began construction of phase two in June 2014,
which consists of yet another commercial herd
with an additional 2,500 sows. It is expected
that production can be initiated around the Chinese New Year 2015. With the completion of
phase two, these SFPI herds will have a production capacity of 97,000 finishers.
All SFPBT & SFPI herds are operated according to a Specific Pathogen Free (SPF) health
care system intensively monitoring health and
disease control as well as the use of medicine.
All the pigs are transported in ventilated SPFvehicles to protect them against infection during transport. Frequent blood tests are performed as a disease controlling measure by the
Nanjing SIQ laboratory. The results confirm that
the SFPI herds are among the few genuine SPF
herds in China.
Reaching a current average of 28.6 piglets per
year per sow and 15 live-born piglets per litter,
Scandinavian Farms Pig Breeding Technology
has proved that great performance with DanAvl
is achievable in China, when production is
combined with advanced Danish management
technology.
// 017
THE HANDLING
OF LARGE LITTERS
Long before it was possible to breed for larger litter sizes, the challenges connected
with large litters was a known factor. Naturally, the mothering ability must be
geared to a larger number of born pigs - and it has always been a complex task
to nurse piglets. Another aspect to take into account - in addition to the many
diseases threatening piglets and requiring to be dealt with by hygiene, vaccinations
and timely treatment - is the sow’s inherent problematic strategy of giving birth
to many piglets of differing birth weights and then let them struggle for survival
among themselves. The natural waste this entails is neither ethically nor economically justifiable in pig production. Consequently, there is a need for considerable
insight and knowledge from the pig farmer.
General litter equalization
For many years, nursing of piglets in large litters
was interchangeable with the intensification of
pig production. Batch operation systems were
introduced to facilitate work planning and to
prevent contamination between pigs of varying
ages. When one group of sows had farrowed, it
was possible to remove piglets from the largest
group to sows that had not given birth to quite
so many piglets. With the litter sizes achieved at
that time, it only rarely happened that the sows
were unable to nurse all the piglets born. It
might, however, happen that some sows would
give birth to a large litter at a time when no other sows had given birth to small litters and thus
were unable to take on “excess pigs”. In such
instances, it was necessary to provide additional milk for the piglets, and some pig farmers
// 018
attempted to create nursing sows by weaning
older pigs and then leave any excess newborn
piglets to such sows.
ently – the ‘extra’ teat, number 15, can only
feed a piglet in 10% of the sows.
How many piglets can a sow nurse?
The handling of excess piglets
transferred to nursing sows
In a trial, 11, 13 or 15 piglets were placed with
sows as litter equalization. The number of
weaned piglets per litter increased in line with
the number of piglets transferred to the sows.
There was no statistically reliable difference in
piglet mortality, whether the sows nursed 11 or
13 piglets. Although the sows participating in
the study had at least 15 functioning teats at
farrowing, the mortality was statistically significantly higher when the sows had to nurse 15
piglets. In a subsequent study of sows with 14
and 15 teats, we found that, usually, 14 teats
would always be functional, whereas – appar-
As a result of breeding for large litter sizes it is
no longer “just a few” sows that will give birth to
many piglets. Litter equalization between large
and small litters will therefore not resolve the
problem of how to get all pigs properly nursed.
In this respect, we found that nursing sows are
an effective solution to this challenge. In principle, a nursing sow will nurse her own piglets
until they are weaned. Then, this sow takes
over a new group of newborn piglets. In practice, however, this technique is a little more
complicated. Piglets must suckle colostrum
from their own mother for at least 12 hours be-
F I G U R E 1:
G R A P H O F L I T T E R S I Z E D E V E LO P M E N T ( TOTA L N U M B E R O F P I G S B O R N ) A N D O F P I G L E T M O R TA L I T Y ( D E A D P I G L E T S A S A P E R C E N TA G E O F L I V E B O R N P I G L E T S ) S I N C E B R E E D I N G F O R I N C R E A S E D L I T T E R S I Z E S WA S I N C O R P O R AT E D I N TO T H E B R E E D I N G
O B J E C T I V E I N 19 9 2. T H I S D ATA S T E M S F R O M T H E A N N U A L AV E R A G E C A LC U L AT I O N S B A S E D O N A R E P R E S E N TAT I V E N U M B E R
O F C O M M E R C I A L H E R D S . D W: 12 116 4.
18
Piglet mortality in % of live born piglets
SHARE IN PERCENTAGE
16
14
12
10
Live born piglets per litter
8
6
4
2
0
1992
1995
1998
2001
2004
2007
2010
2013
YEAR
FIGURE 2:
P I G L E T M O R TA L I T Y I N R E L AT I O N TO L I T T E R S I Z E I N VA R I O U S P I G P R O D U C I N G C O U N T R I E S . D ATA F R O M 2 011 I S P R O V I D E D B Y
I N T E R P I G . I N S P I T E O F L A R G E R L I T T E R S I Z E S I N D E N M A R K , P I G L E T M O R TA L I T Y I S AT T H E S A M E L E V E L A S P I G L E T M O R TA L I T Y
I N OT H E R C O U N T R I E S , W H I C H H AV E S M A L L E R L I T T E R S I Z E S , A S E .G . T H E N E T H E R L A N D S , F R A N C E A N D G E R M A N Y, H O W E V E R ,
W H E R E T H E I N D U S T R I A L I S AT I O N O F P I G P R O D U C T I O N I S C O M PA R A B L E .
