Strategies to Improve Swine Reproduction - Dr. Jason Ross, Iowa State University, from the 2013 Iowa Pork Congress, January 23-24, Des Moines, IA, USA. More presentations at http://www.swinecast.com/2013-iowa-pork-congress

1. Strategies to Improve Swine
Reproduction
Jason W. Ross
Iowa State University

2. NCERA57
North Central Extension Research Activity-57
• Workshop on Emerging AI Technologies (May 2012)
– Ron Ketchum-Swine Management Services
• Economics of AI
– Dr. Brad Didion-Minitube
• Utilization of frozen semen
– Dr. Hanneke Feitsma-TOPIGS
• Reducing sperm numbers per dose
– Dr. Howard Hill-Iowa Select
• Utilization and implementation of post cervical AI (PCAI)

3. Swine industry changes…
~90% natural mating in 1990 >90% AI in 2010

4. SMS Data Set- Total Born
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 Diff
10% 12.41 12.67 13.04 13.28 13.60 13.82 14.18 +1.77
All 11.70 11.93 12.18 12.41 12.65 12.88 13.20 +1.50
Based on Swine Management Services data, Courtesy of Ron Ketchum

5. SMS Data Set- Farrowing Rate
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 Diff
10% 85.9% 86.9% 88.0% 87.9% 88.4% 88.5% 90.2% +4.3
All 79.7% 81.1% 82.5% 82.5% 83.0% 84.0% 84.9% +5.2
Based on Swine Management Services data, Courtesy of Ron Ketchum

6. SMS Data Set- Wean to Estrus Interval
2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 Diff
10% NA 6.01 5.97 6.08 6.31 6.34 6.09 -0.08
All NA 6.93 7.01 6.97 7.09 7.06 6.99 -0.06
Based on Swine Management Services data, Courtesy of Ron Ketchum

7. 2011 Industry Stats
SMS Performance data Bottom
52 weeks average-2011 summary Top 10% Top 25% All Farms 25%
Total pigs born / female farrowed 14.47 14.13 13.27 12.40
Pigs born live / female farrowed 13.23 12.89 12.01 11.04
Pigs weaned / female farrowed 11.86 11.28 10.47 9.57
Piglet survival 83.5% 81.6% 80.0% 78.0%
Pigs weaned / mf / yr 29.37 27.89 24.62 20.86
Litters / mated female / year 2.47 2.46 2.37 2.23
Wean to 1st service interval 5.75 6.08 6.81 7.92
Percent served by day 7 88.6% 89.3% 86.3% 81.1%
Percent repeat services 3.9% 5.4% 8.2% 12.3%
Farrowing rate 90.8% 88.9% 85.2% 79.8%
Based on Swine Management Services data, Courtesy of Ron Ketchum

8. 2011 Industry Stats
SMS Performance data Bottom
52 weeks average-2011 summary Top 10% Top 25% All Farms 25%
Total pigs born / female farrowed 14.47 14.13 13.27 12.40
Pigs born live / female farrowed 13.23 12.89 12.01 11.04
Pigs weaned / female farrowed 11.86 11.28 10.47 9.57
Piglet survival 83.5% 81.6% 80.0% 78.0%
Pigs weaned / mf / yr 29.37 27.89 24.62 20.86
Litters / mated female / year 2.47 2.46 2.37 2.23
Wean to 1st service interval 5.75 6.08 6.81 7.92
Percent served by day 7 88.6% 89.3% 86.3% 81.1%
Percent repeat services 3.9% 5.4% 8.2% 12.3%
Farrowing rate 90.8% 88.9% 85.2% 79.8%
Based on Swine Management Services data, Courtesy of Ron Ketchum

9. TOPIGS Research Center IPG
“How low can you go?”
Hanneke Feitsma, manager R&D

10. Check Reducing Sperm Numbers
4.0 30
No. motile sperm/dose (billions)
3.5 28
Weaned piglets/sow/year
26
3.0
24
2.5 22
2.0 20
1.5 18
16
1.0
14
0.5 12
0.0 10
1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015
Year
Courtesy- Dr. Hanneke Feitsma, R&D Manager, TOPIGS Research Center

11. Current TOPIGS Production Parameters
AGROVISION DATA 2011 AVERAGE 20% BEST
DUTCH STANDARD FOR AI:
No. farms 739 142
No. sows 402 445 • Fresh semen
Farm farrowing index 2,38 2,44 • 1.5 B motile cells
Sow farrowing index 2,45 2,48 • Intra cervical insemination
% repeats 8 6
• Shelf life 96 hours
% double 61 68
Average parity 4,1 4 • Courier conditioned transport
% st parity sows 17 17 (17°C)
Weaning to 1st ins. interval 5,6 5,5
Farrowing rate 87 90
Farrowing rate (1st ins.) 88 91
LNB 13,6 14,2
Still/dead born 1,1 1
Piglet mortality 12,8 11,2
Weaned piglets/litter 11,8 12,6
Weaned piglets/sow/year 28,1 30,8
Dr. Hanneke Feitsma, R&D Manager, TOPIGS Research Center

