Analyzes impact of technologies on productivity in market pigs, indicating significant improvement over 25 years.
Market pigs require 4% less feed today to produce a 17% heavier carcass than they did 25 yr ago. Animal pharmaceuticals like ractopamine, immunocastration products, and porcine somatotropin are commonly thought of as performance-enhancing technologies; other technological changes that now encompass "modern swine production" are perhaps even more critical. Advancements in record-keeping, benchmarking, refinements in nutrient requirements, biosecurity, and increased sizes of meat-processing facilities have also contributed to increased productivity.
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
Tokach et al. (2016) studied this question.
Synapse has enriched 5 closely related papers on similar clinical questions. Consider them for comparative context: