A planned survey of Canadian Swine Producers will assist scientists in developing sow management strategies designed to enhance longevity and improve the welfare and productivity of the sows and their piglets.
Researchers with the Prairie Swine Center, the Centre de développement du porc du Québec, and the Canadian Centre for Swine Improvement are working in partnership with Swine Innovation Porc to assess differences in the management of sows and their piglets that influence the longevity of the sows, and the performance of the sows and their piglets.
Brian Sullivan, the CEO of the CCSI, said researchers are comparing objective historical data from around the world that can quantify trends for the last ten years. They then will help survey and interview Canadian producers to identify what’s most important in terms of management.
“Our role is to provide information from our national database as part of our genetic improvement services. We use some of our international connections to find information from other countries,” said Sullivan. “As the project advances, we’ll be helping to survey Canadian producers and to identify individual producers to interview regarding specific practices on their farms.”
He said it’s a three year project and they’re finishing the first year, where they focused on gathering historical data. The next year will include a survey of Canadian producers and individual producers. The third-year will mostly cover the data analysis and reporting of the findings.
Sullivan said this is a proactive initiative to provide more information to pork producers related to sow management.
“The goal is to understand better factors that impact the sows and their piglets and identify best management practices to enhance welfare and productivity.” •
— By Harry Siemens