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July 2006 Herdsire Issue
Make more sellable hogs
by Kade Hummel
After many miles, four states and a ton of fast-food burgers, the baby showpig season is now behind us. When auctioneer Kevin Wendt said “sold” on the last pig at the NSR Extravaganza, my season in the Midwest ended.
As I sit back and think of all the little pigs that impressed me this spring, I find that most have something in common. They all had a shot of purebred genetics on one side of their pedigree. The litters that I saw on various farm visits were much deeper in quality and consistency when they had purebred parentage in their family tree. They also proved to be more valuable for their owners, as they consisted of numerous pigs of sellable quality.
I was on a herd visit in Illinois when the gentleman asked me if I would like to see something different. Curious, as I usually am, I followed him into the farrowing house. I easily found the “something different” in a litter of belted, crossbred pigs that you couldn’t miss. These pigs were stout boned, big bodied and had plenty of muscle for their age. They were all “peas in a pod,” as they were uniform and consistent.
With about nine pigs in the litter, I would say he wouldn’t have any trouble selling them all as showpigs. I’m not sure what boar they were out of, but their mother was a big, productive Duroc female that did an excellent job of raising pigs.
The next litter that we looked at was a set of blue-butt pigs that were equally as impressive. They were out of a purebred Yorkshire boar that simply does a nice job of making fault-free, sellable pigs every time. After seeing these two outstanding litters, both injected with purebred genetics, we talked about how he would profit from selling them as showpigs, instead of on the feeder-pig market.
Visiting another farm this spring, I looked at a set of showpigs that they were going to offer in their private-treaty sale the next day. They had a whole bunch of little blue-butt pigs, along with belted, crossbred pigs, and a very good set of purebred Yorkshire and Hampshire barrows.
The gilts in the crossbred litters were fancy and going to be easy to sell. But, I didn’t see the littermate gilts to the Hampshire or Yorkshire barrows. I asked the breeder where they were, and he started laughing. He said that they were all outside on the feeding floor and politely explained that most of them weren’t for sale. He had decided to feed them out in big groups, and in September, he’ll start breeding them to different crossbred and purebred boars to make showpigs for next year.
During the visit, he also described how his purebred gilts made litters that were easier to sell and more consistent than the litters out of his crossbred gilts. He has even started keeping some of his own purebred boars out of these litters to put back on his crossbred sows.
After looking through the hogs, it was time to dine. As you know, that’s what field reps do best. While we feasted on steak, the breeder’s father told swine-industry stories from the ’70s. He said back then, if you didn’t have purebreds, you’d be out of business. He also re-inforced the importance of a purebred-female base when making crossbreds.
These are just a few examples of something I am starting to see at more and more farms I visit – the advantages of purebred genetics. The genetic predictability of breeding crossbred on top of crossbred is not something that will keep you in business for very long. It just doesn’t create the uniformity and quality that a dose of purebred genetics can generate.
The popularity of purebred gilts through sales – whether it is a showpig sale, production sale, state fair, or type conference – is booming. The value of these females has forced many people to re-evaluate the profitability of their program. Having a litter with only two to three sellable pigs out of the bunch does not pay very many feed bills.
If you are tired of sows that don’t milk, pigs that don’t grow and a lack of consistency in your litters, look us up the next time you are searching for your next showpig momma.
