That experience produced a legacy of mediocre production, high sow mortality and a demoralized staff, states Tim Klein, DVM, South Central Vet Associates, Wells, MN.

To conserve funds and revive production, Klein and his clinic's South Central Management Services (SCMS), along with the 10 absentee producer-owners, decided against expensive and risky depopulation-repopulation. SCMS provides management consulting services across Iowa and Minnesota.

Instead, the team chose to embark on a fairly unusual and difficult alternative on large, absentee-owned operations ??” setting up an internal multiplication breeding scheme. They also doubled isolation/acclimation (I/A) to four months and strengthened biosecurity.

Their plan has produced fairly solid production figures in the last 18 months, while stabilizing herd health for PRRS, says Klein. Farrowing rates are averaging 80% and pigs/mated female/year is at 20 (Figures 1-2). Pigs/farrowing crate/year has been running about 160 for over a year. Pigs born alive/litter reached a high of 10.5 early this year; pigs weaned/sow is averaging about 8.2/litter. Preweaning mortality has dropped significantly, but still hovers near the industry average of 14%.

By far the most impressive figure is the reduction in sow mortality to about 8% (Figure 3), says Klein. This has helped turn over the herd faster.

Pro-Net is a farrow-to-wean system in which the owners receive 15- to 18-day-old pigs to grow out in their own barns. All of the owners live by the Pro-Net site at Stacyville, IA, along the Minnesota-Iowa border.

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Source: National Hog Farmer - 15th August 2002