Previous Page Table of Contents Next Page


Breeding strategies for cattle, pigs and sheep in Slovenia - F. Habe, J. Polgacar, M. Kovac, D. Kompan


F. Habe, J. Pogacar, M. Kovac and D. Kompan
University of Ljubjana, Zootechnical Department, Domzale, Slovenia

Introduction

Slovenia has almost two million people and an area of 20 255 km’. It belongs to the group of small European countries, and has declared their independence only in 1991, Slovenia became a member of the United Nations in 1992, of the FAO in 1993 and is one of the founding member of the WTO as from last year. Negotiations on EU associate membership of Slovenia are under way.

Slovenia has a very varied topography and therefore offers difficult conditions for farming, Over 50 % of the land is occupied by forest, while farmland accounts only for 42 %. Sixty-five per cent of the Slovenian farmland is actually grassland, hence it is suitable only for ruminants, Farms are mostly oriented towards labor-intensive dairy farming, consequently there is an over production of milk (about 30 %), while beef production is insufficient.

Agriculture represents only about 5 % of the GDP (Table 1) and its share even declined below this figure in recent years. The southern republics of the former Yugoslavia were an important market for our animal products, they supplied also raw materials (grains) and calves for fattening.

Table 1 Indicators of the Slovenian agriculture


1990

1991

1992

1993

1994

1995

GDP ($m at current prices)

17381

12673

12365

12472

14037

14360

GDP per capita (Sm)

8823

6450

6133

6366

6957

7300

Agriculture as share of GDP (%)

5.2

5.4

5.3

4.9

4.9

4.7

Industry as share of GDP (%)

41.8

44.6

40.5

38.4

38.1

3X.8

Services as share of GDP (%)

53.0

50.0

54.2

56.7

56.9

56.5

Change in GDP (%)

- 4.1

-8.1

-5.4

1.3

5.0

5.0

Change in agr. GDP (%)

- 1.6

-3.4

-5.9

3.1

1.6

2.5

Change in ind. GDP (%)

- 10.2

- 11.3

11.6

- 2.6

6.4

5.1

Change in serv. GDP (%)

0.4

- 6.3

1.2

4.0

4.2

5.1

Inflation (%)

550

118

201

32

19.8

under 10

Unemployment (%)

4.7

8.2

11.5

14.4

14.4

13.3

Therefore, the loss of this market after the independence was followed by a decline of the agriculture GDP share. In Slovenia over half of population lives in rural areas. Hence farming is more important than its share in GDP might indicate. For this reason the State, having introduced a protective import and price policy, is increasing the scope of its intervention in agriculture and rural development.

Most of the Slovenian farmland (93 %) is owned by private farmers. The rest are large state - owned farms, there are still 203 agricultural enterprises with an average of 303 ha. The problem is that Slovenian farms are very small, an average farm has only 4.1 ha. Almost half of them have less than two hectares and only 6 % of the farms own more than 10 hectares.

Only 21 % of farms are full - time farms, the largest group are part-time farms their number is growing and that of other farms has been decreasing. Sloven people are traditionally and emotionally attached to the soil and therefore hesitate to sell it or lease it out.

The Slovenian Parliament adopted the Slovenian Agriculture Strategy in 1993. According to this document family farms would be the main farming force in Slovenia. Almost 70 % of Slovenian farmers income come from animal production. So the Government has endeavored to stop the decrease of animal population and production during this difficult transition period. The Government adopted price policy and protective import and export subsidies, hence a large part of the expenses for breeding, milk recording, inseminations, extension and for other services needed in animal production were financed by the State.

Table 2. The number of domestic animals between the years 1960 - 1994 in Slovenia

Year

Number of animals (in 1000)

Share of animals in private farms, %

pigs

horses

cattle

sheep

poultry

pigs

horses

cattle

sheep

poultry

1960

509

59

533

62

2171

98

99

94

100

95

1965

500

51

545

37

2688

88

99

86

100

70

1970

449

45

493

31

4178

82

99

92

100

53

1975

468

32

555

23

7168

79

99

90

98

29

1980

467

19

558

14

10535

72

99

89

100

15

1985

620

16

577

26

13853

62

99

87

98

11

1990

558

11

546

23

13521

56

99

84

99

10

1991

588

10

533

20

12766

54

99

86

98

11

1992

529

8

484

28

13134

53

99

85

99

15

1993

602

8

504

21

11424

58

99

88

98

11

1994

592

8

471

19

10592

59

99

91

96

11

Calculated by the OECD PSE (Producer Subsidy Equivalent) method, this support to the Slovenian agriculture accounted for 32 % in 1992, 29 % in 1993 and 36 % in 1994. Eighty per cent of all the assistance to Slovenian agriculture is dedicated to market price supports and a large part of it to animal products.

