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SHIC Commissions Study on Sow and Secondary Pig Market Information

The Swine Health Information Center (SHIC) asked Dan Sutherland, a swine industry veteran with years of experience in secondary marketing, to write a review of this process. The goal was to gather information on the scope of these markets for better surveillance, biocontainment, and other risk mitigation protocols for the future.

Sutherland said biosecurity and biocontainment can be difficult in the secondary market. Trucks, animals, and people flow in and out of these markets, opening channels for disease transmission. Producers ship to the cull market using the most efficient and convenient timing and methods for their staff and transportation options.

Because top hog sales encompass about 94 percent of total pig harvest, the secondary market is just 6 percent of pigs. Sutherland's review said in 2016 cull sows comprised 2.4 percent of total harvest and cull boars comprised 0.3 percent of total harvest. The percent of cull sows was 2.7 in 2012.

The relatively low number of animals in the secondary market means animals can stay at buying stations or collection points for as long as a week when buyers are seeking a large enough group of similar pigs to fill an order. Though a buyer's goal is to have the pigs at these points for as short as time as possible, reality is the collection of animals can become a concern.

Most culls and secondary market pigs are sold through a dealer network. Their mission is gathering the numbers needed to efficiently market hogs into many different channels within each category. Dealer networks vary in location and can be a significant distance from the farm so transportation time becomes an issue. In high hog density regions, fewer stations may be needed. When production is more remote, more drop-off points are required to collect the number of animals necessary to fill orders. In some cases, hogs may move 1500 miles or more to get to market.

The challenge becomes tracking so in the event of disease outbreak, needed information is available. USDA requires sow and boar identification. An ear tag system lists only remises identification numbers and cannot be removed until the animal passes post mortem inspection.

The challenges of the secondary market are clear and with greater understanding of the channels, SHIC hopes to improve management of disease transmission and identify risks associated with foreign animal disease outbreak in these animals.

The entire Sutherland review can be read here. Sutherland spent a decade as an order buyer/dealer and 34 years as a packer buyer in a system including auctions and private buying stations for the secondary market.

Funded by America's pork producers to protect and enhance the health of the US swine herd, the Swine Health Information Center focuses its efforts on prevention, preparedness, and response. As a conduit of information and research, SHIC encourages sharing of its publications and research for the benefit of swine health. Forward, reprint, and quote SHIC material freely. For more information, visit http://www.swinehealth.org or contact Dr. Paul Sundberg at psundberg@swinehealth.org.