18
Sweden
SHARE IN PERCENTAGE
16
Norway
Germany
14
12
Canada
UK
Austria
USA
8
Denmark
The Netherlands
Spain
Italy
10
France
Belgium
Ireland
Brazil
6
10,0
10,5
11,0
11,5
12,0
12,5
13,0
13,5
14,0
14,5
LIVE BORN PER LITTER
fore they can be certain to have received sufficient colostrum. For this reason, no piglet
should be moved to a nursing sow right after
birth. Approximately 24 hours after farrowing,
the sow will no longer give colostrum; and, for
the rest of the nursing period, the milk produced by the sow will not change much in
composition. On the other hand, the milk yield
increases from an expected production of less
than three litres on day two after farrowing to
over 10 litres of milk per day from day 16 and up
to weaning.
The two-step nursing sow solves
the equation
In case a sow has just weaned 21-day-old piglets with a huge appetite, and will consequently
be required to reduce her milk yield when nurs-
ing newborn piglets, problems may arise as in
connection with starting the nursing all over
again. It is therefore expedient to provide an
additional nursing sow (a two-step nursing
sow) in order to establish the nursing. The twostep nursing sow will have nursed piglets for
4-8 days, and these piglets will be transferred
to the weaned sow, since their appetite will be
better suited for the sow’s milk yield. The
weaned sow will nurse these piglets for a period of 2 to 3 weeks, depending on how long
they have already been nursing. Hence, piglets
can be weaned after at least 21 days so that
the requirements of the European Union for the
suckling period are met. The sow, which has
been nursing for 4-8 days, will become nursing
sow for the newborn piglets, and nurse them
for at least 21 days in addition to those suckling
days, the nursing sow has already spent with
her own piglets.
Recommended litter equalization to
14 piglets
A test was performed where 440 piglets either
stayed with their own mother (220 piglets) or
were divided between a single-step or a twostep nursing sow (110 piglets with each). The
piglet mortality and the weight at weaning were
identical, regardless of whether the piglets
were with their own mother, or they were
moved to a two-step nursing sow. On the other
hand, the statistical mortality was significantly
higher if the piglets were placed with a singlestep nursing sow. This is why the Danish recommendation is to equalize litters to 14 piglets
- and to transfer the largest excess piglets to
// 019
two-step nursing sows when these piglets
have obtained the sufficient amount of colostrum. Studies of Danish and Swedish sows,
untethered in the farrowing pen, showed that
this strategy will also work with sows not tethered in a farrowing pen, as long as the suckling
piglets are transferred to a nursing sow.
The handling of large litters
is feasible
As mentioned in the introduction, large litter size
makes larger care demands - with respect to
sows as well as piglets. The daily weight gain of
the litter increases for each piglet placed with
the litter. This means that the milk yield must
also increase, and this means higher demands
on the feeding of the sows and the allocation of
water. Here, it was found that whenever these
conditions were optimised, the sows would actually eat significantly more per day than previously expected. When the sows are fed according to their individual appetites, the allocation of
feed must, however, be limited so as to prevent
// 020
the sows from achieving such positive energy
balances that they reach oestrus before the
suckling piglets have been weaned. Initially, it
was recommended to assign a maximum of 13
kg of concentrated feed daily to the sows. Now,
this amount has been reduced a maximum of 9
kg feed daily to avoid the sow’s weight gain
while in the farrowing pen.
The larger the number of pigs to be nursed by
the sow, the faster problems will occur if access
to one or more teats is hampered. This may be
caused by a faulty, not properly functioning teat,
but problems may also occur if the farrowing
pen or the space utilisation of the pen will not
allow all pigs to suckle simultaneously. The piglet caretaker should thus be able to observe and
single out non-performing piglets and to take
immediate action.
Positive development with respect
to piglet mortality
All sows in Denmark originate from DanAvl, and
the results of the breeding work can be controlled by means of surveillance of productivity
in the commercial herds. Figure 1 shows the
development of litter size and piglet mortality in
a representative proportion of commercial
herds. It should be noted that, initially, the percentage of piglet mortality increased simultaneously with the increase in litter size. From 2000
onwards, efforts were made in production to
deal with the large amount of piglets born, and
the increase in mortality was reduced by incorporating new and optimised methods of nursing. Since 2006, piglet mortality has been stable
despite a constant increase in litter size. Within
the last few years, there even seems to be a tendency of decline in piglet mortality for breeding
piglets with a high rate of survival, in spite of the
continued increase in litter size. Figure 2 shows
data from Interpig. This demonstrates that, in
spite of larger litter sizes, piglet mortality in Denmark is comparable to countries with similar industrialisation. And these countries even continue to have litter sizes where simple litter
equalization of pigs from large to small litters
can ensure the piglets survival.
One teat per pig reduces piglet
mortality
The primary advantage of using a sow as nursing sow is the decrease in piglet mortality where
piglets grow up in litters allowing at least one
available teat for each piglet. For the sow the
weaning of her own piglets is probably stressful,
however, there is no certainty about whether
taking over a new litter will limit maternal deprivation of a sow’s own litter, or whether having to
deal with a litter of piglets not being her own will
cause the sow stress. The fact that even loosehoused sows normally accept becoming nursing sows suggests that a new group of piglets
will actually cover the nursing needs of the sow.
When the sow acts as nursing sow, piglets
suckle for approximately one additional week
(nursing sow), or in two to three weeks (the
weaned sow) as compared with sows in the
herd that are not nursing sows. In traditional
systems, the sow will be fixed in the pen during
these additional weeks. With the current knowledge with regard to the feeding of lactating
sows, most sows will only experience limited
weight loss during the nursing period. Also, it is
frequently a problem that the weaned sows,
taking care of the 4-8 days old piglets, will reach
oestrus during the nursing period. This suggests a surplus of energy for these sows.
