Denmark has a long tradition of exporting pigs – back in Victorian times it was in the shape of bacon to feed the growing British population. Nowadays Danish pig meat is of course exported worldwide, but increasingly there is a substantial export trade in breeding pigs and semen. DanAvl, formerly Danbred International, is a consortium of Danish breeders and they are now exporting genes in a very big way.

Producers were losing money in 2007/2008 but have been in profit since 2012. In 2009 the slaughter price /kg was just over 9DKroner and this rose steadily to 12DKroner in 2012 but ended 2013 at 11.5DKroner. In Denmark, 60per cent of pig feed is home produced. Between 2010 and the end of 2012 feed prices rose gradually from 1.5DKroner/ kg to 2.1DKroner/kg, falling to 1.8DKroner at the end of 2013. Over the years many Danish producers have found it more profitable to export weaners, in some cases leaving finishing accommodation empty, plus there is not the problem of having large amounts of slurry to dispose of.  This year forecasts indicate that 10million weaners will be exported, mainly to Germany and Poland. Efforts though are being made to encourage producers to finish more pigs at home, but air cleaning costs of 30DKroner/ finished pig don’t help make this option attractive. Many finishing barns are in need of replacement but the global recession has made it difficult for producers to get the necessary finance. Thirty kg weaners are currently fetching £ 50-£55 in Poland. The Poles like the DanAvl genetics and this trade is likely to continue as the Polish sow herd which has shrunk of late shows no sign of increasing and of course pigs are needed to satisfy the needs of Polish processors. During 2012, Danish sow numbers averaged around 1.03 million, two per cent down on 2011. Strikingly, sow numbers in 2012 were at their lowest level since 2001.

PRODUCTIVITY

In terms of weaned pigs/sow /year, national output has increased in practically a straight line since 2003, with the top 25 per cent of producers weaning 32 pigs/sow/ year and the average knocking out a mere 30. With regard to pre-weaning mortality, Danish welfare groups have expressed their concerns at these losses and it was a key topic at a pig welfare summit held this March involving the government, welfare groups and supermarket representatives New Agriculture minister Dan Jorgensen stated that “improvements in animal welfare and economic growth go hand in hand”. The declaration states that “piglet survival rate has to increase by one piglet per litter by 2020.”

However, if litter size keeps increasing, average birth weights will decrease because of uterine capacity. Smaller piglets tend not to survive as well as bigger piglets, so what the politicians and welfarists are asking for may be quite difficult to achieve, although mothering ability (LG 5 – selecting on numbers alive at day five post-farrowing) is included in the DanAvl selection index. Using LG 5 means that pre-weaning losses should be reduced. Bigger litters mean that the sow has to produce more milk, consequently some producers have fitted milk lines in the farrowing houses as the sow’s own milk supply is often not sufficient.

Finisher DLWG in the top 25 per cent of herds has levelled out at between 950 and 1000gms, but still increasing in the average herds. “FCR is not dropping (improving) as much as it should be” queried Finn Udesen, chief economist at the Danish pig research centre. “We need this focus as feed prices are not likely to come down to “old prices.” FCR has a massive influence on production costs and feed, as Udesen rightly points out, will never be cheap again. Hence it would appear logical that bigger weighting should be given to FCR in the DanAvl selection index, but what other trait, or traits, will lose out?

 HEALTH

“The Danes are very proud of the health status of their pig industry and consider that it has a great influence on their national herd performance.

Also given the increasing exports of DanAvl breeding stock and semen it is vital that breeding herds stay healthy,” commented Ken Steen Pedersen, Chief Veterinary scientist, Danish Pig Research Centre. The Danish SPF (Specific Pathogen Free) organization was set up in 1971 and it covers seven infectious diseases. These are: mange, lice, swine dysentery, atrophic rhinitis, pleuro pneumonia, enzootic pneumonia and PRRS. Seventy –five per cent of Danish sows are SPF and 3116 herds have SPF status. Terminology is very important as a herd does not to have to be free of all seven diseases to be classed as SPF. In fact only around 10 per cent of herds are free of all seven diseases. Furthermore, 37 per cent of breeding herds and 70 per cent of SPF sow and finisher herds are actually enzootic pneumonia (EP) positive. Herds in the scheme are colour coded. Red indicates the highest level of bio-security and all nucleus and multiplier herds are coded red, with pigs being blood tested monthly. Commercial units are coded blue and are blood tested only annually. Knowing the precise health status of these herds helps those producers selling breeding gilts and boars, along with herds that are exporting weaners to other European countries. Not all pigs are exported on Danish trucks -30 per cent of trucks are Polish and from the Baltic countries, which poses risks. Thirty per cent of Danish farm staff are from Eastern Europe, Russia and the Ukraine and they will travel to and fro to visit relatives etc., posing more risks. They are specifically told not to bring pork products back when travelling. Farmers go hunting wild boar in Poland, also bringing risks. Bio-security is naturally paramount and SPF herds have to adhere to wide ranging regulations. Furthermore the SPF organization employs 15 vets who continually monitor the disease status of herds. Dead pigs, for example, must be stored in refrigerated containers which keep the pigs from decomposing plus these containers need emptying less often.

SPF pigs are all transported in special custom made sealed trucks, (driven by specially trained drivers) which have a filtered air supply, are temperature controlled and have water and feed on board. A detailed check list must be followed regarding cleaning and disinfection. Because there are so many cross border truck movements — 22,000 annually — the Danes have built huge cleaning and disinfection facilities which are big enough to take a typical articulated pig transporter truck, all at a very substantial annual cost of 1.3 million Euros. It might seem a lot of money but the last thing the Danes want is an outbreak of African Swine Fever, or any other debilitating disease.

 RØNSHAUGE A/S

The high health status of Danish herds is a big selling point for breeding farms and it has helped breeding centre Rønshauge A/S develop into a very successful business. Owned by Per and Birgitte Kring and son Mads, the 2000 sow farm which has Red SPF health status, carries three purebred lines, Yorkshire, Landrace and Duroc. Landrace /Yorkshire gilts are also sold to farmers who just want F1 females. The family made a massive investment of 7.6 million Euros in 2011 and the farm buildings cover an area of 20,000 m2, which is all enclosed. The new buildings are not in line but follow the contours of the hillside, to meet planning constraints.  New farms setting up can buy the whole Rønshauge package – purebred LR & York gilts and boars to breed their own F1s, plus Duroc boars to use on the F1 to give the 50 per cent Duroc slaughter generation. It’s an amazing fact that Rønshauge Durocs have come out top in the national testing scheme 12 years in a row. Only a few years ago the Danish market accounted for 90 per cent of the business turnover. Today it is the opposite – 80 per cent of sales now are from abroad, with exports going to 35 different countries. Ironically the Danes originally imported Canadian Durocs, but now the situation is reversed.

Having worked in the Danish pig industry I always enjoy visiting Denmark and seeing what the Danes are up to. Their units are always a delight to visit and their performance data is truly outstanding. What’s more, they are happy to share their knowledge with their competitors – each year the Danish Pig Research Centre produces a 60 page annual report, not just in Danish, but in English as well. As it happens the biennial Danish livestock show Agromek , which naturally has a huge pig section, will be held as usual  in Herning, Jutland, from Nov 25 -28, 2014 and is well worth a visit.  •

— Norman Crabtree

Acknowledgements: Finn Udesen & Ken Steen Pedersen, Danish Pig Research Centre (VSP). Meds King, Rønshauge A/S.