Professional work on animal breeding, insemination, production recording, testing, and registration of animals is organized in the same way, or in a similar way, as in the other West European countries. It is mainly financed by the Ministry of Agriculture through its budget.

Since the beginning of the 60’s our institutions collaborate and have contacts with various federal or regional institutions and associations in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, USA, France and others. Primarily, it concerns the exchange of genetic material, know-how and methods, As a result of this collaboration and of the education of our young scientists in Western Europe and in the USA, as well as of the results of our own research activities. We are up to date with our strategy for cattle, pig and sheep breeding which is compatible with that of our Western European neighbors. Slovenia and its breeding associations are members of all important and relevant international organizations like FAO, WHO, EAAP, ICAR, INTERBULL, and the European or World Associations for Brown, Simmental and Holstein-Friesian cattle etc.

Cattle breeding in Slovenia

Unless the structure and property of agricultural land in Slovenia is of cooperatives nature, (Table 3), 54 % of total agricultural land is owned by 112 000 family farms, i.e. 4.1 ha of agricultural land per family farm. Only 5 % of the family farms own more than 14 ha of land and they cultivate 10 % of the total agricultural land. In the European Union farms with 14 ha and more of agricultural land cultivate 75 % of total agricultural land.

There are 203 agricultural enterprises that hold 7.1 % of the agricultural land Agricultural enterprises (evolved from the formerly social agricultural estates) are being dissolved 40 % of their land will be returned to the original owners. Those enterprises hold better land and are more productive, i.e.: their production represents 3 1 % of the total agricultural output.

Table 3. Agricultural resources and farm structure in Slovenia


Family
farms

Agricultural
enterprises

Others

Total

Number of farms

111951

203



Agricultural land (ha)

463 944

61 518

336 972

862 434


- % of total

53.8 %

7.1 %

39.1 %

100.0 %

- average farm size (ha)

4.1

303.0



Arable land (ha)

165 675

29 300

50 457

245 432


- % of total

67.5 %

11.9 %

20.6 %

100.0 %

Meadows and permanent pastures (ha)

279 423

25 961

252 595

557 979


- % of total




100.0 %

In the last ten years the cattle number decreased by 17 %, so that in 1994 there were 477 548 cattle in Slovenia, of which: 211 678 were cows and 26 206 were pregnant heifers.

The breed composition: Simmental 57 %, Brown 28 %, Black and White 13 %, crossbred animals and the rest 2 %.

Dairies purchase milk from 67 % of cows. It is estimated that milk and dairy products from 18 % of cows are sold at home, whereas 15 % are suckler and foster cows, i.e. for meat production and partly for home consumption. The herd size on family farms which are selling milk is small but is improving.

In 1994 374 678 312 kg milk were purchased by the dairies.

In 1994, 562 million kg of milk were produced of which 486 million kg were consumed, so the estimated self-sufficiency was 116 %.

In 1994, 35 000 tons of beef were produced, total consumption was 42 000 tons, hence self-sufficiency was 84 %.

Table 4. Number of cattle breeders that sell milk to dairies with reference to Herd size

Year

Number of cows per herd

Total

1 - 4

5 - 9

10 - 14

15 - 100

over 100*

No.

%

No.

%

No.

%

No.

%

No.

%

No.

%

1980

40 862

78.2

10051

19.2

1 117

2.1

191

0.4

55

0.1

52 276

100.0

1990

32 064

73.5

9 300

21.3

1571

3.6

678

1.5

40

0.1

43 653

100.0

1994

20 543

64.8

7 869

24.9

2 478

7.8

784

2.4

31

0.1

31 705

100.0

*enterprises

Table 5. Total number of cows and herds the milk of which is sold to dairies

Year

Family farms

Enterprises

Total

cows

Herds

Average cows per herd

cows

Herds

Average cows per herd

cows

1980

145327

52221

2.78

9 993

55

181.6

154 320

1990

154072

43613

3.53

7 920

40

198.0

161 992

1994

135132

31674

4.27

6 539

31

211.8

141 671

Table 6. Total purchased milk by the dairies

Year

Family farms

Enterprises

Slovenia

Total

Per cow

Total

Per cow

Total

Per cow

1980

250760483

1 727

49 000 337

4 904

299 760 820

1 943

1990

311696710

2 023

45615691

5 760

357 312 401

2 206

1994

335 016416

2 539

39 661 796

6 065

374 678 312

2 645

Organization of cattle breeding

Expert work in cattle breeding is carried oat by the Cattle Breeding Service of Slovenia