12. TOPIGS Road Map to Low Dose
Insemination
Sperm Quality Index:
Semen parameters which affect fertility
performance
+
Weighing factor
Courtesy- Dr. Hanneke Feitsma, R&D Manager, TOPIGS Research Center

13. Semen related factors affecting
fertility
Direct boar effect (4-8%)
- boar - acrosome responsiveness
- boar line - DNA integrity
- boar age - mitochondrial activity
- ejaculation interval - chromatine structure
- semen collector - bacterial contamination
- year / month - no. Cells per dose
- AI station - semen storage AI
- lab technician - transport temperature
- motility - transport distance
- morphology - movement during transport
- longevity - semen storage at farm
- membrane integrity - semen age at insemination
- acrosome intacntness - insemination technique
https://connect.extension.iastate.edu/p78w1zjzjm9/
Courtesy- Dr. Hanneke Feitsma, R&D Manager, TOPIGS Research Center

14. Post-cervical Artificial Insemination
-
Slide courtesy of Dr. Howard Hill, Iowa Select

15. The tip of the
catheter
is closed
to guarantee the
sterility
of the cannula until
its introduction
through the cervix.
Slide courtesy of Dr. Howard Hill, Iowa Select

16. Slide courtesy of Dr. Howard Hill, Iowa Select

17. Slide courtesy of Dr. Howard Hill, Iowa Select

18. Slide courtesy of Dr. Howard Hill, Iowa Select

19. Iowa Select Farms PCAI Results
Supervisor X
17 Sow Farm Pod- KPI 2010 (Pre PCAI) 2011 (Post PCAI)
Farrow Rate 85.7% 87.4%
TB 13.1 13.4
BA 11.9 12.2
Wean Avg 10.1 10.5
PSY 23.4 24.7
First 19 weeks of 2011 First 19 weeks of 2012
Sow 25 - KPI (Pre PCAI) (Post PCAI)
Farrow Rate 89.1 93.1
TB 13.1 13.4
BA 12.0 12.5
Wean Avg 10.7 10.9
PSY 24.8 27.9
Slide courtesy of Dr. Howard Hill, Iowa Select

20. Timed Insemination-OvuGelTM
• OvuGelTM
– Intravaginally administered GnRH agonist
– Facilitates ovulation synchronization by controlling
luteinizing hormone surge release.
– Results:
• Timed insemination pregnancy rates equivalent to heat
detection and insemination.

21. Future of AI Technologies
Reproductive Technology Stacking
• Long Term Opportunities:
– Single, low-dose, post-cervical, timed insemination.
• Opportunities in Efficiency
– Labor savings in sow barn and boar studs
– Fewer boars
• Big value in genetic improvement
• Making the swine industry more flexible and rapid in the
ability to disseminate specific genetic traits
• Future Challenges
– AI Technologies to mitigate seasonal infertility?

22. Take Home Message on AI Technologies
• Reasons for implementing?
– Unlikely to improve on good FR, TNB, and NBA
– You can decrease costs (Boar costs and Labor)
• Savings in labor can be invested in areas where
improvements are feasible
– Weaned pigs percentage (day 1-2 piglet care)
• Implementation
– Implement incrementally
– Make decisions and adjustments based on data and
performance

23. Identification of measures
predictive of age at first puberty
Kody L. Graves, Bethany Mordhorst,
Nicole Oldfather, Elane C. Wright,
Benjamin Hale, Aileen F. Keating,
Ken Stalder, Jason W. Ross

24. What is the importance of age of first
puberty?
• Impacts the profitability of a swine enterprise.
• Gilts that demonstrate puberty early have less non-
productive days than those that demonstrate first
estrus late.
• Age at first puberty is an indicators of lifetime
productivity.
• Lifetime productivity lacks heritability and can be
influenced by environment.

25. Age of Puberty Impacts Fallout
Patterson et al., 2010 J. Anim Science

26. Variation in Prepubertal Follicular
Development
Day 98 ± 4 days
N = 21 N = 27
Ross, Keating and Baumgard, unpublished.

27. Hypothesis
• Gilts that demonstrate follicular activity earliest
will achieve puberty earliest. Additionally, these
gilts will be phenotypically distinct in at least one
physiological parameter.

