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July 2004 Issue
The value of purebreds today
by Daryl Real
The past few months I have heard more extremes about the value of a purebred since the beginning of my short time here at NSR.
What’s more, this disparity is across
all segments of our industry, from purebred breeders to showpig breeders and all stops in between. In traveling from farm to farm and then to the next show or convention, I have found that they are an essential part of every successful operation.
Now, let’s take a look at the definition of a purebred animal. Although there are many variations to define a breed of livestock, they are all, in essence, the same.
We could say that purebred animals are essentially a gene pool of animals that have been selected to produce uniform and predictable offspring. One tool used to accomplish this is linebreeding, or mating related animals. By doing so, the offspring of a linebred mating have a higher number of similar genes for a particular trait, and thus could be more predictable and consistent when used in a genetics program.
At the top of the food chain are those breeders trying to produce exceptional purebred genetics. Today, many market their breeding stock through type conferences and national shows. Traditionally, breeders from all facets of the swine industry purchase their new herd boars at these conferences. Over time, the clientele at these national type conferences has become more and more showpig oriented. For the breeders exhibiting these purebred genetics, purebred hogs are their way of life.
Many of these showpig-oriented customers have become breeders trying to raise that great purebred gilt for their grandkids to take to the National Junior Summer Spectacular or some other pedigreed junior livestock show. In the past few years, these shows have soared with interest, and demand for these purebred gilts or barrows has grown with the same enthusiasm.
For these exhibitors and breeders, the value of a purebred becomes very high when trying to bring home the purple.
On the flip side of this story are the commercial producers marketing their hogs on the open market for slaughter. Purebred hogs offer the consistency and predictability they need to stay profitable and competitive in a crunching industry.
The reason that commercial producers can use purebred hogs is the same reason that purebreds become so vital in raising even crossbred showpigs. More and more breeders raising crossbred showpigs are discovering the value in using purebreds in their crossbred breeding program. One of the biggest complaints heard is the lack of consistency among litters when breeding crossbred sows to crossbred boars. Sure, one or two pigs in a litter of 10 might be worth seven or eight hundred dollars, but the rest become worth $15 each when they are sold as feeder pigs or roaster pigs. The worst part is, the eight feeder pigs ate the same
$17-per-bag feed as the other two.
Now, on the next visit, this crossbred sow was mated to a purebred boar, and lo and behold if there weren’t six, eight or even a whole litter of saleable pigs, and in the end, the breeder made his operation more profitable.
As livestock enthusiasts, we like to keep track of the genealogy of our pigs, even if they aren’t pure. The amazing thing is how fast we forget how the hogs are really bred just a couple of generations back. For example, let’s take the ever-influential 105. Most everyone knows that he is a black exotic boar that has a Pietrain boar in his ancestry. What Jerry McLemore will tell you, though, is that he has more Ritz bred in to his genetics than anything else! That’s just an example of using purebred hogs with an outcross to make great crossbreds.
A more recent example could be the black exotic boar, Roc On. Full Court, a purebred
That will make a guy scratch his head and think about his sow herd.
There is no doubt in my mind that purebred hogs have a place in your operation, regardless of your market.
Just take a minute and think back
to how your sows are bred and how they produce.
What was she bred to last time? Maybe this time I should try to linebreed her just once more.
Imagine how good that will be.