The Cattle Breeding Service is a public service financed by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.

Its main tasks are: milk recording and registration of animals, breeding program (testing and assessment of breeding value), pedigree service (pedigree certificates and central registration), reproduction

The Service operates on three levels:

Central Cattle Breeding Service in which four institutions cooperate and perform their tasks according to the program:

- Agricultural Institute of Slovenia, Ljubljana
- Biotechnical Faculty, Zootechnical Department, Domiale
- Veterinary Faculty Ljubljana
- Agricultural Faculty Maribor

The Central Service is responsible for the following activities:

- prepares breeding programs;
- co-ordinates activities and represents the Service in the country and abroad;
- processes milk recording data;
- estimates breeding values for all traits;
- forms the central data base on cows and bulls;
- arranges registration numbering of animals;
- publishes various publications, annual reports, sire catalogues.

District Institutions (6 institutions that are located in Murska Sobota, Ptuj, Celje, Ljubljnna, Kranj and Nova Gorica):

- register animals locally;
- perform milk recording and analyzing milk samples to determine its composition;
- collect data for breeding program (exterior evaluation of animals, milking ability);
- select bull dams;
- sire bull dams;
- select offspring for the performance test and progeny test stations and perform tests;
- print pedigree certificates;
- cooperate with breeding associations in exhibitions.

Insemination Service

There are two insemination centres:

- in Ptuj for Simmental breed;
- at Preska near Ljubljana for Brown, Black and White and meat breeds

The insemination centres are parts of the district institutions of Ptuj and Ljubljana.

Insemination is carried out by experts on the ground of concessions granted by breeding programs for different breeds.

Breeders are associated in Cattle Breeding Associations that operate at local, district and country level

Breeders from local and district associations are associated according to the breed affiliation or production orientation into unions:

- union for Simmental breed;
- union for Brown breed;
- union for Black and White breed;
- union for meat breeds and meat production.

Breed unions and cattle breeding associations are linked up to the Association of Cattle Breeders of Slovenia which is located in Ljubljana. Membership in breeders associations is voluntary. The president of the association is a breeder, but there is always an expert who is employed as secretary at the Cattle Breeding Service or at the Advisory Service.

Cattle Breeding Associations:

- cooperate in forming prices, and as regards State reimbursement and stimulation;
- cooperate with the Cattle Breeding Service in defining the breeding goal and selection programs;
- organize the sale of breeding animals together with district institutions;
- organize exhibitions of animals together with district institutions;
- influence the activity of Advisory Service.

Milk recording and registration of animals

The first breeders association that initiated milk recording in Slovenia was founded in 1909. Since 1986 Slovenia has been a fully-fledged member of ICAR and INTERBULL as well.

The A4-method and the calculation of the finished lactations by No-2 (ICAR) have been introduced.

Table 7. Number and percentage of milk recorded cows

Year of recording

Total No. of cows

No. of cows for milk production

No. of milk recorded cows

No. of finished lactation

% of milk recorded cows

1980

226 036

154 320

45 290

32 480

20.0

1990

220 266

161 992

58 124

50 994

26.4

1994

211 678

141 671

63 376

52 392

30.0

Table 8. Number of milk recorded cows and herds in 1994

Owner

No. of cows

No. of herds

Average No. of cows per herd

Enterprise

6 567

31

211.8

Farms

56 809

7 797

7.3

Total

63 376

7 828

8.1

Table 9. Average milk production per cow in 1994 in 30.5 day standard lactation

Breed

No. of milk
recorded cows

Milk kg

Fat kg

Protein kg

Fat %

Protein %

Simmental

30 362

3 630

141 8

1174

3.91

3.23

Brown

17 541

4 147

1626

1309

3.92

3.16

Black and White

15 022

5 703

217 6

175 9

3.82

3.10

All breeds


4 285

1663

135 1

3.88

3.17

Milk recording and numbering of animals are provided by 240 controllers that are employed by the District Institutions of Cattle Breeding Service.

