Measuring the performance of your piggery

Herd management programs

'Measure to manage' is the key to successful pork production irrespective of the size of your enterprise. On small units, use cards, notebooks, diaries and spreadsheets to record actions including:

  • dates of matings
  • farrowings
  • weanings
  • deaths
  • sales
  • feed purchases
  • treatments.

For herds committed to APIQ, the APIQ small holder manual allows you to keep all records required by the APIQ auditor and for managing the herd in a single, well-designed document.

For larger herds, several computer programs are capable of handling the large volumes of records required for managing the breeder, weaner and grower herd.

Analyse your production and financial results to assist you to:

  • make sound decisions
  • forecast production
  • use benchmarking
  • motivate staff.

Compare with industry averages

While analysing your performance data can lead to better production practices and increased profitability, also consider your herd's performance relative to industry averages. For example, if your herd's number of pre-weaning deaths is higher than the industry average, then you need to address this.

Also consider…