Economic Advantages of Individual Animal Identification in Fattening Pigs

Henrich Thölke and Petra Wolf
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Henrich Thölke: Institute for Nutritional Physiology and Animal Nutrition, Faculty of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, University Rostock, D-18059 Rostock, Germany
Petra Wolf: Institute for Nutritional Physiology and Animal Nutrition, Faculty of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, University Rostock, D-18059 Rostock, Germany

Agriculture, 2022, vol. 12, issue 2, 1-16

Abstract: Pig farmers are exposed to strong international competition and confronted with low revenues, while production requirements are increasing. Individual electronic monitoring allows for closer observation of the fattening process, which can be useful for identifying weaknesses in the production process and carrying out more targeted cost management. Consequently, this study aimed to demonstrate a reduction in unit production costs through individual animal identification (IAI) using ultra-high-frequency radio frequency identification (UHF RFID) transponder ear tags. For data collection, day-old suckling piglets were individually marked. During fattening, these piglets ( n = 224) were kept in 16 groups ( n = 14 in each). Individual body weights and the feed consumption for each pen were recorded until slaughtering. These data were used to perform three hypothetical selection scenarios at nine different times, retrospectively, by selecting individual animals that deviated downwards from the mean value of live weight by 10, 15, or 20%. For each group, two different calculations were performed to highlight potential savings. High potential savings of direct costs (up to EUR 4.56) for female animals and castrates (EUR 5.44) were shown. Nevertheless, costs of individual data collection were EUR 4.06 per pig, and we found that IAI offers advantages for conventional fatteners for future fattening periods to work in an economically sustainable manner.

Keywords: fattening pigs; individual animal identification; economic sustainability; precision livestock farming; UHF RFID (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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