In two studies weaned sows, which had an additional nursing period, gave birth to an additional 2 and 0.6 piglets, respectively, in the subsequent litter. This also supports the theory that
nursing sows reach a better condition before
weaning. The nursed piglets will experience
growing up with a nursing sow instead of being
nursed by their own mother. This is also true for
the piglets transferred between large and small
litters in traditional litter equalization. Canadian,
Danish and German tests concur in the view that
moving piglets before they are two days old can
be done without affecting growth and mortality.
This suggests that, at this point in time, a final
hierarchy has not yet been established. If, on
the other hand, a piglet is more than 48 hours
old when it is moved, the impact on daily weight
gain can clearly be observed.
Large litter sizes are advantageous
Where large litter sizes culminate in increased
numbers of weaned piglets, the producers will
achieve higher yields. This is relevant as long as
the cost of work, additional space in the farrowing pens and space and feed for the nursing sows do not exceed the value of the increased number of weaned piglets. When each
sow gives birth to an increased number of piglets, there will be a greater yield on the feed it
eats from the time it is born, and while it is in
production. The environmental impact is reduced per kilo pork; and, likewise, the latter
years’ increase in produced piglets has taken
place without an increase in the number of
sows in production.
// 021
DANAVL
AND AI
With the internationalisation of DanAvl, Artificial Insemination (AI)
has become a natural part of the product range and also adds to sales.
Any producer, who wants to produce gilts of their own, can purchase
purebred DanAvl gilts as a start-up. Alternatively, producers need to carry
out displacement crossbreeding of such sows that already exist in the herd.
AI-stations in Denmark
In Denmark there are two AI-companies selling
DanAvl semen: Hatting A/S with approximately
2,800 boars and the semen collection centre
MORS with approximately 550 boars. These
two AI-stations are distinguished by being important elements of the DanAvl programme.
Every 14 days, DanAvl boars are selected for the
AI-stations. This is done on the basis of such
boars as the nucleus herds have tested in their
herds and on the basis of boars that have been
performance tested on the test station Bøgildgård. The boars placed at Bøgildgård are those
assessed to be the top of DanAvl - the future
boars. That is to say, they are selected from
among those piglets that have the highest index
as an average of the father and the mother, respectively. Bøgildgård e.g. tests daily weight
gain, feed consumption, lean meat content, etc.
When a boar is placed at the DanAvl AI-station,
all nucleus herds will have access to use semen
from this boar, and this is one of the most important initiatives of the DanAvl programme. The
breeders have priority access to the boars, but
whenever a drop on the index occurs, other
// 022
herds will be given access to purchase. Producers and multiplier herds will thus have access to
purchase semen from such boars.
to sell DanAvl purebred animals and, consequently, they also have the right to place boars
on AI-stations.
The replacement of boars is primarily controlled
by genetic gain. Since better boar quality is
continuously being bred, AI-stations are forced
to replace boars at the same rate as genetic
gain is achieved. As a result, many DanAvl Landrace and DanAvl Yorkshire-boars stay at a
DanAvl AI-station for a mere 5 - 6 months.
The semen of such DanAvl boars can then be
sold on to the DanAvl distributor’s customers.
This also means that the same AI-station can
house boars from different distributors. The
considerable interest in selling semen from
these boars should preferably stimulate the
sale of DanAvl semen.
AI-stations abroad
In order to provide foreign producers with
this service in the best possible way, the possibility is given to place DanAvl boars at AIstations outside of Denmark. At this time, 46 AIstations have 2,657 DanAvl boars housed
abroad (1,827 DanAvl Duroc, 439 DanAvl Landrace, 391 DanAvl Yorkshire). The vast majority
of boars, however, are placed in Germany,
which represents the largest market for DanAvl.
The placement of boars on foreign AI-stations
is organised by one of altogether 14 licensed
DanAvl distributors. They have been licensed
AI-company
Number of
DanAvl boars
Hatting Germany, Germany
363
GFS, Ascheberg, Germany
265
Elite Sires, LTD, England
220
Finnpig, Finland
186
Pig Genetics, Ireland
102
Klasse KI, Netherlands
100
TA BL E 1:
O V E R V I E W O F T H E M A I N A I - C O M PA N I E S A B O A D.
The table represents a summary of where most
DanAvl boars are situated. At the top is, of
course, one of the biggest pig producing countries in Europe, Germany.
PI C T U R E :
S E M E N C O L L E C T I O N C E N T R E I N B O L L I N G E N , G E R M A N Y.
AI
Test Station
GENETIC
FLOW
Breeder
Breeder
Breeder
Breeder
F I G U R E 1:
A I - B O A R S’ WAY F R O M B R E E D E R TO A I - S TATO N .
Hatting Germany
In 2012, Hatting A/S purchased two AI-stations
in Germany to support DanAvl sales on the
German market. In 2014, the stations changed
their name to Hatting Germany to emphasise
the mutual connection with Hatting A/S. Currently, Hatting Germany is responsible for approximately 50 percent of the sale of DanAvl
semen in Germany. The company is managed
by the founder’s son, Managing Director Tobias
Mette, who is also a member of Hatting’s team
of directors in Denmark. Tobias Mette’s main
area of activity is to service and sell to the German customers. The production of semen is
carried out in close collaboration with the Danish operations management.
Departments in Bollingen and
Herzberg
Hatting Germany has two departments: Bollingen and Herzberg. The department in Bollingen has 500 boars in four sections and is
located approximately 100 km from Bremen in
Northern Germany, near the Dutch border. This
means that sales are mainly performed in the
area of Lower Saxony – an area closely popu-
lated with pigs. The department in Herzberg,
has 380 boars in three sections and is located
about 60 km to the north of Berlin; and it services customers in the new federal states.
