The Pork Industry at a Glance - National Pork Board

Pork Production
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Pork Production Today
Types of Operations
Today, pork production combines many inputs
into a complex process of converting feedgrains,
high-protein feed ingredients, vitamins, minerals and
water into live hogs and eventually, pork and pork
products. This ultimate goal is attained by five basic
production systems:
• Farrow-to-finish farms that involve all stages of
production, from breeding through finishing to
market weights of about 265 pounds.
• Farrow-to-nursery farms that involve breeding
through marketing 40- to 60-pound feeder pigs to
grow-finish farms.
• Farrow-to-wean farms that involve breeding
through marketing 10- to 15-pound weaned pigs to
nursery-grow-finish farms.
• Wean-to-finish farms that involve purchasing
weaned pigs and finishing them to market weights.
• Finishing farms that buy 40- to 60-pound feeder
pigs and finish them to market weight.
Feed is the major production input to the pork
production process. In fact, feed accounts for more
than 65 percent of all production expenses. The average
whole-herd feed conversion ratio, or pounds of
feed required per pound of live weight produced,
for the U.S. pork industry is about 3.0 to 3.2 and
is improving (getting lower) steadily. This figure
includes the feed fed to boars and sows.
For comparison, consider that beef cattle take 7 to
10 pounds of feed to produce a pound of live weight,
and broiler chickens require about 2 pounds of feed
per pound of live weight produced. The most efficient
U.S. swine herds have whole-herd feed conversion
ratios under 3.0.
A variety of feed ingredients is used in proper proportions
to produce “balanced” diets for pigs at each
stage of their development. Corn, barley, milo (grain
sorghum), oats and sometimes wheat are used to
provide dietary energy in the form of carbohydrates
Pork Production Today
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