By Joshua Kato
-Identification (Ear notch or tag). These help you identify the pigs and where necessary separate mature siblings from each other to avoid inbreeding for example.
-Sow records (number of sow, pigs born, pigs weaned, birth and weaning mass of litters). If you know the number of sows on the farm, then it is easy for you to plan for the piglets, if you know the piglets that have been delivered you know what it takes to manage them in case of expansion, or even sell-off.
-Service and farrowing records, these indicate when a sow was serviced and the expected date of delivery. This helps you plan for the piglets.
-Record of litter (Days to bacon, grading returns)
-Feed records – These are important because they give you an indication of how many kilograms of feeds your pigs are taking in plus the cost of the feeds. On average, feeds should constitute at least 70 percent of the cost of production, however, if the records indicate a higher rate, then you have to act.
-All stock purchases, sales, births and deaths
-All variable costs – These include the costs of feeding the herd, and managing the farm health including paying veterinary personnel and drugs plus paying workers.
