Hogs are produced in three types of specialized
enterprises:
- Farrow-to-finish operations raise hogs from birth to
slaughter weight, about 240-270 pounds.
- Feeder pig producers raise pigs from birth to about 10-60
pounds, then generally sell them for finishing.
- Feeder pig finishers buy feeder pigs and grow them to
slaughter weight.
Although there is some overlap in enterprise typefarrow-to-finish
operators may, for example, sell or buy feeder pigs if their feed
production is smaller or larger than their own production needsmost
producers use only one production system.
The biological hog cycle
The biological hog cycle is longer than that of broilers but shorter
than for cattle. (The economic hog cycle refers to the peaks
and troughs in hog inventories over time, while the biological
hog cycle refers to the biological time lags involved in hog production).
A sow can produce an average of slightly more than two litters per
year, each consisting of an average of nearly nine pigs. Production
of hogs has consisted of five different phases: farrow-to-wean,
feeder pig or nursery, finishing, breeding stock, and farrow-to-finish.
Swine biology may be thought of as a flowing, cyclical process.
Source: Dr. Paul Pitcher and Sandra
Springer, University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine,
1997.
It takes about 32 weeks, from birth to breeding age, before a gilt
(a female hog that has not farrowed) is ready to reproduce. The
reproduction process begins with the mating of a gilt capable of
conception and a boar (male hog) or by artificially inseminating
the gilt with semen from a desired boar. Once the gilt has been
bred successfully, she will farrow (or give birth to) an average
of nine piglets (young pigs) in approximately 16 weeks. The sow
(an adult female hog that has farrowed at least once) then nurses
her piglets for an average of 2-3 weeks before they are weaned (separated
from the sow). This is the farrow-to-wean phase of hog production.
Sows can be bred again shortly after pigs from the previous litter
are weaned.
At an average weight of 10-20 pounds, the weaned pigs
are moved on to the next phase of production known as wean-to-feeder
pig. During this phase, young pigs are fed rations varying in protein
content until they reach an average weight of 20-60 pounds. Following
a 16-week gestation period, 22-26 weeks are required to grow a pig
to slaughter weight in a farrow-to-finish operation. From the feeder
pig stage, the animals enter an intense feeding stage and remain
there until they reach a desired weight, ranging from 240-270 pounds.
Operations of this type are known as the feeder-pig-to-finish phase.
Hog production phases
and completion times 1/ |
Production phase |
Breeding and gestation
of producing female |
Birth to breeding age |
Gestation |
|
Weaning |
Nursery/growing/
backgrounding |
Finishing |
Length of time |
15 weeks |
32 weeks |
16 weeks |
8-9 newborn pigs every 6 months |
2-3 weeks |
6 weeks |
16-20 weeks |
1/ Phases and times are
reasonable examples only. Actual industry values
will vary by season, phase of the production cycle,
region, and firm. |
Production
Most hog producers use some type of confinement production, with
specialized, environmentally modified facilities. Confinement production
allows year-round production by protecting hogs from seasonal weather
changes, while reserving productive land for crops. Central farrowing
houses provide shelter for sows to give birth and care for their
young until they are weaned. After being weaned, baby pigs enter
the pig nursery where conditions are designed to ease the transition
between weaning and the growing-finishing stage. After reaching
a weight of 20-60 pounds, the pigs are either sold to a feeder-pig
finisher or transferred to the growing-finishing house, where they
are grown out for slaughter.
The traditional, small, vertically integrated hog production systems
of the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s have given way to more specialized,
geographically concentrated operations in the 1980s and 1990s. One
of the most striking features of the U.S. hog industry has been
the rapid shift to fewer and larger operations (see
map), associated with technological change and evolving economic
relationships between producers, packers, and consumers. The largest
hog-producing region in the United States is the Midwest (see
map). In comparison, the Southwhich saw the greatest reduction
in the number of hog operations over the past decadehas less
than half as many operations.
Although many hog operations are located in the Midwest, most large
operations (those over 5,000 head) are located in the Southeast,
particularly North Carolina (see map).
Operations of this size produce more uniform animals at lower cost
per unit than smaller operations (see Economic
and Structural Relationships in U.S. Hog Production) and are
responsible for a greater percentage of the hogs sold in the U.S.
market. The number of hog operations with at least 5,000 head has
more than doubled over the past decade.
|