Breeding program

Out of about 210 000 cows and 25 000 pregnant heifers 200 000 (or 85 %) have been inseminate; 65 000 cows or 30 % of the whole population and 36 % of dairy cows are milk recorded. About 600 cows are selected as bull dams every year, which means less than 1 % of milk recorded cows. Those cows are sired by the elite of imported or domestic bulls. About 180 young sires for reproduction are bred in two centres. After the performance test that lasts between 165 and 365 days are completed, 50 sires are selected every year according to the test results and placed in the insemination centres. Between 40 and 50 % cows are serviced by young sires and between 50 and 60 % are inseminated by means of semen of proven sires. It means that test results turn out to be positive for every third or fourth sire but only every thirtieth or fiftieth sire gets the best scores.

Each young sire produces first 3,000 to 5,000 semen doses. After the beginning of inseminations a sire waits until the final results of the test. During the waiting period between 10 000 and 20 000 semen doses are taken and stored. Afterwards bulls are slaughtered.

Parameters of breeding program as regards the breeds:


Black and White

Brown

Simmental

Cows and pregnant heifers

30 000

70 000

130 000

Milk recorded cows

16 000

18 000

31 000

Bull dams

60

180

360

Sires in performance test

20

60

120

Young sires

8

16

26

Positive tested and selected sires

2

4

10

Breeding values for milk production traits, kg of milk, kg of fat, kg of protein, fat and protein contents are estimated once a year for all milk recorded cows. The eventual bull dams are selected on the base of IFP index (fat and protein index), which is as follows:

IFP = 2*BV kg protein + BV kg fat

Table 10. Standard deviation for IFP and percentage of cows with IFP higher than 60 kg iI1


SD(IFP) kg

% of cows

Sin-mental

27.8

3.0

Brown

25.3

2.4

Black and White

27.3

2.3

All eventual bull dams have estimated milking ability defined as the average milking speed at two successive milkings. A cow cannot become a bull dam if its milking speed ranks among that of the lower 40 % of population.

A cow is chosen as a bull dam if its conformation, type and udder are above average and if it scores 7 or more points for each of the mentioned conformation traits.

All bulls of mating plan are selected and tested in two centres:

- in Murska, Sobota Simmental bulls are reared, 120 bulls can be accommodated;
- in Nova, Gorica Brown and Black and White bulls are reared, there is room for 80 bulls.

Table II. Average values of selected bull dams in 1994

Breed

Breeding value for

In 305 days

Height of withers cm

Milk kg

Fat kg

Protein, kg

Milk kg

Fat %

Protein %

Simmental

+ 539

+ 22.1

+ 17.8

5,201

4.02

3.30

135.8

Brown

+ 609

+ 27.5

+ 18.5

6,014

4.10

3.24

137.8

Black and White

+ 499

+ 22.8

+ 18.2

7,862

4.06

3.14

141.9

Bulls are selected on the basis of daily gain through performance tests. Beside a bull own daily gain, the half brother daily gain, pedigree index of father and mother for milk production and conformation scores are considered as well.

All Young sires that are retained for artificial insemination wait for test results obtained by their offspring, and have BV estimated as regards: milk production traits, daily gain and meat production, secondary traits.

All Brown and Simmental sires that are selected for the insemination program are tested for growth and carcass traits on the basis of random selected 12 to 15 sons. Tests are performed at two progeny test stations:

- in Logatec, Brown and meat breed sires are tested, there is room for 200 bulls;
- in Rogoza, near Maribor, Simmental bulls are tested, 300 bulls can be accommodated.

The test lasts from 150 kg live weight to slaughter maturity at 550 to 600 kg.

About half of the bulls from the test stations are dissected in the slaughterhouse at the Zootechnical Department of Biotechnical Faculty, SO that all bulls are evaluated as regards net weight gain and carcass composition.

