All About Pigs

• Pigs are the smartest livestock species
• A pig's sense of smell is about 2,000 times more sensitive than humans
• Pigs have 150% more tastebuds and 44 teeth compared to humans
• Pigs have excellent memory and the ability to dream
• Pigs cannot look up, but they can swim and run up to 11 mph
• Pigs cannot sweat
• Teacup pigs are a myth

Terminology

• Farrowing: giving birth
• Gilt: female who has never given birth (first time)
• Sow: female who has given birth
• Boar: intact male
• Barrow: castrated male
• Piglet: young pig before weaning

The Swine Industry

• Pork is the most consumed meat globally
• Top pork consuming countries: China, EU, United States
• US consumes approximately 65% of its pork production
• Global meat consumption has increased linearly since 1990 due to elevated incomes

Biological Lifestyle

• Gestation: 114 days
• 99% of breeding is Artificial Insemination (AI)

Gestation

• Gestation lasts around 114 days: 3 months, 3 weeks, and 3 days
• Gilts reach maturity and are bred at 170 to 220 days of age
• After delivering their first litter, gilts are called sows
• Piglets weigh 2-3 pounds at birth

Farrowing

• Farrowing lasts 21 days or 3 weeks
• Sows and gilts are moved to a farrowing barn when ready to farrow (give birth)
• Typically, a sow or gilt will have 11 to 13 piglets per litter
• Sows nurse piglets until they are weaned at 21 days of age
• Piglets weigh 12-15 pounds at weaning

Nursery

• Nursery lasts 42 to 56 days or 6 to 8 weeks
• After weaning, piglets are moved to a nursery or wean-to-finish barn & housed with piglets from other litters
• Specialized temperature controls and ventilation are used
• Piglets are fed a corn/soybean meal diet, eating 1-4 lbs per day; in this phase pigs grow to 50-60 lbs

Grow-finish

• Grow-finish takes around 115 to 120 days or 16 to 17 weeks
• Pigs are moved from the nursery to a finishing barn to accommodate their continued growth, or they stay in a wean-to-finish barn
• In the grow/finish phase, pigs consume 6 to 10 lbs of food daily
• Diets typically consist of corn and soybean meal with added vitamins and minerals
• At about six months of age, the pigs weigh approximately 280 lbs and are market-ready

Types of Swine Operations

• Farrow-to-Finish Operations: all in one location, uncommon
• Feeder Pig Operations: buy pigs from a nursery and raise to take to market
• Farrow to Wean Operations: sow farm
• Grower-finisher Operations: feeder pigs and grow them for last phase
• Nursery-Grow-Finish Operations: wean to finish
• Seedstock Producers: focus on preserving genetics; sows and gilts selected by maternal traits/litter size; sires selected by carcass characteristics
• Genetic selection schemes are used to produce the most valuable product possible: sows and gilts chosen by maternal traits and litter size, sires chosen by carcass characteristics

Today's Pork Industry

• Production is in relatively few hands
• Contracting is common practice
• Margins can be very small and the risk is much greater
• Exports are integral part of production
• Technology is essential to reduce the cost of production
• Welfare and environmental concerns are common
• In 2024, the value of U.S. pork and pork product exports reached a record $8.6 billion
• Family farms have transformed into contracting for a parent company, decreasing financial risk

Pork Production: 1960s - 1970s

• Large number of small diversified operations
• Rotational crossbreeding systems
• Most time spent breeding sows, grinding feed, loading hogs, etc.
• Numerous packer buying stations
• Little grade and yield, and not contracting
• Little attention to meat quality
• Seedstock industry dominated by purebred breeders

Industry Transition: 1980's - Today

• Larger and fewer production units
• Intensive management - specialization, 3-site production, wean-to-finish
• Terminal crossbreeding systems
• Incorporating technology (AI, SEW, nutrition, etc.)
• Plant delivery of market hogs + development of corporate breeding companies
• Increasing environmental concerns + production shift away from the Corn Belt

Pigs in the U.S.

• US total inventory December 1, 2024: 75.8 million pigs
• Top 10 states account for 86% of all pigs in the U.S. 65,240,000 / 75,800,000 Iowa has 25,100,000 pigs, Minnesota with 9,000,000, North Carolina 7,400,000
• Missouri 7th: 415,000 for breeding, 2,835,000 for the market

Swine Industry Globally

• There are 750+ million pigs
• China is the leading pork producer
• Top countries include China (434.2 million), European Union (133.6 million) and the United States (75.8 million)
• Brazil has appeared as a threat to current large pork industries due to increased vertical integration, lower disease risk, and lower production costs

Major US Producers

• Major producers: Smithfield Foods (810,000 sows), JBS USA (538,000 sows), Triumph Foods (403,000 sows), Seaboard Foods (336,000 sows), Iowa Select Farms (250,000 sows)

Economies of Size

• Drives farms to get bigger
• For most U.S. hog farms, getting bigger allows them to: buy for lower cost, sell at a higher rate and be more efficient
• Exports accounted for 30.3% of total U.S. pork and pork variety meat production in 2024
• For every hog sold, more than $66.53 earned from the markets