Herd performance monitoring (PigSys)

Herd performance monitoring is provided using the Teagasc PigSys Analysis Programme. PigSys has now been upgraded and incorporated into the Teagasc e-Profit Monitor System in October 2013. Existing client data has been transferred to the new system. This system provides clients and their Pig Development Officer with up to date detailed information on the technical and financial performance of the herd and helps form the basis for the advisory service delivered to clients.

The data from all participating herds is amalgamated annually to provide national information on the technical performance, costs of production and margins in the sector. This national database is the source of benchmarking targets such as average, top 25% and top 10% of herds selected on specific parameters. It is also the source of the benchmarking information used to compare costs of production in Ireland with other international pig producing nations. Herds participating in PigSys have been shown to perform significantly better than non-participating herds (Martin, Proceedings of Teagasc pig conference 2009). The database is an invaluable source for more detailed investigations and the upgraded system allows for more investigative research of the herd performance data to be carried out.