Products of Semen
The two departments of Hatting Germany consist of a total of approximately 800 boars - 363
stem from DanAvl. The German market for
“terminal-boars” (boars for slaughter-house
production) continues to be dominated by the
Pietrain breed. Currently, Hatting Germany’s
Pietrain-boars stem from a small German alliance of breeders. The sales of semen from
DanAvl Duroc-boars has undergone a slight
growth, and more than 30% of the sows in Germany are DanAvl sows, where it would be quite
natural to use DanAvl Duroc-semen to produce
pigs for slaughter. To a large extent – and for
various reasons, however, the German customers prefer other breeds.
Quality
Hatting Germany is very closely aligned to the
Danish quality system. The Danish AI-quality
system is based on research and experimenta-
tion, and we are committed to ensure that any
new measures will be based on scientific studies. This means that:
•The boar’s semen quality is tested before
use.
•All material with which the semen comes
into contact is tested.
• The finished doses of semen are tested for
microbiological growth, sperm count etc.
•The Danish rules of hygiene are complied
with.
This will give customers in Germany a certainty as to the quality of the semen.
Future
The German market share of Hatting Germany
is made up of approximately 10 per cent of the
sales of semen, representing a market share
too small to create an economically strong
business. Therefore, Hatting Germany is targeted at growth which will benefit German pig
producers, and thus we are constantly looking
for new partners in Germany.
// 023
MEET DANAVL
ON THE INTERNATIONAL STAGE
DanAvl is increasingly participating in activities and events around
the world, e.g. with exhibition stands or conference sponsorships.
Two examples of our appearance can be found below:
DanAvl at exhibition in China
Due to a growing interest from the Chinese
market, DanAvl participated in the 11. China
Animal Husbandry Expo (CAHE), which took
place from May 18-20, 2014 in Qingdao.
DanAvl Marketing Manager, Birgitte Pedersen,
participated at DanAvl’s stand together with
Nutrition and Reproduction, DPRC, Gunner
Sørensen. In addition, three DanAvl distributors
attended: SPF, Porc-Ex and DanBred International via their Chinese company; and, finally,
Breeding Centre Rønshauge also participated.
In connection with this exhibition, the Danish
Embassy in Beijing had booked an area at the
exhibition and contributed with a one-day focus on Denmark. Here, representatives from
both Denmark and China were in charge of the
official opening. The centre of interest for this
Danish area consisted of a model farm focused
on the qualities of Danish pig production. On
the day, there was great interest in – and much
dialogue about - the farm and the participating
Danish companies, including DanAvl.
Those were busy days for DanAvl; and there
was considerable interest and many questions
// 024
were asked. The professionalism of Gunner
Sørensen was invaluable. Gunner likewise participated in two major customer seminars organised by a Danish feed company.
DanAvl - main sponsor at the 65th
annual meeting of EAAP
The 65th EAAP (European Federation of Animal Science) annual meeting took place in Copenhagen, Denmark, from August 25-29, 2014.
The congress participants were researchers,
developers, advisors and consultants.
Since the congress was located in Denmark
the Danish Pig Research Centre, DPRC, and
DanAvl chose to be strongly represented for
the over 900 congress participants. DanAvl
was the main sponsor and its contribution e.g.
comprised:
•High visibility during the entire congress including an 18 square meter stand.
•A seminar on Thursday, August 28, entitled
“Quality Pays” with the following programme:
- Director of the Danish Pig Research Centre, DPRC, Claus Fertin, about Danish pig
production.
- Pig producer Søren Søndergaard - about
his farm, production, strategy and results.
- Danske Slageterier Brussels, Knud Buhl about the development of the world’s pig
production.
•
An excursion arranged for the congress
participants on Friday, August 29. Here,
Danish pig production could be experienced. Moreover there was an excursion to
the Danish Meat Research Institute, a pig
producer and a breeder.
It was a very busy week with many fruitful
discussions at the DanAvl stand, e.g. on the
DanAvl structure and more in-depth technical
issues such as feeding, the use of nursing
sows, boar taint, etc. Thursday’s seminar was
attended by more than 60 participants – all
highly interested and asking many questions.
The dialogue between participants and speakers was continued at the DanAvl stand.
In the course of the congress, several employees of the Danish Pig Research Centre, DPRC,
performed poster sessions or presentations of
their work on the development of Danish pig
production.
PI C T U R E S
TO P: D A N AV L S TA N D AT E X H I B I T I O N I N T H E P E O P L E’ S
REPUBLIC OF CHINA.
C E N T R E L E F T: D A N AV L O N T H E E A A P 2 014 AT T I V O L I
CONGRESS CENTRE, COPENHAGEN, DENMARK.
B OT TO M L E F T: D A N I S H M O D E L FA R M AT E X H I B I T I O N I N
T H E P E O P L E’ S R E P U B L I C O F C H I N A .
B OT TO M R I G H T: S E M I N A R H E L D B Y D A N AV L C O N D U C T E D
BY MR. CL AUS FERTIN, MR. SØREN SØNDERGA ARD AND
MR. KNUD BUHL SPEECHES ON PIG PRODUCTION.
// 025
SALES, TURNOVER AND RESULTS
2014
Danish Pig
Research Centre
// 026
// 027
Sales of breeding material are carried out
through various channels, depending on
whether it is a question of purebred sows, onfarm replacement production sows or semen.
