Effect of nutrition on swine back fat and reproduction in Israeli farms

Abstract

This study set out to investigate the conditions of the swine growing industry in the unique Israeli environment, where BCS is used as the sole measurement to predict reproductive efficiency, and the comparative suitability of backfat measurements to carry out such assessments. The study was carried out in three radically different swine breeding facilities. The first, farm 1, was a small scale operation in whom the workers were local villagers who lacked any professional experience or academic knowledge of the swine breeding. The second, farm 2, was a larger scale operation in which the workers had greater professional experience and stricter operating procedures more compatible with EU regulations. The third, farm 3, was an experimental farm in which the aim was not to produce the maximum number of piglets for the meat industry but to study the best way to raise healthy, lean pigs for the medical industry.