The study carried out by INRA researchers was based on two observations. Firstly, pig farmers express a growing desire to control their workload and working times, so that they can better dissociate their private and working lives and generate more free time. Secondly, several studies by Chambers of Agriculture have suggested a broad diversity of reproduction methods that can influence herd performance. The INRA scientists identified the different preferences of stockbreeders with respect to their workload, and the practices associated with these preferences; they also analysed the effects of these practices on herd productivity. Two complementary approaches were adopted: a survey in farms and the construction of a simulator for the operation of breeding herds.
The survey1 was carried out in 25 Breton pig farms, chosen to cover a broad range of management strategies (number and size of batches, duration of lactation) and workforce compositions (with or without salaried employees). The survey concerned management practices and how they were adjusted on different days of the week (management of farrowing, piglets, oestrus and insemination, organisation of animal replacements and culling) and the technical results achieved.
The simulation model represented the biological functioning of animals, husbandry practices (methods employed, periods of execution, number of interventions) and interactions between practices, biology, the reproductive career of sows and herd demography.
Demonstration of relationships between different practices and workload distribution preferences
Based on the survey, four relationships with workload distribution were identified:
•avoidance of work during the weekend,
•adaptation of practices to ensure better alignment with animal biology,
• efforts to limit the density of daily work,
• and "making every effort" to achieve optimum technical efficiency without consideration to the time or day of the week.
The INRA scientists identified a broad variability in the implementation of farrowing and insemination practices. The methods used for oestrus detection (number of sessions per day and number of days devoted to this task) and insemination (interval between successive inseminations and factors affecting the adjustment of these rhythms to different days of the week) were very closely linked to these different workload preferences. On the other hand, the intensity of farrowing supervision (day and night) and care for piglets, determining elements with respect to perinatal mortality, were linked to productivity targets and managed independently of the workload preferences of stockbreeders. Finally, this variability in the implementation of practices was not associated with any particular type of batch management or workforce composition, which are determining elements with respect to workload at the scale of weeks and years.
Insemination techniques were linked to preferences for workload distribution, and the researchers implemented simulations concerning these practices. These clarified the interactions between insemination methods and oestrus detection, and thus made it possible to assess the consequences on global herd fertility. Thus insemination protocols under which the first insemination is performed as soon as oestrus is detected appeared to be the "most fertile" protocols. Extending the interval between detection and the first insemination reduced fertility, notably in cases when oestrus detection was only performed once a day.
This work demonstrates the importance that must be given in our representations of livestock systems to elements concerning preferences when distributing workload during the week. It explored the influence of simplified practices on performance. It is hoped that the "workload" dimension can thus be better integrated in future proposals for innovative and sustainable livestock systems, so that better account can be taken of the human acceptability of systems and they are not assessed purely in terms of their economic viability.
1 Several groups of Breton pig breeders (CECAB, Pigalys and LT) agreed to take part in this survey, which was designed with help from them and from the Breton Chambers of Agriculture and the IFIP – French Institute for the Pig and Pork Industry.
Reference:
Martel, G., Dourmad, J.-Y. and Dedieu, B. “Do labour productivity and preferences about work load distribution affect reproduction management and performance in pig farms?” Livestock Science, 116, 1-3, 96-107.
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* INRA at SPACE (Salon international de l’élevage) - Rennes,
9-12 septembre 2008
On the INRA/AGROCAMPUS OUEST Stand (Hall 4 - Allée B - Stand n°32): Livestock breeding and the environment
A series of conferences: "Les rendez-vous de l’INRA" from Tuesday 9 to Thursday 11 September, 14:00 – 16:00, room C in the Espace Europe, open to all:
• Tuesday September 9: "Emerging infectious diseases in livestock farms"
Catherine Belloc, INRA/ENVN Joint Research Unit for Bio-aggression, Epidemiology and Risk Analysis in Animal Health, and Nicolas Rose, Laboratory for Study and Research in Poultry, Pigs and Aquaculture, AFSSA-Ploufragan
• Wednesday September 10
"Pig farms: the preferences of stockbreeders regarding workload distribution and their effects on productivity" with Gilles Martel and Jean-Yves Dourmad, INRA-Rennes
"International cereal and oilseed markets: recent changes and prospects for the future" with Yves Dronne, INRA-Rennes
• Thursday September 11
"Mélodie, a livestock breeding simulator to study the relationships between management and environmental risks" with Philippe Faverdin, INRA-Rennes
"The production of greenhouse gases by ruminants: how can it be reduced?" with Michel Doreau, INRA-Clermont-Ferrand-Theix
Contact INRA Rennes: Patricia Marhin, Tel.: 02 23 48 52 64
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