The Interpig Group was set up in 2002 to look at physical performance figures and pigmeat production costs in participating countries. The 2013 Interpig Report has just been finalised. Data for the Irish pig herd has been selected from the Teagasc e-Profit Monitor (ePM) recording system. Our industry’s competitiveness against selected European countries (Denmark, France, Germany and the Netherlands) is discussed in this article.

In the early 1990s, Ireland produced more pigs per sow per year than our European counterparts. Table 1 shows the number of pigs produced and the components of that figure in 2013. The Danes and the Dutch are leading the field, with each Danish sow producing 2.87 more pigs per year than the average sow here – even though they have higher overall mortality.

Some Irish units are producing as many pigs as the Danes, but our average figure produced is too far behind. In 2009, the number of pigs produced per sow per year in Ireland was 23.30. This has improved by 1.9 pigs per sow per year in 2013. The Danish figure, 25.63 in 2009, has improved by 2.44 pigs per sow per year in the same period. Many factors can affect performance, such as herd health status, genetic improvements, feed quality and sale weight. It is difficult to take all of these factors into account when making comparisons.

Growth performance

Relevant growth figures are shown in Table 2. Denmark has the highest average daily gain (ADG) from weaning to sale. The Netherlands has the highest slaughter weights, but the lowest ADG from weaning to sale. The Netherlands has a good feed conversion efficiency, although it is dealing with a large proportion of castrated male pigs and heavier sale weights. In Ireland, we have lighter sale weights and we do not castrate our male pigs. Our ADG is close to the Netherlands alhough their slaughter weight is heavier.

Feed costs

Feed represents over 70% of the cost of pig meat production. Our feed costs are considerably higher than feed prices in other EU countries. Average feed prices per tonne are shown in Table 3.

As a net importer of pig feed ingredients (mainly soya and cereals), we must accept higher transport costs. This is a competitive disadvantage because of our island status and the limited supply of home-produced grain.

However, this is only part of the problem. In Ireland, we have higher feed credit terms than on the continent. In other European countries, feed is typically paid for within a week of delivery. In Ireland, it may not be paid until two or more months after delivery, therefore incurring an associated cost.

For example, if the current “composite” feed price (ie average feed cost of all diets used on the pig farm) is €310 and a merchant credit charge of 1% (which may be low) is allowed, it will add €3.10/t for each month of feed credit. This will add a cost of €9.30/t to feed bought based on the 1% credit charge for a farm that operates on a three-month feed credit basis (which is not unusual in Ireland).

The usage of diets is different in each country. In Ireland, we use a greater amount of the more expensive weaner/rearer diets than other countries. The price shown for the average weaner/rearer feed is higher in Ireland than other countries.

In Ireland, we feed these diets to pigs up to 37kg liveweight (equates to 54.4kg of feed/pig), while in the Netherlands they are fed up to 25kg liveweight (29.2kg of feed/pig). The Dutch transfer their pigs onto cheaper finisher diets sooner, which allowed them to achieve a feed cost/kg deadweight that was 20c lower than that of Ireland in 2013. Their FCE from weaning to sale is similar to ours (Table 2). The feed cost/kg deadweight is 22c lower in Denmark than in Ireland (€1.07 compared with €1.29).

In Ireland, we formulate our pig diets on the digestible energy (DE) basis. The net energy (NE) system is a more refined system of formulating diets to match the category of pigs being fed (ie sows, weaners and finishers) and the digestibility of the feed ingredients for the category of pigs to be fed. The net energy system is used in France, the Netherlands and Denmark.

On a recent study tour to the Netherlands, I was told that the NE system has reduced their feed costs by 1% to 1.5%.

The parameter “kg of pigmeat/sow/year” is calculated by multiplying the number of pigs produced/sow/year by the average carcase weight in the Interpig Report. We are behind our European counterparts (Table 4).

The second parameter, “tonnes of feed/sow/year” is calculated by adding the total tonnes of all feed used and dividing it by the average sow herd size. The feed/kg of carcase shows the Netherlands with the best overall FCE (3.43), which was reflected in the Dutch pig farmers having a feed cost of €1.09/kg deadweight

The figures mentioned in this article show that we need to keep an eye on improvements in other countries and strive to match their performance. There are individual pig units in Ireland that are achieving the figures shown outlined in this article for selected European countries. All farms should measure their own performance and benchmark their results against other farms.

There is a useful benchmark report on the Teagasc ePM recording system, which is now available to all Irish pig producers as part of the Teagasc/IFA Pig Joint Programme.

  • www.teagasc.ie