The expansion of the more efficient producers causes profit margins to decrease. Thus, it is increasingly important that each pork producer carefully consider genetic options. Only progressive pork producers utilizing seedstock with superior genetic potential arising from strategic selection practices remain competitive. Pork producers must exploit the power of genetic improvement programs in order to improve their production efficiency. While most commercial producers are aware of the dollar returns associated with investments in improved management, the majority fail to realize the substantial economic impact of genetic improvement.
Selection based upon performance data can be highly profitable for pork producers.
Long term improvement of a commercial producer's swine herd, however, is dependent upon implementation of sound genetic improvement programs in seedstock herds. The 1936 Yearbook of Agriculture included a section addressing breeding problems in the swine industry. The same might be said to apply today. Breed complementarily means using breeds in a cross breeding program in such a way as to combine their strengths, e.g., using a breed with good lean tissue growth rate and feed efficiency to sire market hogs and breeds with superior reproductive performance as dams of market hogs. Heterosis, the difference in performance between crossbreds and the average of the parental breeds, is relatively large for traits associated with reproduction, moderate for growth rate, and low for feed efficiency and carcass traits.