Generation by generation, DanBred has been selecting the best genes for future breeding with the aim to produce world-class finisher pigs. A great deal of the success with the excellent finisher traits is thanks to our terminal line: the DanBred Duroc.
Top of the class
Through the years, DanBred Duroc has been a part of many tests, and every time, DanBred Duroc has showed outstanding performance – particularly, regarding feed efficiency, lean meat percentage, and daily gain. It is also underlined that DanBred Duroc can perform its best, i.e. ensure the lowest costs of production for you, when it is tended according to the recommendations that DanBred’s R&D department has for the breed.
In a French study, led by the French Chambers of Agriculture and the French Pork and Pig Institute (IFIP), from 2021, DanBred Duroc stood the test! It was compared with three other Duroc sire lines as well as Piètrain, as Piètrain is the most frequently used boar genetics in France. The results showed that DanBred Duroc’s offspring performed exceptionally well compared to the other lines, whether that was in the farrowing unit, where the survival rates were considerably higher, or in the weaner and finisher units, where the offspring had excellent feed efficiency and superior daily gain, combined with a higher lean meat percentage. All in all, the study established that DanBred Duroc has supreme finisher traits as well as great carcass yield per finisher pig.
An earlier study from SEGES Innovation also demonstrated DanBred Duroc’s efficiency, as is showed that using DanBred Duroc – instead of Piètrain – gave an economic reward of 1.75 EUR (13 DKK) per pig from birth to slaughter [1].
The numbers speak for themselves
What is at least just as important as scientific results are that the exceptional improvements for finisher traits that also manifests in your production! And we give a lot of the credit to DanBred Duroc.
You, as a pig producer, have seen the improvement directly in your own production – on your results as well as your bottom line: reduced days until slaughter, and a lower total feed consumption – without compromising the incredible meat quality.
The Duroc – an important piece of the breeding puzzle
DanBred Duroc is one of the cornerstones in DanBred’s breeding programme: it is used as the terminal sire line in DanBred’s three-way crossbreeding programme. In combination with the DanBred Hybrid production sow (the first cross between DanBred Landrace and DanBred Yorkshire), the DanBred Duroc produces some of the world’s most competitive finishers.
DanBred Duroc’s genetics contribute to very strong weaners and profitable results in the finishers. This manifests in the production herds with an excellent daily gain, feed conversion ratio, and high lean meat percentage, as shown in Table 1.
Table 1: Production level in finisher herds [2]
| Items | Production level* |
|---|---|
| Daily gain, g/day | 1,087 |
| Feed conversion ratio, kg feed/kg gain | 2.4 |
| Lean meat, % | 62.6 |
Good for your bottom line and the climate
With high feed efficiency and meat quality, DanBred Duroc ensures more pork for less costs, which results in a higher profit for you.
The breed’s efficient genetics are not only profitable for the pig producers, it is also a step in the right direction towards reducing the carbon footprint, as you can produce more pork with better utilisation of all the resources.
Therefore, with DanBred Duroc as the terminal sire, you make sure your business is highly competitive by producing pork with the lowest costs of production.
The history behind the Duroc
DanBred Duroc originates from North America and the breed was imported to Denmark in the 1970s. Through decades of professional selection, the breed has been genetically improved particularly in regard to daily gain and feed efficiency.
References
[1] Danish Agriculture & Food Council, Pigs (2017). Duroc slår Pietrain. https://svineproduktion.dk/aktuelt/nyheder/2017/10/241017_duroc_slaar_pietrain
[2] Hansen, C. (2021). Analysis of productivity in selected DanBred herds – 2020. Note no. 2136. SEGES Innovation. https://pigresearchcentre.dk/-/media/PDF/English-site/Publikationer/Notat_2136_UK.ashx