In order to compare the different types of sales,
we have established equivalents as shown in
Figure 1 and Figure 2. Here the sales development is shown for DanAvl Landrace and DanAvl
Yorkshire (female) and for DanAvl Duroc (male),
converted into number of production sows.
F I G U R E 1:
S A L E S O F D A N AV L L A N D R A C E A N D D A N AV L YO R K S H I R E C O N V E R T E D I N TO P R O D U C T I O N S O W S .
3.500.000
3.000.000
PRODUCTION SOWS
Figure 1-2:
Sales of breeding material
2.500.000
2.000.000
Abroad
1.500.000
1.000.000
Denmark
500.000
0
2008/09
2011
2012
2013
2011
2012
2013
1.600.000
1.400.000
1.200.000
Abroad
1.000.000
800.000
600.000
Table 1-2:
Sales of breeding material in Denmark since
2007/2008 are set out in Table 1 below. This
development clearly shows a decrease in sold
purebred and crossbred gilts, while doses of
semen for DanAvl Duroc in particular have
been increasing. However, Table 2 shows a different picture. Sales of breeding material for the
same period are shown; however, these sales
are from Denmark as well as in countries
abroad. All categories of exports have increased since 2007/2008. Within the last few
years, sales of purebred gilts, DanAvl Duroc
boars, and semen, in particular, have made a
difference.
200.000
Denmark
0
2008/09
2009/10
2010/11
YEAR
TA BL E 1:
S A L E S O F B R E E D I N G M AT E R I A L I N D E N M A R K F R O M 2 0 07 TO 2 013 .
* Price year converted to calendar year.
2007/2008
2008/2009
2009/2010
2010/2011
2011*
2012*
Purebred gilts, number of
14,972
12,694
5,230
4,711
4,640
6,551
5,132
Hybrid gilts, number of
321,600
297,900
274,700
268,963
236,121
241,223
249,895
2013*
LL and YY boars, number of
150
150
75
45
5
16
16
DD and XX boars, number of
2,340
1,940
1,290
1,328
1,093
685
543
DD and XX semen, million doses
LL and YY semen, doses
4.3
4.3
4.6
4.7
4.6
4.7
4.9
276,400
267,200
268,300
260,080
242,817
234,662
232,488
TA BL E 2 :
S A L E S O F B R E E D I N G M AT E R I A L F R O M 2 0 07 TO 2 013 A B R O A D.
* Price year converted to calendar year.
2007/2008
2008/2009
2009/2010
2010/2011
2011*
2012*
2013*
Purebred gilts, number of
4,755
12,618
10,214
12,226
22,007
23,465
28,693
Hybrid gilts, number of
84,960
133,900
171,700
243,098
271,144
347,575
421,347
810
930
970
1,481
997
995
1,562
1,017
1,300
1,300
1,493
1,780
2,090
2,277
LL and YY boars, number of
DD boars, number of
DD semen, doses
Number of on-farm replacement
production sows abroad
// 028
2010/11
FIGURE 2:
S A L E S O F D A N AV L D U R O C C O N V E R T E D I N TO P R O D U C T I O N S O W S .
400.000
The sales of white boars are not calculated in
terms of number of doses as in Denmark, but in
number of production sows (on-farm replacement sows) using semen from DanAvl boars.
This number continues to increase very strongly, which can also be seen in the development
from 2012 to 2013. Currently, in July 2014, the
number is up to 593,000 production sows.
2009/10
YEAR
PRODUCTION SOWS
Figure 1 clearly shows that the sales development for DanAvl Landrace and DanAvl Yorkshire converted into production sows has been
strongly increasing in and for countries outside
Denmark; whereas in Denmark, there has been
a slight decline. Figure 2 does not illustrate as
clearly the slight increase in sales – in Denmark
and abroad – of DanAvl Duroc in relation to
production sows. No direct comparison can be
made between Table 1 and Table 2, which will
appear in the following, since the figures have
been converted into production sows.
0
0
411,000
671,500
657,000
777,711
1,116,687
23,000
51,000
101,000
156,100
220,000
290,896
424,519
Figure 3-5:
On-farm replacement production
sows abroad
On-farm replacement production sows are
sows in commercial herds being supplied with
DanAvl breeding material. The number of onfarm replacement sows are growing significantly. Current figures from July 2014 are shown in
Figure 3 where the number of sows have been
organised in a top 10 distribution and in Figure
4 where the scale of distribution across Europe
has been illustrated. Germany, the Netherlands
and Spain are still in the top three, while Ireland
and the United Kingdom have joined the top 10
as compared with last year.
FIGURE 3:
D I A G R A M O F TO P T E N E U R O P E A N C O U N T R I E S W I T H O N - FA R M R E P L A C E M E N T P R O D U C T I O N S O W S .
G R E AT B R I TA I N
POL AND
CZECH REPUBLIC
IRELAND
FINLAND
B E LG I U M
GERMANY
FRANCE
The structure of DanAvl
Today, the Danish Pig Research Centre (DPRC)
has agreements with 26 Danish breeders, who
in total have 40 herds of purebred breeding
animals distributed into: 12 DanAvl Duroc, 14
DanAvl Landrace and 14 DanAvl Yorkshire.
Thus, some breeders work with several breeds.
Currently (August 2014), 140 multiplier herds
have been approved, of which 28 are affiliated
with a nucleus herd.
In addition to the Danish nucleus and multiplier
herds, the DPRC has agreements with an increasing number of multiplier herds abroad. At
present, there are 85 multiplier herds abroad,
and in 2014, another 12 new herds have already
been added. In 2011 and 2012, approximately
10 new multiplier herds were added each year,
and thus this constitutes a significant development and increase in multiplier herds abroad.
