Efficient Use of Labour in Pig Production

Friday, July 24, 2026

By Carlos Martins

Pig production continues to evolve toward larger, more technically advanced operations. While productivity and technology have improved, finding and retaining skilled labour remains one of the industry’s greatest challenges. As a result, labour efficiency has become a central driver of profitability and sustainability.

At Hendrix Genetics Swine, we believe success is not achieved by productivity alone. It also depends on piglet quality, sow behaviour, robustness, and their ability to “do the job on their own.” When pigs are easier to manage, labour can be used more effectively across the entire production system.

Labour efficiency & system profitability

Some farms consistently produce pigs with less labour, lower stress, and better outcomes than others. Research suggests that up to 87 per cent of production results are influenced by staff attitude, while only 13 per cent depend on technical skills. This highlights the fact that long-term success is less about breaking production records and more about achieving total system profitability.

Although higher productivity often improves financial performance, studies show that only about 40 per cent of economic variation between farms can be explained by the number of pigs weaned per sow per year. Piglet quality, including uniformity, vitality, and survivability, plays a major role in overall results and required labour input.

Labour requirements cannot be estimated by animal numbers alone. Production systems, management style, automation level, and regional factors such as education and culture all matter. As a result, worker-to-sow ratios vary widely, from approximately 1:350 in North America and Northwest Europe to around 1:100 in parts of Latin America and Southeast Asia.

Larger farms, particularly those relying on hired labour, often have greater flexibility to allocate staff strategically. For example, a farrowing room with 20 crates generally requires less time per sow than one with only 10, improving efficiency through scale.

With labour shortages becoming the norm, optimizing staff time is essential. Key factors influencing efficiency include daily routines, barn layout, production flow (batch versus weekly farrowing), level of automation, and ongoing maintenance demands.

Understanding labour demands

Sow management involves a long list of daily tasks — from heat detection and breeding to farrowing supervision and lactation feeding. As litter sizes increase, stillborn rates and pre-weaning mortality often rise as well, increasing monitoring requirements.

Ideally, farrowing supervision would cover up to 18 hours per day, allowing up to 85 per cent of farrowings to be attended. In reality, few farms can support this level of staffing. Instead, improvements must come from better piglet quality and smarter management practices.

Monitoring key indicators such as piglet birth weight, stillborn rates, and mortality is essential. Higher-quality, more uniform piglets reduce the need for interventions in farrowing and also in the nursery — the second most labour-intensive area of pig production.

Rather than focusing solely on pushing performance higher, producers benefit most from optimizing it. For example, monitoring heat mat temperatures and using appropriate pre-farrow nutrition can shorten farrowing duration and reduce the need for constant attendance. Labour saved during farrowing can then be redirected to better daily sow care.

At the same time, producers must balance labour constraints with growing societal expectations, including the shift to group housing and reduced antibiotic use. Simple management decisions, such as breeding gilts at the right age and weight and maintaining correct body condition, can lead to better farrowing outcomes and greatly improve sow longevity and overall lifetime productivity.

Improving efficiency on the farm:

Automation & technology

Automation has become a powerful tool in improving labour efficiency. Modern data systems, smartphone-based inputs, and sensor technology allow better decision-making with fewer manual tasks. However, technology does not replace skilled stock people — it supports them.

Automatic feeding systems are among the most valuable labour-saving investments. These systems deliver precise feed amounts at scheduled times or according to sow behaviour, improving feed efficiency while reducing waste and manual effort. By lowering physical strain and human error, automated systems improve working conditions and allow staff to focus on higher-value tasks such as animal observation and health management.

Ventilation automation delivers similar benefits by maintaining stable environmental conditions with minimal intervention. Together, automated feeding and climate control should be considered priority investments for farms seeking better performance and welfare with fewer working hours.

Advanced sensor technologies now support early detection of lameness, abnormal behaviour, estrus, temperature changes, and even farrowing progression. These tools allow faster, more targeted responses while reducing routine manual checks.

Managing turnover & workflows

Employee turnover remains a major challenge in pig production. High turnover increases training costs, reduces efficiency, and negatively impacts herd performance and employee morale. Farms that consistently reach performance targets do so because they invest in their people.

Effective labour management starts with understanding how time is spent. Maintaining a complete task list by day of the week, along with realistic time estimates, creates clarity and accountability. Several practical tools can help improve efficiency:

• Daily work logs: Asking employees to log their activities for one to two weeks can identify tasks that consume excessive time and reveal opportunities to streamline routines.
• Barn layout mapping: Mapping chore routes often highlights unnecessary walking and backtracking, guiding improvements to workflow or facility design.
• Written work routines: Clearly documented routines help standardize best practices, improve training, and ensure continuity during vacations or staff changes.

These approaches not only improve efficiency but also reduce frustration and contribute to higher job satisfaction. Maintaining a motivated, cohesive team requires deliberate effort over time. Farms staffed with engaged individuals, who share a commitment to producing excellence, tend to outperform others.

The power of genetics

Genetic improvement is a key, often overlooked, contributor to labour efficiency. Some modern sow lines are designed not only for productivity but also for piglet quality, robustness, and ease of management.

Hypor Libra piglets, for example, demonstrate strong early growth with average birth weights around 1.5 kg and a low proportion of piglets under 1.0 kg. Fewer low-birthweight piglets reduce the need for intensive care, cross-fostering, and other interventions. This not only saves on labour but also improves survival and growth.

Hypor Libra sows also offer labour-saving advantages through reproductive efficiency and longevity. Sows that return to estrus reliably and maintain pregnancy consistently make better use of space, time, and labour. Farms with lower sow mortality and involuntary culling spend less time managing problem animals and rely less on high-maintenance gilts and first-parity sows. Lower mortality also has a positive effect on employee morale.

Through advanced breeding programs, Hendrix Genetics Swine delivers sows that perform well across all housing systems and require less hands-on management. The result is lower labour input per sow and improved overall system efficiency.

Conclusion

Efficient labour use in pig production is no longer optional — it is essential. Ongoing labour shortages, rising costs, and changing societal expectations demand smarter, more sustainable approaches.

Automation, data-driven technologies, and thoughtful facility design all play important roles in reducing labour demands while improving productivity and welfare. Equally important are strong employee management practices that promote engagement, consistency, and long-term retention.

Finally, genetics provides a powerful foundation for labour efficiency by delivering robust sows and uniform piglets that require less intervention. When genetics, management, technology, and people work together, producers can achieve higher efficiency, improved job satisfaction, and long-term profitability. BP