COMPARISON OF DIFFERENT STYLES OF SWINE FINISHING FACILITIES WITHIN A UNIFORM PRODUCTION SYSTEM

Swine originating from one farrowing and nursery source were grown in five different finishing facility types. Three of the facilities were considered contemporary styles and two facilities were based on older technologies. The total data set included information collected on 46,408 pigs from 25 groups. The three contemporary facility styles included a fully slatted, hybrid ventilated facility; a fully slatted tunnel ventilated facility; and a partially slatted naturally ventilated facility. These newer facilities were compared to an older, less environmentally controlled facility and an outdoor feeding lot. No significant differences were observed in production performance of the three styles of newer buildings (p > 0.05). Significant differences were found in feed efficiency (p < 0.05), days to market (p < 0.10), and yield (p < 0.05) among all (new and old) facility types. Feed efficiency and yield were found to be significantly better in the newer rather than the older facilities (p < 0.05). Average daily gain (ADG) for the new facilities was found to be significantly different (p < 0.05) by season of the year. The variation in death loss, feed efficiency, and ADG appeared to be relatively consistent among the different styles of finishing facilities. A basic cost analysis showed that the production cost differences among the three styles of contemporary finishing facilities is small and therefore decisions on the type of building should be based more on management preferences than cost savings.