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Severe tail lesions in finisher pigs are associated with reduction in annual profit in farrow‐to‐finish pig farms
Author(s) -
Staaveren Nienke,
Boyle Laura Ann,
Manzanilla Edgar García,
O'Driscoll Keelin,
Shalloo Laurence,
Díaz Julia Adriana Calderón
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
veterinary record
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.261
H-Index - 99
eISSN - 2042-7670
pISSN - 0042-4900
DOI - 10.1002/vetr.13
Subject(s) - profit (economics) , agricultural science , zoology , veterinary medicine , biology , medicine , economics , microeconomics
Objectives : We investigated the financial impact of different prevalence levels of severe tail lesions (STL) during the finisher stage associated with changes in average daily gain (ADG) in farrow‐to‐finish pig farms. Methods : Prevalence of STL was estimated for 31 farrow‐to‐finish pig farms. Regression tree analysis was used to identify a threshold for STL associated with differences in ADG. Then, a financial analysis was carried using the Teagasc Pig Production model. Results : A threshold of ≥0.86% prevalence of STL was associated with a 4.8% decrease in ADG which translated into pigs requiring 7 days more to reach target slaughter weight than in farms below the threshold. Reduced ADG meant that farms with higher prevalence of STL used 3.6% more weaner and 1.4% more finisher feed per year increasing feed costs by 1.5%. This reduced mean annual farm profit by 15.1% in farms with higher prevalence of STL. Conclusions : Our results provide an indication of the financial effects of STL in intensive pig production systems. The identified threshold for the prevalence of STL could provide a tangible target for farmers to focus on in developing strategies to reduce tail lesions and allow farmers to complete a cost benefit analysis of controlling STL.