By Tyler Kelley, Pork Magazine - Maximizing efficiencies is a constant business goal, but deciding which numbers best reflect those efficiencies – particularly in the sow herd – can be a challenge.

Kurt Nagel, manager of Iroquois Valley Swine Breeders in Rensselaer, Ind., says priorities have to start with meeting the farm抯 target of sows mated per week or group, to meet your goal of pigs per week. Once that goal is met, the next step is to focus on pigs per mated female per year.

That takes into account the number of turns on mated females. It also tallies pigs per sow, which illustrates farrowing interval and indirectly indicates non- productive-sow days by parity.

Pigs per crate per year is one measure that producers and con- sultants often use, how- ever, Nagel points out that due to facility design and crate utilization, there抯 too much variation to accurately monitor sow-herd or em- ployee efficiencies.

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(December 2002)