Producer Survey Examines Factors that Lead to Culling of Sows

Canadian pork producers are being encouraged to participate in a national survey designed to identify the factors that contribute to sow mortality on the farm and culling and come up with strategies to reduce those losses. The University of Saskatchewan, the Prairie Swine Centre, the Western College of Veterinary Medicine, the Canadian Centre for Swine Improvement and the Centre de développement du porc du Québec, in partnership with Swine Innovation Porc are conducting a survey of farm factors related to sow management and culling.

 

Dr. Jennifer Brown, a Research Scientist Ethology with the Prairie Swine Centre, says the survey includes about 40 questions designed to gather information on what's happening on Canadian farms.

 

Clip-Dr. Jennifer Brown-Prairie Swine Centre:

 

We've noticed, not just here in Canada but across the world, numbers of sow mortality, deaths on farm and then euthanasia on farm, has been increasing over the last decade or more. This is very costly to pork producers and it's been observed that almost 50 percent of the sow losses are in younger animals and we definitely know that a sow needs to be retained in a herd at least three parities before she actually pays for her replacement cost.

 

The loss of these animals is costly to producers and then it's very concerning that the numbers are increasing. Often on farms our record keeping methods are not the greatest and sometimes they're not consistent from one herd to another, how you record cull sows, sows that die on farm or euthanasia and usually the cause of death is unknown or not recorded very well.

 

Starting with the survey we're looking at farm factors and how they relate to the mortality levels on farm to do an initial analysis of the factors that might be related to higher mortality in herds.

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.