Given factors such as choosier packers and better automation technology, industry consultants aren't surprised that automatic sorting is catching on in pork production.

			Dr. Tim Loula (L) and Dr. Ross Kiehne

“We’ve seen packers’ price grids tighten significantly in the past five years and they will continue to tighten. To more consistently hit the mark, you need a scale,” says Dr. Ross Kiehne, a veterinary consultant with the Swine Vet Center, St. Peter, MN. “It is very difficult to select pigs with only your eyeballs anymore.”

Capturing the greatest premiums from packers – often referred to as selling within the “red box” -- is even more important as the industry faces expected lower hog prices in the coming six to 12 months, according to Kiehne’s colleague Dr. Tim Loula. “Selling more pigs in the red box – and adding a dollar or two per head margin – is a big deal,” says Loula.

Another factor enticing producers to look at sorting facilities is that scale technology has improved significantly. According to Kiehne, many producers were less than enthused with earlier options available for weighing pigs in the barn. Scales commonly used were portable scales, transported from pen to pen. While they allowed a producer to weigh pigs individually, moving the scales was cumbersome. Many earlier models were also prone to rust and hard to keep clean.

State-of-the art scales are heavier-duty, with more stainless steel components. For example, the new FAST ™ scale has stainless steel flooring, lower framing and sides. “We are now seeing equipment that will hold up to the rigors of big finishing pigs,” says Kiehne. New generation scales are stationary units with the gating arranged so pigs flow through during their normal routines.

Like many industry consultants, Kiehne and Loula are keeping a close eye on the adoption of FAST facilities and say they are intrigued with many of the potential benefits the technology offers.

“Sorting pigs is definitely a stressful event to both people and pigs,” says Loula. Manually plucking a few pigs from each pen is a drain on time and energy. “Using an automatic sorting scale should save labor and there will be less stress on pigs,” says Loula.

Health management of pigs may also be positively affected. Automatic sorting facilities with large pens mean less gating to work around. Loula suggests this may make it easier for barn workers to observe pigs and monitor animal health. “The big pens make it easier to walk the barn and spot sick pigs,” says Loula.

Loula and Kiehne also say FAST offers new options for fine-tuning feeding programs. “One of the first things I thought about was how these scales may impact feeding,” says Loula. Producers are often uncertain about when to switch rations in phase feeding regimens.

“Currently producers determine when to switch based on the number of pounds fed or by looking at pigs and estimating weights. Using a scale will be much more accurate than that," says Kiehne.

Beyond doing a better job with timing feed phases, Loula says producers will have the ability to better target animals with specific additives or rations and take nutrition to a “higher notch” in management. “You’ll be able to create split-sex, split-weight barns.” says Loula. “You could also feed things like Paylean® for different lengths of time or different levels. Or by the same token, perhaps you have a group of barrows getting too fat. You could adjust the ration and slow them down a bit.”

Feed withdrawal just prior to slaughter is another interesting opportunity provided by automatic sorting, according to Loula and Kiehne. They estimate this could return $40-50 per semi-load of pigs since feed that’s eaten right before slaughter isn’t translated into gain. Loula says FAST , “provides a way to take pigs off feed and we’ve never had a way to do that before.” Holding pigs off feed also has proven to improve meat quality, according to Loula.

Loula and Kiehne caution producers that they may have to work out some management issues in sorting facilities, especially when handling small wean-to-finish pigs. “You may have three rations on one week’s spread of pigs or you may want to feed some pigs on a mat. This all could be tougher to do,” says Loula. To help answer concerns about feeding small wean-to-finish pigs, Farmweld has designed a FAST layout which allows producers to create feeding groups of 100 pigs per pen during the early feeding stages.

Loula says producers may also have to learn to be better economists because they’ll have to balance the return from added weight and selling more pigs at a premium price versus the value of using that pen space for smaller pigs or even the next batch of pigs. “You have to make sure that pen space isn’t more valuable than the red box,” says Loula..