MSU Swine Housing Options Tool

March 30, 2016 — 

Members of the Michigan State University Extension pork group, with assistance from allied industry, have developed the Sow Housing Options Tool (SHOT), a financial comparison tool that enables producers to economically compare group sow housing systems. SHOT allows producers to compare the economics of various group sow housing options. Developed using a standard Microsoft Excel spreadsheet, this tool allows users to input data for different systems and calculate a cost comparison.

SHOT is intended to be used in two ways. For producers who are just starting to explore group sow housing options, the tool provides examples for five systems: electronic sow feeding (ESF), trickle feeding, floor feeding, short stalls (also called non-gated stalls or stanchions) and free-access stalls. Information on each group sow housing option was developed using the assistance of allied industry and pork producers who have implemented these types of group sow housing.