Recent years have seen a trend towards increasing sow mortality figures around the world. In order to understand the underlying causes influencing sow mortality and culling on Canadian farms a project is under way to answer these questions using an integrated approach. Specifically by: 1) Surveying Canadian sow herds on sow losses and related management factors; 2) Visiting herds with high and low mortality levels to confirm survey results and gather additional information; 3) Reviewing the scientific literature and sow mortality data from other major pork producing countries; and 4) Developing recommendations on ways to improve and standardize recording procedures related to sow losses and best management practices to minimize sow losses.
The results of this work will provide a valuable benchmark for the Canadian sow herd and provide a comparison to other countries with similar production practices. In addition, it will identify risk factors for future evaluation and potential targets for genetic selection or improved management practices.
Identification of risk factors for sow mortality in Canadian herds (full article)
