Topigs Breeding database, has reached 20 million pigs

TOPIGS breeding database, now contains data from more than 20 million breeding pigs.

With this it is by far the biggest database of its kind in the world.

The piglet that became the 20 millionth pig in Pigbase was born on 15 February at the TOPIGS nucleus breeding farm in Rio Verde, Brazil.

In Pigbase, all data from TOPIGS breeding pigs are checked and stored so that the breeding values of all current breeding pigs can be calculated on a daily basis. That facilitates a more precise selection for a quick and balanced genetic progress.

This results in pigs with a high predisposition for traditional key outcomes such as carcass quality, growth, feed conversion, litter size et cetera.

Yet in addition to these, new characteristics such as vitality, sustainability, mothering characteristics and social behaviour are also genetically improved in the TOPIGS breeding programme.

Pigbase links the TOPIGS breeding farms with each other, thus creating a single large population of breeding pigs. Worldwide a total of more than 800 breeding farms are included in Pigbase.

A breeding value of a sow in the Netherlands is therefore partly determined by the performances of its family members living in, for example, Germany, Spain or Canada.

Through this combination “robustness’’ under various conditions is also selected for.

For the users of TOPIGS genetics, all of this means that they can achieve perfect results with pigs that have the highest possible genetic quality.

Moreover, these pigs have been bred in a balanced manner to guarantee sufficient health and welfare so as to meet the high demands placed on animal welfare by society.

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