Commercial application of reducing dose concentration

and single sire matings

Amanda Williams Minton1, Alicia Johnson2, Darran Miller2, Troy Werner2, Nick Holden2, Jennifer Patterson3, Michael Dyck3, and George

Foxcroft3

1PIC North America, Hendersonville, TN; 2Holden Farms, Northfield, MN; 3Swine Reproduction-Development Program, Swine Research & Technology

Centre, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB

Goal of a commercial production system:

lbs pork produced

Cost produce pork

Improve the bottom line

Create more value and

How improve a pig’s value?

Strategically use genetically superior animals

A high indexing terminal boar is superior to his counterparts (i.e. lower indexing boars).

3. Decreased mortality

1. Better feed conversion

2. Fewer days to market

How improve a pig’s value?

A high indexing terminal boar passes these traits on to his progeny.

3. Decreased mortality

1. Better feed conversion

2. Fewer days to market

Increase $$ per pig produced

Improvements in the last 10 years?

Sow Farm

1. Gilt development and management

3. Managing sow body condition

2. Lactation and gestation feeding strategies

4. Length of lactation

5. Putting the right people in place

Improvements in the last 10 years?

Boar Stud

1. Accuracy of semen concentration?

2. Assessment of sperm?

3. Confidence in boar studs?

Not much change in semen concentration and utilization of boars…

Time to focus on the boar

Primary driver is Genetics

Countries routinely use 2 billion total

Use fewer, higher indexing boars

Increase value of the progeny

Reduce genetic lag

Take advantage of genomics

Trial

• Objective: Decrease semen concentration and use single sire matings to improve the use of genetically superior sire line boars

Materials & Methods

• Boars started on trial as enter the stud

– Ejaculates processed 2 billion viable

– Fifty single sire matings

– Pooled after 50 matings

• Sows from two farms

– WEI d 3 to 6

– Multiparous sows

– Conventional AI

• Data collected for

– Pregnancy rate, farrowing rate and litter size

Trial

• Phases of the trial:

1) SSM with 2B viable cells and multiple doses

2) SSM with 1.5B viable IUI and multiple doses

3) Single fixed-time AI with 1.5B viable IUI

• Results presented from 5 groups

Pregnancy and farrowing rates

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% o

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BoarPR FR

PR 93.8%FR 92.2%

Total born and born alive per litter

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BoarTB BA

TB 13.08BA 11.90

Data combined

RT

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BoarTB BA PR FR

EBV and Fertility

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EBV Fecundity index

Value of progeny

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igs

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(1

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*FR

*BA

)

BoarFecundity index $$

Implications

• Identified boars with poor fertility

• Performance no different from prior 6 mos

• Boars should be removed considering index and fertility

• Successfully use boars at 2 billion cells

• Use fewer boars to disseminate superior genetics

• Applicable to sire and maternal lines

GENETIC VALUE: SIRE LINE MODEL

Boar Categories

• Top 50% boars = AI boars

• Top 25% boars = CBVPlus

• Value difference between AI sired progeny and CBVPlus = $1.30 to 1.70 more per pig

• Value additive to the model

Sire Line Model

100 115

Ave. Index = 107

Ave. Index = 126

Diff = 18.8

50% 50%Cull

How does this change?

• Reducing semen concentration from 3 to 2 billion reduces boars needed by 33%

• AI boars needed = 34% (50% x 67%) of boars available

50% AI and 50% CBVPlus

Sire Line Model: 2 billion

108 119

Ave. Index = 113

Ave. Index = 129

Diff = 16

50% 50%Cull

Impact on average index?

• Average AI boar improves from 107 to 113 or 6 index points

• Average CBVPlus boar improves from 126 to 129 or 3 index points

Change in traits

AI CBVplus

FCR -0.0067 -0.0033

Days -0.256 -0.128

Backfat (mm) -0.150 -0.075

Loin Depth (mm) 0.107 0.054

Pre wean Mort (%) -0.141 -0.070

Nurs Mort (%) -0.062 -0.031

Fin Mort (%) -0.064 -0.032

$ value/pig $0.54 $0.27

Reduction to 1 billion per dose

• IUI with 1 billion brings effective reduction of boars by 67%

• AI boars needed = 17% (50% x 33%) of boars available

– 50% AI and 50% CBVPlus

Sire Line Model: 1 billion

128119

Avg. Index = 122

Avg. Index = 136

Diff = 14

50% 50%

Cull

• Average AI boar improves from 113 to 122 or 9 index points

• Average CBVPlus boar improves from 129 to 136 or 7 index points

Reduction to 1 billion per dose

AI CBVplus

FCR -0.0100 -0.0078

Days -0.385 -0.300

Backfat (mm) -0.225 -0.175

Loin Depth (mm) 0.161 0.125

Pre wean Mort (%) -0.212 -0.165

Nurs Mort (%) -0.093 -0.072

Fin Mort (%) -0.096 -0.075

$ value $0.78 $0.61

Reduction to 1 billion per dose

AI CBVPlus

FCR -0.0168 -0.0112

Days -0.642 -0.428

Backfat (mm) -0.365 -0.250

Loin Depth (mm) 0.269 0.179

Pre wean Mort (%) -0.354 -0.236

Nurs Mort (%) -0.155 -0.104

Fin Mort (%) -0.161 -0.107

$ value $1.31 $0.87

TOTAL Reduction from 3 to 1 billion

Genetic Value

• In order for genetic value to be realized long term all customers need to reduce semen concentration

Future Implications

1. Fewer boars sold by suppliers because demand is less

2. Improvement index short-term unlessstrategy adopted by all producers

3. Selection intensity improves significantly for large index improvements to occur

Key Message

Strategically use genetically superior boars

Semen concentration

Number boars needed

Genetic index

$0.87 to $1.31 per pig

Acknowledgements