Leverage Research to Drive Profitability in 2025

• March 11, 2025
• News

With 2025 profitability opportunities in place for U.S. pork producers after extended economic challenges, the stakes are high when it comes to protecting profit potential of high value marketings. As a result, a proactive mindset and informed decision making are critical when aiming to maximize financial returns.

Leveraging the power of United Animal Health’s precision research platform, valuable insights can be used to develop a roadmap for capitalizing on financial opportunities. This includes taking a “begin with the end in mind approach” to first determine desired goals, then utilize precision research insights that lead to science supported decisions.

Here are five insights based on United Animal Health research to consider when developing strategies to drive profitability in 2025.

1. Success starts with the sow.

• Improving sow lactation average daily feed intake has a systemwide impact on profitability. On average, every 1 lb. increase in sow lactation ADFI results in an additional 0.19 lbs. of wean weight per pig (Fig. 1).
• Furthermore, improving lactation feed intake reduces sow weight loss, improves wean to first service distribution and improves subsequent litter size. Improving sow lactation ADFI from 10 to 11lbs. results in an additional +0.50 increase in total born in the subsequent litter.

Considerations:

• Focus on strategies to drive sow lactation feed intake and nutrient intake, particularly in P1 females.
• Examples include meeting nutritional requirements, minimizing stressors, preventing out of condition feed in bins and feeders, mitigating mycotoxins in feed and utilizing in-feed technologies proven to promote feed intake.

Figure 1: Data collected from 10,748 litters at United Animal Health Research Farms in June 2018-December 2023.

2. The benefits of heavier wean weights compound downstream.

• Analyzing data from over 118,000 individual pigs, United Animal Health data shows every 1 additional lb. of wean weight results in an additional 2.2 lbs. at the end of nursery (Table 1).
• Wean weight also plays a significant role in nursery mortality. Compared to pigs weighing 7-.0-8 lbs. at weaning, 9-10 lbs. pigs show a 4.68%-point reduction in nursery mortality & more than 11 additional lbs. at marketing (Table 1).

Considerations:

• Particularly in profitable markets, reducing systemwide mortality and capturing additional pounds at marketing pays dividends.
• Focus on strategies to increase wean weights, including promoting sow lactation ADFI and utilizing technologies proven to reduce pathogen loads of pigs at weaning.
• When feasible, wean age may also be used as a tool to improve nursery performance. United Animal Health data shows every one additional day of age over 16-days results in an increase of 0.51 lbs. average wean weight.

Table 1: Data collected at United Animal Health Research Farms from June 2018-December 2023 (N = 17,970 pigs).

3 . Investing in nursery health and performance has a significant impact on lifetime performance (Table 2).

• Research shows that heavier pigs out of nursery carry this advantage through marketing, with every 1 additional lb. of bodyweight out of nursery translating to 2.1 additional lbs. at marketing.

Table 2: *Data collected from 17,365 pigs at United Animal Health Research Farms in February 2019-December 2023.

Considerations:

• Focus on a comprehensive approach to promoting weaned pig startup.
• Reduce pathogen loads in pen environment through proper sanitation and health management strategies.
• Ensure water and feed quality and availability are a focus.
• Optimize barn environment to minimize additional stressors during weaning, comingling and diet transition.
• Utilize tools to protect against heightened seasonal risks of coinfections, as well as risks of mycotoxins in feed.

4 . Minimizing errors and reducing risks in grow-finish helps prevent lost opportunity.

• Management issues, such as out-of-feed events, can significantly impact pig lifetime performance. United Animal Health research shows an out-of-feed event every two weeks reduces market weight by 4.4 lbs.
• Risks from mycotoxins in diets, even when below cautionary levels, may also lead to subclinical or clinical impacts. Research by United Animal Health shows that every 1 ppm of vomitoxin (DON) in the diet results in a 7% decrease in average daily gain.

Considerations:

• Maximizing success requires a proactive focus on “blocking and tackling”, including the basics of timely feed ordering & delivery.
• Ensure strategies to mitigate mycotoxins are in place, including proper screening of ingredients, monitoring toxin levels, and utilizing in-feed mitigants proven safe & effective through animal trials.
• For processed grains, utilize appropriate micron particle size and minimize variation. This helps optimize feed utilization and reduces risk of feed flow issues that could disrupt pig feed delivery and intake.

5. “Dialing in” nutrition strategies leads to improved economic outcomes.

• Proper diet formulation plays a critical role in maximizing genetic potential.
• Research conducted by United Animal Health, compared lysine curves for maximum feed efficiency (FE) versus margin over feed, resulting in a 5.5 lb. advantage for pigs fed diets formulated for max FE.

Considerations:

• Be diligent in ingredient selection, diet formulation, and timing of diet changes to optimize profitability windows.
• Actively manage and adjust nutrition and product use through the year to achieve specific system goals, maintain health or address health challenges, and navigate changing market dynamics.

To learn more about United Animal Health precision research learnings and strategies to maximize profitability opportunities, visit with a United Animal Health account manager today.