The graphic representation in figure 5 illustrates
the multiplier herds established in Europe.
Brazil and the People’s Republic of China are
not included in this figure.
S PA I N
THE NETHERLANDS
FIGURE 4:
M A P O F E U R O P E I L L U S T R AT I N G T H E D I S T R I B U T I O N I N S C A L E O F T H E N U M B E R O F O N - FA R M R E P L A C E M E N T P R O D U C TION SOWS ABROAD
904
16 3 8 9 1
F I G U R E 5:
LO C AT I O N O F M U LT I P L I E R H E R D S A B R O A D.
// 029
Figure 6:
DanAvl’s market share is also developing.
Figure 6 illustrates all herds which are supplied
with DanAvl breeding material worldwide.
FIGURE 6:
C O U N T R I E S B E I N G S U P P L I E D W I T H D A N AV L B R E E D I N G M AT E R I A L .
Figure 7-8:
Breeding objectives and genetic gain
The breeding objective is determined as the
point of reference for the improvement of the
economy of Danish pig producers and, hence,
slaughterhouses. The breeding objective is determined on the basis of the production of finishers in a Danish integrated piglet and finisher
production. The Danish Pig Research Centre,
DPRC, determines the breeding objective for
the three breeds comprised by the Danish
breeding programme, DanAvl.
F I G U R E 7:
C O M P O S I T I O N O F T H E B R E E D I N G O B J E C T I V E F O R D A N AV L L A N D R A C E A N D D A N AV L YO R K S H I R E - F I N A N C I A L C O N T R I B U T I O N .
Currently, the breeding objective comprises the
following traits:
0 2 % D A I LY W E I G H T G A I N ( 0 -3 0 KG )
11% D A I LY W E I G H T G A I N ( 3 0 -10 0 KG )
07 % L E A N M E AT P E R C E N TA G E
•Daily weight gain 0-30 kg and 30-100 kg:
g/day
•Feed conversion:
FUpig per kg daily weight gain
•Lean meat: %
•Conformation: points
•Killing out: kg
•Longevity (of sows): %
•LP5 (live pigs per litter after 5 days):
number of pigs on day 5 after farrowing
The latest revision of the breeding objective for
DanAvl Duroc, DanAvl Landrace and DanAvl
Yorkshire was implemented in March 2011. The
breeding objective’s current traits are illustrated
in Figure 7 and Figure 8 for sow and boar
breeds, respectively.
A new revision of the breeding objective is in
progress, including a number of alternative revision proposals to be evaluated in the course
of the autumn of 2014. As a consequence of
the increase in litter size, these proposals will,
among other things, include a lower economic
weighting of LP5.
// 030
42 % F E E D C O N V E R S I O N
0 5% C O N F O R M AT I O N
02% KILLING OUT
27% LP5
0 4% LO N G E V I T Y
FIGURE 8:
C O M P O S I T I O N O F D A N AV L D U R O C - F I N A N C I A L C O N T R I B U T I O N .
03% KILLING OUT
0 3 % D A I LY W E I G H T G A I N ( 0 -3 0 KG )
2 2 % D A I LY W E I G H T G A I N ( 3 0 -10 0 KG )
16 % L E A N M E AT P E R C E N TA G E
51% F E E D C O N V E R S I O N
0 5% C O N F O R M AT I O N
Table 3:
Table 3 shows the genetic gain for each of the
breeds throughout the last four years, as well
as the average for all three breeds. Daily weight
gain is progressing nicely, as the daily weight
gain of both groups, 0-30 kg and 30-100 kg,
have improved since last year.
The progress in longevity of sow breeds has
also improved. Last year, there was a progress
of -0.001% whereas this year it is 0.006%.
Table 4-6:
Operating activity and results
Table 4 and Table 5 show the results from performance tests of boars and sows, respectively, in the nucleus herds. The number of tested
breeding animals in the nucleus herds has fallen from last year. Last year a total of a little over
82,000 animals were performance tested as
compared to this year’s 79,000 tested animals.
Table 6 shows test results from the test station
Bøgildgård. Contrary to the number of tested
nucleus herds of the previous year, the number
of performance tested boars has gone up.
TA BL E 3:
GENETIC GAIN FOR THE L AST FOUR YE ARS.
Breed
Daily
Daily
Feed
weight gain weight gain conversion
(0 - 30 kg), (30-100 kg), (FUpig/kg
g/day
g/day
gain)
Lean
meat,
%
LP5,
number of
Conformation:
points
Killing
out:
kg
Longevity,
%
DanAvl Duroc,
average
4.0
20.6
-0.048
0.15
-
0.04
-0.04
-
DanAvl Landrace,
average
0.1
10.5
-0.031
0.05
0.16
0.05
-0.08
-0.01
DanAvl Yorkshire,
average
1.1
12.1
-0.027
0.03
0.21
0.05
0.02
0.02
Average, all three
breeds
2.3
16.0
-0.039
0.10
0.19
0.04
-0.03
0.006
TA BL E 4 :
T H E R E C E N T Y E A R ’ S AV E R A G E P R O D U C T I O N P E R F O R M A N C E S A C H I E V E D B Y B O A R S I N N U C L E U S H E R D S .
Daily weight gain, g/day
Breed
0-30 kg
30-100 kg
Lean
meat,
%
Number of
Conformation,
points
Scanning
measurement, mm
Scanning
weight, kg
DanAvl Duroc
6,152
394
1,140
61.2
2.91
7.3
95.2
DanAvl Landrace
13,873
377
1,035
62.3
3.00
8.3
93.8
DanAvl Yorkshire
14,596
360
986
61.8
3.09
8.4
93.2
In total
34,621
TA BL E 5:
T H E R E C E N T Y E A R ’ S AV E R A G E P R O D U C T I O N P E R F O R M A N C E S A C H I E V E D B Y S O W S I N N U C L E U S H E R D S .
