September 2011 - Iowa Pork Producers Association

Journey time also affected the
pig’s ability to handle the stress of
loading and unloading, Ellis said.
“There’s not much research
on this topic as it pertains to
transportation loss,” he added.
“But we have evidence that
suggests short journey times
could actually lead to higher
incidences of losses because the
pigs need a minimum amount of
time to recover from the stress of
loading at the farm. Normally, a
pig will recover if given enough
time. On short journeys, you
may superimpose the stress of
unloading onto animals who
haven’t yet recovered from the
stress of loading.”
Although previous recommendations
from Ellis and his team of
researchers regarding floor
allocation space have resulted in
lower transportation losses (less
than half of a percent of pigs in
most well-managed systems), it
remains a concern because the
producer has invested a great
amount of money to get pigs to
that stage.
Co-author Bradley Wolter, chief
operating officer of The Maschhoffs
in Carlyle, Ill., said working with
the Ellis lab has allowed their
company to lower pig losses within
the supply chain between The
Maschhoffs and its customers by
more than one percentage unit.
Because the industry has made
such great strides to improve
transportation and animal handling,
this study did not show the trends
and differences Ellis expected to see.
“We did visual assessments of how
stressed the pigs were upon arrival
at the plant,” he said. “They were
definitely more stressed after being
unloaded from shorter journeys.
But, anytime the losses are low to
start with, you won’t find many
factors that will lower them further.
As losses are reduced, it’s more
difficult to show how these factors
are involved.”
This is a good problem — and a win
for everyone involved, Ellis said.
SEPTEMBER 2011
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