How to reduce piglet mortality figures?

The Danish pig industry has felt the effects of increased societal pressure to reduce piglet mortality figures since 2010. In that year, the Danish government initiated an initiative to reduce piglet mortality by installing a taskforce. Its goal: by 2020, 1 more piglet per litter should survive than in 2014.

Rikke Ingeman Svarrer, project manager at the Danish Pig Research Centre (VSP), part of SEGES, explained that this target is a major challenge for pig producers. She was interviewed by Boerderij, a sister title to Pig Progress. Nevertheless, the Danish mortality figures are not as high as they appear to be, as in Denmark, stillborn piglets form part of mortality figures.

2 channels

The Danish industry has initiated a double track to achieve a reduction of piglet mortality. On one hand, using breeding techniques, sows can be selected that will combine both excellent maternal qualities with high vitality piglets. For this purpose, the key figure ‘LG5’ was developed – or the number of piglets alive at day 5 post-farrowing. This figure is included in the Danish breeding goal for 28%.

The 2nd track is to reduce mortality by applying management measures. A start was made in nucleus facilities, which managed to reduce mortality from 22% in 2004 to 16% in 2010.

On the basis of the results achieved in nucleus farms, the task force concluded that a similar improvement can be made at multiplication farms when applying improved management.

Project PattegriseLIV

A 2014 evaluation of the multiplication farm outcomes, resulted in the start of the project PattegriseLIV in 2015. Its goal was to give an extra impetus to attempts to reduce piglet mortality. Main instrument: to share the participating farms’ practical experiences with pig producers.

Altogether 30 farms participate in the project. Their results as well as management are being analysed and communicated to other pig producers. One year after the start, the Danes have thus managed to make a good analysis of the large differences between farms with regard to piglet mortality. These differences offer opportunities to reduce mortality and form the basis of a further approach.

Danish piglet mortality

Currently, Danish piglet mortality is over 20%, Ingeman Svarrer said. The goal of 1 additional piglet alive corresponds with a mortality reduction of 15-16%, a figure which includes stillborn piglets. The task force is meeting the Danish ministry of Environment and Food twice a year to update the project group on the progress.

Piglet mortality in the Netherlands

In the Netherlands, there has been attention on the reduction of piglet mortality since 2009. A task force ‘Piglet Vitality’ was set up, aiming for a reduction of 15-20% in 10 years in conventional pig production and a reduction of 30-40% in organic pig production.

All the task force’s efforts so far haven’t led to concrete results. The most recent update, published in August 2015, showed that mortality in conventional figures in 2014 was even higher than in the reference year 2008.

On organic farms, mortality dropped from almost 25% in 2008 to around 20.5% now. This equals a drop of roughly 15%.

A new plan how to reduce mortality

The Dutch taskforce is currently working on a new plan, aimed at how the pig industry could further reduce mortality. The goals that have been agreed on back in 2009, come down to mortality figures between 10.2 and 10.9% for conventional pig production and 12-14% for organic pig farms. Some speed, however, is advisable, as 7 of the 10 years have already passed.