Daily weight gain, g/day
Breed
0-30 kg
30-100 kg
Lean
meat,
%
Number of
Conformation,
points
Scanning
measurement, mm
Scanning
weight, kg
DanAvl Duroc
8,312
399
1.082
61.5
3.00
7.0
95.0
DanAvl Landrace
17,809
380
968
62.9
3.09
7.6
93.5
DanAvl Yorkshire
18,403
363
949
61.6
3.15
8.7
92.9
In total
44,524
TA BL E 6 :
T H E R E C E N T Y E A R ’ S AV E R A G E R E S U LT S F O R T E S T S TAT I O N B Ø G I L D G Å R D.
Number of
Daily weight
gain, g/day
Feed
conversion
(FUpig/kg gain)
Lean
meat,
%
Killing out,
kg
Scanning
measurement, mm
DanAvl Duroc
2,681
1,100
2.35
60.3
25.2
7.3
DanAvl Landrace
1,414
1,045
2.41
60.4
25.5
8.3
DanAvl Yorkshire
1,414
959
2.41
60.9
24.5
8.4
In total
5,509
Breed
// 031
FIGURE 9:
T H E D E V E LO P M E N T O F T H E AV E R A G E B R E E D I N G I N D E X A N D
T H E L E V E L O F I N B R E E D I N G F O R T H E B R E E D I N G C A N D I D AT E S .
Social Interactions
BREEDING INDEX
INCREASE IN INBREEDING
Selection based on interactions between pigs
is a method that takes into account several factors, including the fact that a pig’s growth does
not only depend on the pig itself, but also on its
pen mates.
BREEDING INDEX
108
104
100
EVA
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
2014
Analyses based on DanAvl Duroc-data, performed by Bøgildgård, has proven that the estimation of social-genetic effects are very sensitive to data structure and environmental
effects. The preliminary results are not clear as
to whether there is a social genetic effect on
growth and feed conversion. Thus additional
statistical models need to be tested.
LEVEL OF INBREEDING
YEAR
0.20
Since March 2014, approximately 670, 890 and
1,290 herds have been tested in which all pigs
were known in DanAvl Duroc, DanAvl Landrace
and DanAvl Yorkshire, respectively. This means
that analyses including data from all herds can
soon be commenced.
0.19
EVA
0.18
0.17
EVA
2008
2009
2010
2011
YEAR
2012
2013
2014
For a little more than two years, EVA has served
as a tool for controlling inbreeding within DanAvl
Duroc. Since its implementation, the increase in
inbreeding in DanAvl Duroc has been reduced
from approx. 0.5% to between 0.1% and 0.2%,
cf. Figure 9. This indicates that the method is
working as intended, since a lower increase in
inbreeding shall ensure a higher long-term genetic gain. Since last year, adjustments have
been made to the EVA-programme in order to
improve the breeders’ access to the selected
boars as early as possible. Studies of EVA’s
most optimal implementation in white breeds
are expected to commence this autumn.
Now, efforts are made to extend EVA to limit
inbreeding on DNA level as well. However, the
management of inbreeding at DNA level will require research and development of new methods, and the DPRC collaborates on this issue
with Aarhus University, among others.
Breeding efforts to reduce boar taint
A voluntary declaration that was signed in Europe to abolish castration in order to improve
pig welfare takes effect in 2018. Therefore, the
possibilities are examined of how to reduce the
occurrence of boar taint in Danish pig breeds,
among others, by means of breeding work.
// 032
Boar taint is mainly characterised by the chemical compounds androstenone and skatole,
while the substance indole is of secondary importance. The first results of a three-year development project, which is supported by the
Danish Højteknologifonden (High Technology
Fund – public funding scheme for research, development and demonstration projects) as well
as a two-year project with the support of Landdistriktsmidler (funds from rural districts) via the
Danish AgriFish Agency, Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries of Denmark, have been
studied intensely.
One of the cornerstones of the project is to set
up individual performance tests in order to uncover the presence of boar taint. Boar taint as
a trait is based on a combination of chemical
analyses and a smell test (human nose-score)
in which a fat sample from the carcase is tested
for the release of odour during heating and assessed on a scale from 0 to 2. To determine
boar taint on live animals (i.e. the breeding candidates), biopsies are performed in which skatole and androstenone can be determined,
whereas a further smell test may be performed
with respect to slaughtered boars. The provisional heredity of androstenone and skatole is
55% and 30%, respectively, which means that
biopsy is applicable in performance tests.
There are some 2,500 biopsies taken across
the three breeds without subsequent complications for the pigs, which is another criterion
for this technique to be applicable in practice.
Genomic selection IV (crossbreeding
experiments)
The hybrid D (YL) is the product of the breeding
system, which is why breeding should in fact be
based on information from such hybrids. The
challenges in using crossbreeding information
are many. Firstly, the measurements will often
be progeny tests taking place very late in the
lives of the breeding candidates. In order to
succeed in using information from crossbreds,
it will be necessary to develop genomic models
which are suitable for transferring information to
the breeding nucleus. From an optimal point of
view, such models must enable the handling of
crossbreeding fecundity, in which dominance is
the obvious genetic basis for crossbreeding
fecundity. Thus, the development of genomic
models of prediction capable of effectively
managing dominance effects (i.e. predict crossbreeding fecundity) is crucial. There is a need
for the collection of data for all production traits.
