21 June 2024
A summary of the National Pig Herd Performance Report 2023
Gerard McCutcheon gives a summary of the 2023 National Pig Herd Performance Report.
The 2023 Profit Monitor figures have been analysed and the National Herd Performance Report has been completed. The figures show an improvement on the 2022 figures.
The 2023 data set includes 91 herds with an average of 864 sows per herd, which is over 58% of the national sow herd. The number of pigs produced per sow per year increased to 27.9 in 2023. The born alive increased in 2023 to 14.94 born alive per litter and the number of litters per sow per year also increased (to 2.26) and even though the mortalities increased the number of pigs produced per sow per year rose to 27.9.
Table 1. Sow performance figures
| 2022 | 2023 | |
| Born Alive/ Litter | 14.81 | 14.94 |
| Piglet Mortality % | 11.1 | 11.3 |
| Litters / Sow / Year | 2.24 | 2.26 |
| Weaner Mortality % | 3.3 | 3.4 |
| Finisher Mortality % | 3.0 | 3.2 |
| Pigs Produced/Sow/Year | 27.4 | 27.9 |
Growth Performance
The growth rate from weaning to sale increased by 21 grams per day in 2023, while the feed conversion decreased to 2.42 as shown in Table 2.
Table 2. Weaning to Sale performance figures
| 2022 | 2023 | |
| Live weight at sale kg | 118.4 | 116.8 |
| ADG Weaning to Sale g | 736 | 757 |
| FCE Weaning to Sale | 2.45 | 2.42 |
Pig Meat per Sow per Year
The parameter “kg of pig meat per sow per year” is calculated by multiplying the number of pigs produced per sow per year by the average carcase weight. The second item is the “tonnes of feed /sow /year”. This is calculated by adding the total tonnes of all feed used in the year and dividing it by the average sow herd size. These figures are shown in Table 3.
Table 3. Feed required to produce carcase gain
| 2022 | 2023 | |
| Pig meat/Sow/Year kg | 2,482 | 2,491 |
| Feed/Sow/Year t | 8.226 | 8.809 |
| Feed kg /kg of Carcase | 3.56 | 3.54 |
In the year 2000 the output of pig meat per sow was 1,471 kg and required 5,385 kg of feed to produce this. This had a requirement of 3.66kg of feed to produce a kg of pig meat. The figures in 2022 and 2023 are significantly better than this and show a definite improvement on this parameter over time.
Conclusion
These figures show that the performance on Irish farms improved in 2023 compared to 2022. Over time Irish pig production is becoming more and more efficient.
The National Pig Herd Performance Report and infographic for 2023 is available here, has been posted out to most farms and the report is discussed further in “The Pig Edge” podcast episode. It is well worth looking at to see how the Top 25% and Top 10% of herds are performing and assessing how your unit compares with the average and Top performing herds.
Download the infographic Pig Herd Performance 2023 Infographic (pdf)