Having a daily feed supply available for sows, piglets, and market pigs is important for their growth and general well-being. Whether feed is manufactured on-farm or off-site, feed delivery dates must be determined ahead of time to allow for manufacturing, delivery, and placement in feeders in a timely manner to avoid out-of-feed events.
A study in 2005 reported that out-of-feed events are a known cause of ulcers in pigs and are suspected to be associated with an increased incidence of hemorrhagic bowel syndrome and ileitis. A study in 2007 reported that out-of-feed events of 20 hours or less did not have long-term detrimental effects on growth performance in nursery or grow-finish pigs. The goal is to prevent lengthy out-of-feed events that create significant stress or, in extreme cases, savaging.
Unexpected incidents can derail your plan to have a timely feed supply. While some incidents are unforeseeable, all events can be minimized through contingency planning. A contingency plan is a “plan B” that helps your farm and employees address specific situations or incidents that may or may not be out of their control. The contingency plan describes how your team should react if something interrupts the normal course of business.
Examples of Potential Interruptions
- Weather: A major winter snow or ice storm may not allow, or could severely limit, feed deliveries for an unknown period. Flooding incidents may also be a localized issue.
- Feed mill shutdown or breakdown: Equipment failure of the mixer, scales, or grain/ingredient leg may prevent or severely limit feed manufacturing. Other mill defaults may be due to a power outage or fire, or an ingredient shortage, contamination, or recall.
- Human error: A feed bin may be empty because the feed was not ordered, the order was not placed in the production schedule, or the feed order was delivered to the wrong bin or production site.
- Federal or state regulation: During a Foreign Animal Disease (FAD) investigation, there could be a Stop-Movement order for feed. This requires a minimum period of 72 hours during which off-site feed deliveries would be halted.
- Equipment malfunction: Feed auger lines may break, motors may stop working, and other in-barn equipment may fail.
Why Contingency Plans are Critical
- Save time: No need to stop to develop a plan. During adversity, simply assess the situation and implement the contingency plan.
- Save money: Downtime is costly, and contingency plans limit the costs.
- Decrease recovery time: Contingency plans redirect everyone so what they are doing is productive despite the adverse incident.
- Reduce stress: Preplanning for impending weather events or other disruptions eases stress on people, pigs, and equipment.
Contingency Planning Considerations
- Understand current feed system constraints: Commercial feed mills may require 24-48 hours’ notice to schedule a feed order. Same-day or weekend orders may not always be filled based on driver availability and milling schedules. Plan ahead during the winter months to prevent last-minute ordering. Even with the correct ordering allowance, orders may not be filled if a major storm severely limits feed deliveries for even one day. If a large commercial feed mill is operating at 95% capacity and cannot deliver production for a day, it may take them three or four days to complete previous orders. Secondary mills should be identified in the contingency plan, and a set of simplified diets should be kept with that mill in case the current mill is incapacitated due to high winds, fires, or tornadic damage.
- Establish current status: Understanding how much feed is being consumed daily in each barn allows for accurate feed ordering and planning. While some feed budgeting software can assist producers with this, others can create charts that demonstrate estimated feed intake per pig per day or total barn by week of placement. Growing pigs typically consume 4-6% of their body weight daily.
An accurate inventory of how much feed is available in each building (bulk bins plus feeders) also should be kept. Technology such as bin scales can be used to provide these estimates, or producers can create graphs that show roughly how much feed is in each bin, based on counting the bin rings and feed location within the bulk bin. All of this data provides enough information to estimate how many days of feed are available. Furthermore, farm staff should work toward creating a proactive approach around feed ordering when there are chances of feed delivery being delayed to a site.
Examples:
- Proactive approach: If a major storm is forecast, can you order feed early?
- Reactive approach: The feed mill is down, so no feed delivery today. When will you be out of feed?
- Equipment malfunction: Having backup equipment on hand, as well as training staff on how to replace motors or repair auger lines, should be considered.
Management Considerations of a Contingency Plan
- Secondary (backup) feed mill to supply feed: As mentioned, whether a producer uses a dedicated commercial feed mill or has an on-farm feed mill, one should consider developing a relationship with another mill. Establish an account, create a few simple diets that can be used in an emergency with common mill ingredients and pre-mix packs, and learn what details they need to manufacture and deliver feed to you.
- Stretch the existing feed inventory: One option is to control feed access to the pigs. This can be done in various ways but may require additional labor. Restricting the flow of feed through the feeder by tightening the feeder may be the most effective. Excessive restriction may lead to fighting and potentially other behaviors like tail-biting.
- Maintain 72 hours of feed inventory: By knowing the pig inventory and the daily feed intake at various pig weights, a minimum target of pounds of feed to be inventoried can be established. The logistics of bin management and capacity each play a role.
