At World Premix’s pig farm in the Netherlands, they love having visitors from around the world, showing the pigs in the stables, explaining their feeding concepts and how simple management leads to fantastic results. The farm functions as a demo farm for developing feeding concepts and as a training center for customers and employees at World Premix. At the farm, the genetic potential has been unlocked, demonstrating how feed, genetics, and management can deliver some of the best results in the world.
Over the past years, the demo farm, a modern large-scale commercial farm with 1,040 sows, has undergone a major improvement in productivity. This is especially evident in piglet survival and the number of weaned piglets per sow per year. The results began to appear after shifting to new generations of DanBred Hybrid, supported by getting DanBred Duroc as their terminal boar in 2024.
We have talked with Paul van der Steijn, CEO, and Harm Frencken, Sales and Advice at World Premix to hear about the success behind achieving 40.4 weaned piglets per sow per year, combined with an improvement in piglet survival of 7.8% in only two years.
DanBred Duroc enhances piglet survival
At the World Premix demofarm, they use DanBred genetics because of specific demands in the German market in terms of finisher quality – World Premix already knew that the combination of good genetics and the right feed delivers strong results.
World Premix has a long history in pig feed production and goes three generations back. In 2012, they started their own sow herd to do their own tests in feed and management concepts. Their goal is to ensure constant feed quality and tailored advice by “keep it simple” which is one of their favorite mottos to help customers achieve results. As for DanBred, this is a motto we fully share.
”We really enjoy having visitors at our farm, where we can show people our management approach and how the feed concepts are working in practice. Nothing works better to show people the full experience says” Paul van der Steijn.
In 2024 the herd changed their terminal boar line to DanBred Duroc with an immediate further improvement of the results in the number of weaned piglets due to a better survival.
+7.6% piglet survival in only two years
An improvement from 33.2 to 40.4 weaned piglets per sow per year in just two years is a result that will have high interest from most pig producers. This fantastic result comes from a 7.6% improvement in piglet survival and a 2.5% increase in the number of live born piglets in the same period. In addition, the farrowing rate has improved and is now above 90%, together with a sow survival of 91%.
“We could clearly see a difference in piglet survival after we switched to DanBred Duroc away from Piétrain. Right away, the results showed that DanBred genetics place a strong emphasis on piglet survival in their terminal line,” says Harm Frencken.
It all starts with the gilts
When they first started working with the DanBred Hybrid, they quickly saw that it is a highly productive sow with excellent colostrum and milk production. In terms of milk production, a high water intake is essential.
“Make sure she gets enough water. It is simple but it is crucial for the sows in so many areas. By having clear routines, checking water flow in every pen and looking at the urine, you are already a long way there,” Harm Frencken explains.
Focusing on both gaining and regaining backfat is key to releasing the full genetic potential of the DanBred Hybrid.
“If we make sure to provide the gilts and sows with the right feed – slightly higher in fibre and lower in protein – we see the best quality and quantity of newborn piglets,” says Harm Frencken.
Another characteristic of the DanBred Hybrid that became clear from the beginning is its calm behaviour. When walking through the gestation or mating units, the sows are consistently calm.
Many piglets are raised by their own mother
Harm Frencken explains that he strongly believes the DanBred Hybrid is a good mother with excellent milk production. She makes sure that the piglets have a strong weaning weight, which is also a result of raising many piglets herself. Today, the farm’s average number of weaned pigs per litter is 17.6.
“We use split suckling during the first six hours after farrowing because it is very important that newborn piglets get enough colostrum and empty the udder in the first hours. This helps ensure proper milk production and avoids an overfilled udder,” Harm Frencken explains.
