Benchmarking in Animal Agriculture : Concepts and Applications

• Published in: Journal of Veterinary Epidemiology Vol. 14; no. 2; pp. 105 - 117
• Main Authors: SASAKI, Yosuke, ICHIKAWA, Hiroki, KANEKO, Mai, KOKETSU, Yuzo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Japanese
• Published: The Japan Society of Veterinary Epidemiology 20.12.2010
• Subjects: commercial farm; operation; pigs; production
• ISSN: 1343-2583; 1881-2562
• DOI: 10.2743/jve.14.105

This review provides the benchmarking concepts and the applications using the data acquired from commercial swine herds. Reproductive performance of female pigs, growth performance of fattening pigs and financial performance of the herd or the enterprise are recommended to be benchmarked. The 10 or 25 upper percentile of the performance measured has been used as a target value. In best-practice benchmarking, measurements in high-performing and ordinary herds or all herds have been well used to provide values of target and standard performances. Among reproductive performance measurements of female pigs, the number of pigs weaned per mated female per year (PWMFY) has been well used as a prime measurement in breeding herds. High-performing herds have been identified by the upper 10 or 25 percentile based on PWMFY. The PWMFY consists of six measurements : the number of nonproductive female days, lactation length, gestation length, preweaning mortality risk, number of pigs born alive and number of pigs weaned per sow. Adjusted 21-day weight is also a measurement for lactational performance. Beside reproductive efficiency, female pig mortality is a key measurement for herd health and animal well-being in breeding herds. A fattening phase of swine production is the stage where most production costs are incurred. In growth performance, average daily gain, feed efficiency and mortality are important to measure at the herd location or the group level. Finally, assessing the financial performance of the enterprise is essential for successful management of the business. Financial performance measurements including return on asset, net profit margin and asset turnover ratio are useful as benchmarks to compare to other herds within the industry or across various industries.