Assessment of the cost of pulmonary problems in a sample of French pig farms

The aim of this study was to assess the economic impact of lung lesions in a sample of French pig farms. This study was part of a research project driven by the French Agency for Food Safety since 2006 on respiratory diseases in growing-finishing pigs.The required data from 100 farrow-to-finish pig herds located in the western part of France were obtained and analysed. The data set included in particular feed efficiency, mortality rate, and the amount of drug and vaccines used. Herds were selected at random in an extensive list of farms affiliated to the cooperatives. The herds were classified in three categories according to the extent of the lung lesions (from low to severely affected). In a second step, these data were processed and a specific dedicated model was run. The economic margin of each herd was obtained. The average margin was then compared between the different categories, to estimate the economic impact of respiratory diseases. The calculations provided an estimation of the economic losses associated with different severity levels of pneumonia and pleuritis. An average economic alteration of nearly 3 euros/ pig was found when the extreme two groups were compared. Only pulmonary disorders were here considered. Since production cost remains the key element of sustainability of our pig farming systems, this study clearly shows the urgent need to reduce all those endemic health problems in order to have more efficient pigs whereas by the way avoiding impairment of welfare.