April 15, 2008
This Month's Focus: Managing Variation
Variation: You Can Manage It, But You Can't Avoid It
Apr 15, 2008 12:00 PM, By John F. Patience Prairie Swine Centre Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
Prior to the widespread adoption of all-in, all-out (AIAO) production systems, variation in growth was largely a cost. Pigs were sorted from pens when...
Economic Effects Of Variation
Apr 15, 2008 12:00 PM, By Brian Buhr Agricultural Economist University of Minnesota
In 1986, I had a hole-in-one at the Ames (IA) Country Club. As I was carrying on like a kid, my golf partner sat quietly in the golf cart. I thought maybe...
Consistent, Targeted Nutrition Improves Efficiency
Apr 15, 2008 12:00 PM, By Joel DeRouchey and Mike Tokach Kansas State University Manhattan, KS
Nutritional programs can certainly play a major role in the amount of weight variation within a common group of pigs. The ability to minimize this variation...
Top Health Produces Consistent Throughput
Apr 15, 2008 12:00 PM, By John T. Waddell, DVM Sutton Veterinary Clinic Sutton, NE
Throughput, defined in terms of pork production, is the number of pigs or pounds of pork put through any given system, farm or facility. Efficiency of...
Birth Weight Effects on Postnatal Growth
Apr 15, 2008 12:00 PM, By George R. Foxcroft University of Alberta Edmonton, Canada
In the existing commercial sow populations, variation in postnatal growth performance of their offspring may be already preprogrammed before birth. Because...
