Continuous Flow Barns: Worth Another Look
As the North American swine industry has consolidated and production systems have grown larger, all-in-all-out (AIAO) nurseries and finisher barns have become standard. Much of this has been driven by health issues – cleaning barns between each turn and filling them with a fresh batch of pigs each time has helped control disease and aided performance.
But AIAO is not perfect. The industry still struggles with disease. In fact, average mortality rates in most systems have crept over 5 percent. Twenty years ago, most were below 3 percent.
AIAO also is challenging for producers who struggle to produce enough pigs to fill barns within a reasonable time span. Turns per year and sort loss are negatively affected if barns cannot be filled or if it takes too long to fill them and market the pigs.
If disease could be kept in check and reasonable performance could be attained in continuous flow (CF) barns, smaller producers could improve profitability through better barn utilization, reduced heating costs, and more flexible pig flow.
One way this can work is by closing the herd, as Hillside Colony, a 600-sow farm located near Doland, South Dakota, has done. Since switching to Babcock Genetics’ Closed Herd System in the fall of 2002, production has improved across the board.
Pigs per sow increased over four pigs, to 26.3 pigs per mated female per year. Farrowing rates are better, and mortalities are at levels they’ve never before seen.
Pigs are heavier at weaning, and wean-to-finish growth rates in continuous flow barns are reaching 1.5 pounds per day with mortality down to 2.3 percent. By comparison, off-site AIAO groups are at 1.7 pounds ADG and mortality is at 3.5 percent.
For Hillside, these improvements have added up to more pigs marketed, better efficiencies, and greater profits. In recognition of their efforts, manager Robert Glanzer and his team were named South Dakota’s Master Pork Producers of 2005.
Hillside Colony Performance Before and After Closing Herd
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