Sheep breeding in Slovenia

Between the years 1990 and 1995 the number of sheep was slightly increased while the number of goats augmented by 34 to 40 per cent. At the moment the breeders are keeping about 30 000 sheep and 20 000 goats. Sheep are bred for meat (70 %) and for milk (30 %). Lambs are subjected to more intensive rearing. Nevertheless, only 50 % of the animals kept at a suitable level of intensive rearing while the others are bred extensively: therefore, they are of worse quality. In the last three or four years the demand has overtaken the supply, therefore prices of lambs increased. Especially in 1995, some small farms have changed from cattle to sheep production. Some notable changes have been observed also in goat breeding because new breeders have appeared. In most cases goat milk produced by small units.

Table 12. Production goals between 1994 and 1997

Year

No. of animals*

Meat (t)**

Milk (000l)***

1994

45,000

700

5500

1996

60,000

1000

7000

* 65 % of sheep and 35 % of goats
** meat from sheep, goats, lambs and kids (a11 meat production of slaughter meat)
*** sheep and goat milk, produced in small units

Breed composition

- Sheep: Jezersko-Solcavska sheep, Jezersko-Solcavska crossbred, Bovska, Bovska crossbred, Istrian Pramenka. A texel breed is used as final breed for crossbreeding. Other breeds should be tested if they are to be used for crossbreeding.

- Goats: Sanska type and roe-type goats for milk production. Home breed Balkans goats and some crossbreeds will be crossed with the mentioned roe-type and Sanska type goats.

Other breeds (meat type is reared in Germany) have to be tested before use.

Types of breeding

Small ruminants are kept mostly on pasture, or even in the mountainous region during the summer. In the Alpine and Pre-Alpine region meat types of sheep and goats are bred for milk production. In the Kars and in the other regions with more difficult conditions sheep for milk production as well as dairy goat breeds can be found.

Professional and selection work

These activities are financed by the government because this kind of animal breeding has just been introduced. New test stations will be required. In 1996 a small test station for Bovska breed will be established and it will be located in the Bovec region.

Selection and production control are the basis of professional and advisory work. Professional service should provide educational programs for advisors and breeders that they can learn more about breeding technology and economics.

System measures

Direct sale, production and as well as marketing of the products should be legalized and regulated by means of market and price policy (final price, different subsidies according to the place of production like in the European Community). Now, only regions with most difficult breeding conditions are granted subsidies.

Other measures

Interventions and subventions measures in support of breeding under difficult conditions (mountains), in the form of direct payments and credits for new and renovated buildings and infrastructure (roads, water supply, telephones, etc.) should be arranged.

Pig production in Slovenia*

The swine population in Slovenia in 1994 accounted for 592 000 head. During the last 12 years it varied from 443 000 to 635 000 head and provided between 65 and 85 % of the quantity of pork consumed. Pigs are reared in throe typos of enterprises: half of pig production (46.6 % in 1992 compared to 22.2 % in 1970) was raised on large industrial farms, and the rest was kept either on small family farms (less than a hundred sows) or by rural people and farmers for domestic use (a few pigs per household).

The eight Sloven industrial farms were built between the years 1969 and 1986. All the farms have multiplying and finishing production activities. They are rearing crossbred gilts, and often more than a half of the herd is producing fattening pigs. The Sloven nucleus herd is located on four of the farms, called selection farms: Ihan, Nemscak, Ptuj, and Podgrad. The large units provide stable environment for selection, and the four locations diminish the risk of disease outbreak. The industry sector is managed by teams of highly specialized experts in various fields, including selection, reproduction, nutrition, and veterinary medicine.

Family farms are small units, with an average herd size of 12 to 14 sows or 50 fattening pigs. They own nearly 8 000 sows and yearly sell between 90 000 and 100 000 fattening pigs to slaughter houses. A large percentage of these farms are low productive and low income units. Frequently the owners are insufficiently educated for managing intensive pig production units and in general do not employ additional manpower. Extension service, spread over all the regions and employs specialists to advise farmers as regards their enterprises. A single person frequently covers all areas of production. The national extension service together with the Zootechnical Department at the University of Ljubljana organizes yearly training courses for extensionists. A family farm may be licensed to produce F1 sows.

A fair proportion of pigs in Slovenia is produced for domestic use. Family farms have traditionally been fattening a couple of pigs for their own use, and a substantial number of farms today specializing in other products as well as rural people who own some land continue to do so and slaughter the animals in their backyards.

