Technology for Canadian and U.S. swine genetic improvement

New system increases testing capacity for swine genetics leader

Hypor Genetics, one of the world’s leading suppliers of commercial swine genetics, has installed Nedap pig performance testing (PPT) stations at its facility in Abernathy, Saskatchewan, Canada. Hypor Genetics evaluates performance indicators on thousands of pigs each year. With the Nedap system, evaluation capabilities will increase by 25 percent.

Producing

The most efficient and fastest growing pigs

This expansion is good news for U.S. pork producers seeking genetics to produce high-quality meat at heavy pig weights, says Brad Carson, sales manager with Nedap U.S.

“Hypor’s selection of Nedap PPT equipment gives its researchers the tools to quickly and thoroughly test breeding decisions, giving them the clearest insight into the breeding lines that produce the most efficient, fastest growing pigs,” Carson says. “Pork producers rely on genetics to make the most of their inputs, and Hypor is relying on Nedap PPT to help develop these genetics for the North American market.”

Nedap Pig Performance testing stations measure and record the amount of feed intake and the weight of the animal each time the pig visits the feeder. The information is immediately available for review, allowing researchers to make economic feeding decisions and strategic, objective breeding decisions.

Helping pig farmers to

Be more profitable

“Weighing the animal at each feeding is new and exciting for the industry,” says Abe Huisman, Hypor Genetics director of research and development. “Traditionally pigs are weighed only five times between birth and the end of the testing period. We will now have a wealth of data to evaluate, helping us to improve the accuracy of our evaluations further.”

The increased testing capacity will allow Hypor to collect more phenotypes and make faster genetic improvements to benefit the industry. Among other things, Hypor will use the data from the feeding stations to determine at what point a pig’s rate of daily gain slows down.

“We want to select the pigs that are efficient from the beginning to the end of the growing period to stay in line with market demands,” Huisman says. “Feed costs account for 60 to 70 percent of the total cost of production, and if pigs are a little more efficient, producers will be more profitable.”

The Nedap pig performance system consists of two parts: a feed trough with a weighing unit and an adjustable platform with a weighing unit for pigs. The platform is built to withstand use in high-traffic swine operations. It has the capacity for 15 pigs to feed at one time without restriction.

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