Feed conversion is of particular importance
since it is the main trait of the breeding objective
and, hence, crossbreds are performance tested on Bøgildgård. Data is to be used for the
development and testing of models, and the
assessment of the breeding impact. 750 litters
are produced, descending from 150 DanAvl
Duroc-fathers and 750 YL-sows, all with known
kinships. The project will be concluded by the
end of 2015.
Weaners
The last three years’ data has been collected,
and a new trait (named 14P) has been analysed. Here the sow has looked after 14 piglets
after farrowing, and by day 21 the number of
live pigs was counted. It turned out to be functional, but that heredity is low, and the work effort in the pen is relatively high.
To find an alternative and less time-consuming
method, a two-year project was initiated in
2013 in order to determine the possibilities of
applying registration of the number of weaners
in multiplier herds as an indicator of the sow’s
ability to nurse her piglets. An initial pilot project
confirmed the applicability of this method,
which was easier than to measure 14P - and
which allowed a larger amount of data to be
generated.
Herds to be participating in this two-year project are herds that register the number of
weaners. In the course of the first year, the data
collection requirements and procedure have
been determined; and, subsequently, the collection of data began in three herds. However,
initial analyses have shown that the requirements to the collection of data were more severe than initially anticipated. As a result, the
required amount of data cannot be achieved
within the time scheduled for the project. As
the objective of the project cannot be met, we
therefore decided to terminate the project in
spring of 2014.
F4 - DanAvl Yorkshire and DanAvl
Duroc are now resistant to E coli F4
ab/ac
Since 2003, there has been emphasis in pig
farming to increase the number of animals being resistant to the specific E. coli bacterium of
type 0149 F4ab/ac, which is a bacterium that is
a contributory factor to diarrhoea in piglets. An
increased proportion of resistant animals reduces the number of piglets with diarrhoea,
increases the daily weight gain from birth to 30
kilos and reduces piglet mortality in the farrowing pen. Less diarrhoea and lower mortality are
contributory factors to the enhancement of
animal welfare among piglets.
Since September 1, 2013, only resistant breeding stock has been used for the DanAvl Yorkshire nucleus. As for DanAvl Duroc, all animals
in the nucleus have been resistant since September 2012. Since commencement in 2003,
the proportion of resistant DanAvl Landrace
animals has been lower than for DanAvl Yorkshire and DanAvl Duroc. It is therefore natural
that DanAvl Yorkshire and DanAvl Duroc are
breeds that will first reach the stage where all
breeds in the breeding stock will have become
resistant to 0149 F4 ab/ac.
Resistance to the E. coli bacterium is controlled
by one single gene. Resistant animals have inherited the resistant version of the gene from
both mother and father. A DNA sample is required in order to examine an animal’s resistance. The selection for increased resistance
against diarrhoea in piglets has been taking
place concurrently with the general index
selection.
A substantial number of DanAvl Landrace animals are still non-resistant, and it will be some
years before the nucleus for DanAvl Landrace
may be declared resistant to 0149 F4 ab/ac.
Genomic selection III
“The development of genomic selection for a pig
breeding system is based on crossbreeding”.
lies with 14 piglets the day after farrowing), total
born pigs, LP5 and the sows longevity (time in
production) was collected from several commercial herds. Subsequently, preliminary studies have shown that the 14P-trait has a relatively
low heritability (0.06) and registration is labourintensive in commercial herds.
In the theoretical parts of the project, genomic
data from DNA analyses was used as test-data
targeted at the development of new genomic
models and new breeding methods, generated
in the course of the project.
Within the field of genomic prediction models for
purebred animals and two-breed crossing, a
single-step method – to be tested presently –
was developed on the basis of information from
purebred as well as two-breed crossing.
Within the field of breeding methodology, it was
found that an optimal selection of contribution
ensures a higher long-term genetic gain and
lower inbreeding than is the case with traditional
breeding methods. When it comes to genotype
strategies, it is, as a general rule, a benefit to
genotype male breeding candidates with a low
share of genotype (i.e. 5-20% of the breeding
candidates). When testing a higher share of animals, it is an advantage to focus on genotyping
with breeding candidates of both genders.
Today, genomic selection has been implemented in the current operation of purebred animals
in the breeding programme, which is based on
the project results. These results have given rise
to the DPRC investing considerable resources in
the implementation of genomic selection in the
routine selection of breeding animals.
In 2013, a two-year project with Aarhus University was completed, “The development of
genomic selection for a pig breeding system
based on crossbreeding” journal no: 3405-110279. The project was supported by GUDP
(Green Development and Demonstration Programme under the Danish AgriFish Agency) –
the other major project focused on genomicselection research. The project has developed
new techniques and methods for genomic selection with an emphasis on two-breed crossings between DanAvl Landrace and DanAvl
Yorkshire. In this project, a collection of data and
DNA samples for 14P (number of piglets of the
litter by day 21 after farrowing, when the sow
// 033
THE MODERN FOOD
MARKET IS EXTREMELY
DYNAMIC. EACH DAY
PRESENTS NEW CHALLENGES
AND DEMANDS. THUS,
ONGOING INNOVATION
REPRESENTS ONE OF
DANAVL’S CORNERSTONES.
INNOVATION IS THE CERTAINTY THAT WE REMAIN ONE
OF THE WORLD’S LEADING
BREEDING PROGRAMMES
– AND THIS WILL ALSO
HOLD TRUE TOMORROW.
// 034
// 035
Axelborg, Axeltorv 3, DK-1609 Copenhagen, danavl.com, E-mail: [email protected]
Danish Pig
Research Centre