The Slovenian Pig Breeding Program

The Slovenian Pig Breeding Program (SPBP) was formally founded in 1974. All industrial farms and most of the family farms are members. The primary goal of the SPBP is to improve efficiency of pig production via genetic improvement and improvement of management practice by:

- promoting the transfer of genetically superior material to production level;

- providing financial basis for selection;

- providing grounds for unified testing;

- maintaining an integral information system;

- organizing a team of experts of various specialities (geneticists, experts in the field of reproduction, veterinarians, information systems experts, management experts, nutritionists, etc.);

- promoting the sharing and spreading of knowledge.

The SPBP is governed by the Selection Board. The Board includes the President, delegates from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Nutrition; delegates from the Zootechnical Department of the Biotechnical Faculty and Veterinary Faculty of the University of Ljubljana, Form the Agricultural Institute of Slovenia, and representatives of testing stations and of field test farms. The board is responsible for determining development strategies and co-ordinating various activities such as the testing methods, standardization of measurements, data collection, and prediction techniques of breeding value.

Selection has been promoted through a system of subsidies since 1974. Breeders purchase animals for replacement and stock expansion from the nucleus and multiplier herds at the price of slaughter pigs, and the difference is covered from funds accrued from meat sale. This system is quite successful in respect of crossbred sows and proven boars supply to production units, but they do not protect the smallest family enterprises.

Piggy Bank Information system

Computerized swine data analysis on a large scale in Slovenia started in 1975. Due to state policy, nearly half of the swine population was kept in eight locations. This made it possible to organize prompt and regular data collection and to expect high quality of collected data. Members who wish to participate in the subsidiary system are obliged to supply regularly production data to the central data base.

The central data base is located at the Zootechnical Department. Selection, production, management, research, and development are based on the data base kept since 1975 for the whole industrial sector and for part of the family-farms. The data collection to date contains 5 8 442 test records and 82 1 7 13 records of sow reproductive cycles, all coming from the same population over a continuous period of time.

In the field of reproduction, the data collected describe the entire reproduction cycle and its components, taking into consideration the overall period between selection and culling. The definitions for fertility traits as well as and the basic documents within the framework of national breeding program are standardized and revised regularly. The records arc used to evaluate sow and boar fecundity on each of the farms, and to perform comparative analysis among years or farms. Data recording on small or on large farms is identical.

Originally data analysis was centrally performed for all member farms. Data were sent in monthly on paper forms, and reports were returned by mail or telephone. Today, larger units have locally installed computers and organize data collection and evaluation according to regulation and standards accepted by SPBP. They keep their own local data bases and run data analysis for management support and production control. Test data are transferred to the central weekly data base, and reproduction data once or twice a month. The technical service, located at the department, performs regularly on evaluation of breeding values and ranking of breeding and replacement animals. Phenotypic changes are monitored periodically in order to control selection. In addition, the center provides comparative analyzes of sows and boars fertility. Monthly reports with comments and reference to other farms are returned to originators. Besides, quarterly and detailed yearly reports with interpretation of results for each individual breeder are produced by the SPBP experts.

Selection

As a result of former crossbreeding studies, SPBP started with static three-cross breeding scheme using Swedish Landrace (dam) and Large white (sire) as dam lines and German Landrace as terminal sire line. In the smallest extensive herds. a rotational crossbreeding system has been implemented. In 1982, Duroc and Pietrain were introduced as new terminal sire breeds. Duroc was expected to give crosses suitable for producing heavier hogs, while Pietrain was used to improve meatiness of 100 kg slaughter pigs. In the following years, two crossbred lines of boars (L 53 and L 54) have been approved. However, the crossbred terminal boars were abandoned after a few years.

The main breeding objectives in SPBP are growth rate, feed conversion, and leanness for all breeds. Although the same selection and testing procedures were applied, comparison of candidates among herds had been possible before 1987 when animals and semen were exchanged among nucleus herds. Because of the need of heavier slaughter pigs, the testing interval was extended to 120 kg in 1989 for sire lines. Since 1992, more emphasis in iesearch has been given to stress, leanness, and fertility traits.

The prediction of breeding values as well as the analyzes of phenotypic and genetic changes have been performed centrally for all nucleus herds since the foundation of SPBP. During the first few years the contemporary groups consisted of candidates selected in the past three months. Gradually they were replaced by moving averages to a number of weeks conforming to the group size tested per week. In index selection, fixed effects are difficult to handle and this directed us to the idea of applying mixed model methodology (MMM) in pig breeding at the time MMM was only practiced in cattle. The efforts to apply MMM in SPBP started in 1984. It was finally realized by Groeneveld, Kovac, and Wang in PEST and by Kovac in PeRun - a program package for the assessment of dispersion parameters using maximum likelihood approach.