28. Objectives
• To identify a specific time when a cohort of gilts
demonstrate variability with regard to follicular
development.
• To determine the feasibility measuring parameters related
to follicular development during prepubertal development.
– Vulva development
– Serum estradiol
– Body weight
• To determine if those factors have a relationship with age
of puberty.

29. Experimental Design
• 155 Gilts ± 2 days of age
• On Days 75, 85, 95, 105, 115 of age:
– Body weight
– Measure vulva width, vulva length
– Blood draw
– Sacrificed 10 gilts
• Recorded follicular development
• Uterine weight

30. Experimental Design
• Remaining 105 Gilts
– Heat checked daily
– Beginning at 129 days of age
– Ending at 200 days of age
• Determine association between phenotypes
on days 75, 85, 95, 105, and 115 and age of
first estrus.

31. Body weight gain during prepubertal
gilt development
90
80
70
Body Weight (Kg)
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
75 85 95 105 115
Day of Age

32. Change in vulva length during
prepubertal development
45
40
35
30
Millimeters
25
20
15
10
5
0
75 85 95 105 115
Day of Age

33. Change in vulva width during
prepubertal development
40
35
30
Millimeters
25
20
15
10
5
0
75 85 95 105 115
Day of Age

34. Change in vulva area during
prepubertal development
1400
1200
1000
Millimeters2
800
600
400
200
0
75 85 95 105 115
Day of Age

35. Prepubertal Follicle Development
12
No Follicle develoment
10
< 10 small follicles
Frequency
8
10->100 small follicles
6
4
2
0
75 85 95 105 115
Day of Age

36. Uterine Weight of Gilts Sacrificed
during Prepubertal Development
80
Uterine Weight (grams)
d
70 Day Effect P < 0.001
60 d
50
40 c
30 bc
20 ab
10
0
75 85 95 105 115
Day of Age

37. Distribution of Age of First Estrus
30
25
20
Frequency
15
10
5
0
Day of Age

38. Body weight association with ability to
achieve puberty by 200 days
χ2 = .75 .57 .61 .78 .65
90
80
70 Estrus
60 No Estrus
Kilograms
50
40
30
20
10
0
75 85 95 105 115
Day of Age

39. Body weight at Day 75 is correlated to
age at first estrus
55
r = -0.217
50
Day 75 body weight (Kg)
P =0.055
45
40
35
30
25
135 155 175 195
Age of First Estrus

40. Relationship between body weight on days
75 and 115 and age of puberty onset
90% 85%
80% 77% 77% 77%
72% 73% 180 69% 69%
70%
Percentage
60% 200 60%
60% 54%
50% 46%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Top Quartile Two Quartiles
Middle Bottom Quartile Top Quartile Two Quartiles
Middle Bottom Quartile
r = -0.217 r = -0.102
P = 0.055 Day 75 Day 115 P = 0.37

41. Vulva Length association with puberty
by 200 days
χ2 = .97 .93 .10 .69 .47
50
40 Estrus
Millimeters
30 No Estrus
20
10
0
75 85 95 105 115
Day of Age

42. Vulva Width association with puberty
by 200 days
χ2 = .56 .74 .07 .24 .84
40
35 Estrus
30 No Estrus
Millimeters
25
20
15
10
5
0
75 85 95 105 115
Day of Age

43. Correlation between Vulva Width at
Day 105 to age at first estrus
45 r = -0.20
Day 105 Vulva Width (mm)
P = 0.07
40
35
30
25
20
140 150 160 170 180 190 200
Age of First Estrus

44. Correlation between Vulva Width at
Day 115 to age at first estrus
45 r = -0.28
Day 115 Vulva Width (mm)
P = 0.01
40
35
30
25
20
140 150 160 170 180 190 200
Age of First Estrus

45. Vulva Area association with puberty by
180 days of age
< 1 St. Dev. Of Mean
Within or > 1 St. Dev of Mean
70%
Total
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
75 85 95 105 115

46. Retrospective Analysis
90
Cyclic by day 160
80
Non-Cyclic by day 200
Plasma Concentration (ng/mL)
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
85 95 Day of Age 105 115

47. Summary and Implications
• These data demonstrate an association between vulva
development on day 95 and ability to achieve puberty
by 200 days.
• Of those animals that achieved puberty by 200 days:
– body weight at day 75 and vulva width at days 105 and 115
were significantly correlated to age at first estrus.
• These developmental time-points represent specific
days in age that observations can be made to
distinguish gilts with high and low probability of
achieving puberty by 200 days of age.

48. Questions?
Dr. Hanneke Feitsma Talk:
https://connect.extension.iastate.edu/p78w1zjzjm9/
Jason Ross Contact: jwross@iastate.edu