Why do Danish pig farms out-produce Ontario's?

Sunday, April 5, 2015

Half of all Danish pig farms wean more than 30 pigs per sow year. Perhaps we should find out why and copy them

by TIM BLACKWELL

"Claes Pasgaard Erlang, a Danish pork producer, may hold the world record as he reached the 40 piglets per sow year boundary in summer 2014," according to a Danish feed company.

An irritating feature of Scandinavians is that they are not prone to exaggeration. They are painfully objective and precise. That creates a problem for those who wish to discount the announcement above from Hamlet Protein, who sponsored Erlang to speak last November at Euro Tier in Hanover, Germany. His quiet and humble presentation makes this the more difficult to ignore.

(Erlang's presentation can be viewed at www.pigprogress.net/Breeding/Management/2015/1/Video-Four-ideas-how-to-achieve-40-pigletssowyear-1677666W/?cmpid=NLC|pigprogress|2015-01-07|Video:_Four_ideas_to_achieve_40_piglets_per_sow_per_year.)

The average sow farm in Denmark now weans 30 pigs per sow year with a national goal of reaching 35 in the future. Note that when your national average is 30 pigs per sow year, then by definition half of all Danish sow farms wean more than 30 pigs per sow year.

It would be comforting if we knew that Danish pig farmers have access to superior genetics, better feed, a more intelligent workforce, fewer environmental regulations, less stringent welfare rules, freer access to antimicrobial feed additives or even better equipment. Sadly none of these advantages exist.

In most cases it is just the opposite. Danish swine producers argue that their farms are exceedingly productive because they have no choice. Because of all the disadvantages they must overcome to compete globally with countries like Canada, it can be difficult to sustain a swine farm in Denmark weaning 25 pigs per sow year.

Ontario swine producers work diligently to improve and preserve the health status of their herds. Disease is only one of many factors that constrain productivity in hog production. A disease that reduces sow output by three to five pigs the year of the outbreak can be devastating to a farm operation. Those lost three to five pigs represent much of the profit the farmer hoped to achieve from each sow.

But what disease is preventing so many Canadian producers from reaching the Danish farmer's average productivity? A Danish sow farm that lost three to five pigs per sow as a result of a disease outbreak would nevertheless out-produce some Canadian swine farms that have no significant health problems.

An article by Atul Gawande , a U.S. physician and surgeon, argues strongly that much in the U.S. health care system could be improved if hospitals did what successful chain restaurants do – develop successful protocols in-house or copy successful protocols created elsewhere. The idea is that, if one coffee shop can consistently and efficiently serve customers a good cup of java and a sandwich, what excuse do other shops have for not accomplishing the same? Successful franchises identify effective strategies and carefully adhere to these until an even more successful strategy is identified.

The author laments that too many U.S. hospitals (for reasons that are not always obvious) refuse to copy techniques or protocols that have proved superior at other hospitals. Hospital administrators argue that comparing hospitals is not fair and that what works in Boston would not necessarily work in Atlanta. However, in the case of many successful businesses, from electronics to hamburgers, what works in Boston does work in Atlanta. And in the United States, health care is a business.

It may be worthwhile to consider why Danish swine farms produce more pigs per sow per year than their Ontario counterparts. If it is for reasons unique to the Danish production system that cannot be effectively and economically copied here, then so be it. If there is another reason, perhaps we should find out what it is and copy it. BP

Dr. Tim Blackwell is Lead Veterinarian, Disease Prevention, Swine, Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.