Labor efficiency as a genetic target
Across the UK and Europe, modern pig production faces mounting pressure to deliver consistent results with fewer available workers. Labour costs are rising, experienced stock people are becoming harder to find, and operational demands are growing—not least in the UK, where outdoor breeding herds add unique complexity. Tasks like heat detection, fostering, neonatal care, and sow handling that once relied on skilled, stable teams must now be accomplished by fewer, often less-experienced staff.
Yet producers must still meet performance targets—without sacrificing welfare or biosecurity.
In this context, genetics becomes a strategic tool. PIC’s maternal breeding program uses commercial data, behavioural phenotyping, and genomic selection to create females that integrate more efficiently into the production system. This chapter highlights four areas where genetic progress is reducing labour intensity—across lactation, reproduction, piglet robustness, and sow manageability—and supporting farms to remain competitive in a tight labour market.
Optimizing teat functionality: The foundation of efficient farrowing
Among the most labour-intensive tasks in the farrowing house is cross-fostering—a routine that requires experienced judgment, handling of multiple litters, and constant monitoring. Its primary cause is a mismatch between litter size and available functional teats. While total teat count has long been used as a selection metric, research shows that only teats that are physiologically functional (milk-producing and accessible) contribute to piglet viability.
PIC addressed this by integrating functional teat number as a specific selection trait in Camborough® (including Camborough®22 and Camborough®50) and PIC®X54® females. Progress has been measurable:
• In 2024, 68% of Camborough® animals had ≥16 functional teats, compared to 63% in 2019.
• Over 98% of Camborough® and PIC®X54® gilts now exhibit ≥14 functional teats.
• PIC®X54® L05 purebreds with >16 teats have increased by 135% between 2020 and 2024.
This evolution supports natural litter fit, especially as total born per litter increases. By allowing more piglets to stay with their dam:
• Piglet colostrum access improves, strengthening immunity during the critical first 24 hours.
• Fostering is minimized, reducing labour time by up to three hours per one hundred sows per week, based on PIC internal benchmarking.
• Piglet movement between litters decreases, enhancing biosecurity and minimizing social stress.
In summary, selecting for functional teats doesn’t just improve survival—it reduces routine labour and increases farrowing efficiency.
Streamlining reproduction: Managing cycle timing and detection
Gilt development and sow breeding are overly sensitive to labour availability. Delays in first oestrus, difficulties in heat detection, and rebreeding due to missed cycles represent a significant cost in both time and resources. According to a recent field study, every non-productive day (NPD) can cost a farm between £2–£3 per sow.
PIC has responded to these challenges by selecting females for reproductive performance and visible oestrus behaviour. Camborough® and PIC®X54® gilts consistently show:
• First oestrus around 150-170 days of age
• Mating readiness before 230 days, reducing days on feed and housing
• Enhanced oestrus signs in PIC®X54® (more evident mounting, vulva swelling), making heat detection easier for less experienced staff
he economic effect is clear: Compared to lines that reach mating readiness 10–14 days later, this improvement saves approximately ~£35–£40 per gilt in feed and housing costs alone. But the impact on labour is equally important:
• Shorter wean-to-oestrus intervals facilitate batch breeding with tighter planning
• Fewer rebreeds due to better timing
• Less stress and variability in breeding weeks
These reproductive efficiencies reflect a deliberate strategy: design females to integrate seamlessly into commercial flow, enabling consistent performance with less technical oversight.
Robust piglets, resilient outcomes: Reducing neonatal workload
Neonatal pig care is one of the most labour-intensive areas in pig production. Each weak piglet, delayed feeder, or illness case draws time away from overall herd management. PIC’s maternal program includes a strong focus on pre-weaning survivability and birth weight—both critical traits that predict labour input post-farrowing.
Read more: Shaping the sow for the future today – PIC UK
Genetic selection for these traits has yielded concrete results:
• Since integrating them into the maternal index, piglet survival has improved by 0.8 percentage points per year.
• Each 1-point gain in survivability correlates with a 6% increase in pigs weaned, according to PIC survivability studies.
Complementing this is the Sow Robustness trait, part of the GNX crossbred testing program, which draws from real-world data to capture sow longevity, piglet vitality, and structural resilience.
The benefit for farm labour is significant:
• Fewer weak piglets = less need for supplemental feeding or medication
• Reduced use of antibiotics = lower compliance workload
• More uniform litters = streamlined processing in nursery phases
Taken together, these traits ensure fewer exceptions and more predictable flows, enabling even lean teams to maintain performance.
Structural and behavioural soundness: Making sows easier to manage
Behaviour and mobility are often overlooked in the labour equation. Yet, sows that are difficult to move, aggressive toward caretakers, or prone to physical issues (lameness, farrowing complications) require additional time, safety protocols, and sometimes two-person tasks.
Read more: Innovative technologies for robust animals and sustainable production – PIC UK
PIC integrates AI-based phenotyping, locomotion scoring, and maternal behaviour assessments into its selection process:
• In recent trials, >75% of PIC sows scored 5–6 in leg structure, compared to 32% in competitor lines
• Camborough® barrows exhibited up to 40% less post-weaning aggression, improving pen management
• Enhanced maternal calmness results in fewer piglet overlays, smoother farrowing, and reduced fostering
PIC also actively selects against congenital defects such as umbilical hernias, scrotal hernias, and cryptorchidism, using relative risk scores tracked across nucleus populations.
These improvements result in:
• Fewer forced removals
• Lower sow replacement due to injury
• Better task completion times in farrowing and breeding barns
By minimizing behavioural and structural problems, PIC females become partners in farm efficiency, rather than risk points.
Read more: Robustness Impacts Overall Profitability – PIC UK
Genetics that support modern labour dynamics
As the pig industry continues to evolve, the definition of a high-performance sow must extend beyond productivity alone. She must be efficient to manage, robust to care for, and predictable to manage—especially as labour resources shrink.
Whether managing an extensive outdoor system or an intensive indoor operation, producers increasingly need females that simplify complexity—not add to it.
The labour-saving traits embedded in PIC’s Camborough®, Camborough®22, Camborough®50 and PIC®X54® sows reflect this philosophy. Whether through optimized teat functionality, synchronized reproduction, neonatal robustness, or structural and behavioural reliability, these females offer built-in solutions to labour challenges.
For producers who need to do more with less, PIC® provides a competitive advantage—through genetics that work harder, so your people don’t have to.
Because today’s pig farmers shouldn’t choose between success paths—they need one partner for every farm.
Contact the PIC team to evaluate which solution fits your goals best.