Retrospective analysis of trends and production factors associated with sow mortality on swine-breeding farms in USA

Of the 825 pig farms in USA that mailed in their electronic file containing production records, 604 farms were used to observe breeding-female mortali ty risk and related factors (herd size, lactation length, parity and season ). Multiple regression was used to determine factors associated with annual mortality risk. Analyses of variance were used for comparisons of mortalit y risks among parity and season groups. Average annual mortality risks duri ng the 1997 period was 5.68%. Average breeding-female inventories and avera ge lactation length on USA farms were 733 and 18.3 days, respectively. High er annual breeding-female mortality risk was associated with larger herd si ze, greater parity at farrowing and shorter lactation length (p<0.02). For example, as herd size increases by 500 females, mortality risk increases by 0.44%. Older parity was associated with higher mortality risks. Summer sea son was also associated with higher mortality risk. Using five years' recor ds on 270 farms, annual mortality risk in 1997 was higher than those of 199 3 and 1994, while average breeding-female inventory increased and lactation length decreased. It is recommended that producers, especially in large he rds, pay more attention to breeding females. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.