Selection of gilts at the average weight of 105 kg is based on postnatal daily gain and ultrasonic backfat thickness. The on-farm test of gilts is performed under commercial conditions. They are housed in groups. Before measurements are taken, gilts are usually selected for daily gain and condition score, both assessed subjectively. Neither the individual records of preselected animals nor the culling rate arc available. The selection intensity on test is low (about 50 %) and depend to a large extend on the culling rate of sows (demand) and on the number of gilts available (supply).

Selection of boars is carried out in four stages. Boars are first selected at the on-test weight of 30 kg; the best boars from the best liners are taken on the test. The decision is based on subjective scores for growth from birth to on-test weight, parents performance and exterior with daily gain as the most important criteria. Scores are given prior to weighing. Records are available only for animals taken on test.

The second stage of selection is performed at around 60 kg. Between 35 to 70 % of boars are culled at this stage of selection on the basis of daily gain, feed conversion efficiency, and exterior score. Selection intensities are different for the two traits and vary according to breeds.

At 100 kg, boars are selected again for the growth rate and total feed consumption for the entire testing period. Additionally, ultrasonic backfat thickness is taken as the carcass trait. About 6 to 15 % of the top ranking boars are used as replacement stock in the nucleus herd. The bottom ranking boars (35 %) are slaughtered. The rest are ranked and distributed into two groups. The better group is sold to the multiplier level herds and AI stations, and the rest to production level herds.

Breeds used as sire lines sometimes continue the test up to 120 kg. Only boars assigned to the top two groups stay on test. At 120 kg, breeding values are re-evaluated, boar groups are mainly rearranged - only a small proportion of them are culled.

Management

The policy of SPBP in the last years has been to promote management with respect to animal welfare and environmental issues. Pigs in Slovenia have traditionally been produced on small family farms using classical housing systems with littered solid floor. This system required low energy input but involved high work load. Industrial farms (the first in the series of eight was built in 1969) were designed to produce pigs in batches to decrease work requirements. Sows are moved between three units (insemination, waiting to farrow, and furrowing crates) throughout the reproductive cycle, and finishing pigs are moved to several locations before reaching the market weight. The farms operate almost entirely on slatted floor. The system of production is intensive, with high energy requirements for heating during some phases. The industrial housing systems reflects the image of modern and efficient technologies, and were subsequently copied by a number of small units. This approach did not always work well because pens with no litter offered poor environment for animals. Following ethological trends, small units are now encouraged to introduce bedding to furrowing and rearing pens, and equip other pens with either bedding or roughage to channel pig activity.

Manure, urine, and slurry management on small units with sufficient land is directed toward distributing it on the land in an environment friendly manner. Larger units with little or no land try to find farms with land where they can deposit animal waste. I f they do not succeed they have to search for solutions in waste water treatment plants. While the subject is not regulated by law yet, draft regulations are ready and in the process of being legalized. Similarly, the regulation for pig breeding which will include ethological and animal welfare aspects is about to be passed.

Future plans

The organization of national breeding program in swine in the last ten years has generally been yielding the expected results, and in the future the SPBP should essentially continue following the strategies and policies set in the past. Besides the existent large and very small farms, middle sized farms with prospect of good productivity will evolve. A solution for the very small low-productive family farms will have to be found, possibly by increasing their size and decreasing their number.

The market in Slovenia is undergoing major and rapid changes, and the breeders will have to spend considerable effort to adapt to new market conditions. Moreover, the SPBP will have to find its way to the European market. Animal breeding regulations will have to be revised and possibly adjusted to conform to those in the European Union. Regulation on grading of carcasses in slaughter houses is going to be accepted at first. Also, more attention will have to be paid to the ecological aspects of pig production and to animal welfare.

The aim of the Slovenian contribution was to give a short review of selection methods and breeding strategies as regards our cattle, sheep and pig production, a field in which we are, undoubtedly at least in some sectors. among the best European animal breeders. The proofs are to be found in the quality of our animals and in published scientific literature. We shall appreciate it if our experience, aid and advice are welcome in Central and Eastern European countries.


Previous Page Top of Page Next Page