Breeding goals
The general breeding goal in DanBred is to create the right balance between the different traits in the breeding goal. Thereby, ensuring a sustainable breeding progress that ensures high productivity and efficiency for the producers of slaughtering pigs. The breeding goal of DanBred has been developed and selected by since the 1970s.
DanBred has always been an open breeding system, that willingly shows how the breeding goal is composed. Today, the breeding goal includes the following traits and economical values:
| Trait | Economic value,
DKK |
Unit | Breed |
| Daily gain, piglets | 0.11 | DKK/g per day | LL, YY, DD |
| Daily gain, piglets, mother effect | 0.21 | DDK/g per day | LL, YY |
| Daily gain, finisher | 0.11 | DKK/g per day | LL, YY, DD |
| FCR | -145 | DKK/FEsv per kg | LL, YY, DD |
| Meat% | 9.0 | DKK/% | LL, YY, DD |
| Strength | 2.6 | DKK/point | LL, YY |
| Strength | 2.2 | DKK/point | DD |
| Slaughter loss | -5.1 | DKK/kg | LL, YY, DD |
| Longevity | 85 | DKK/% | LL, YY |
| Litter size, mother effect | 13.2 | DKK/pig | LL, YY |
| Liter size, boar effect | 13.2 | DKK/pig | DD |
| Piglet survival, mother effect | 396 | DKK/% | LL, YY |
| Piglet survival, piglet effect | 198 | DKK/% | L |
Kilde: https://svineproduktion.dk/Viden/Om-grisen/Avl-og-reproduktion/Avl/Det-Danske-Svineavlsprogram#avlsfremgang
To become a part of the breeding goal, the breeding objective has to be heritable, as well as measurable. The breeding goal is put together by those objectives, that imply highest possible value for the producers of slaughtering pigs.
For the sow lines, focus is especially on feed conversion and the ability to deliver many liveborn piglets. For the boar line, it is primarily feed conversion and daily gain from 30-100 kg, that have highest value. In the latest breeding goal revisions more emphasizes has been put on survival and longevity.
In combination, these lines probably produce the most effective pig in the world. This is with regard to producing liveborn piglets, but also when considering converting feed into a slaughtering pig.
The breeding goal is revised approximately every 3rd year or as required. The latest revision of the breeding goal was in March 2024, where sow survival was implemented for DanBred Landrace and DanBred Yorkshire. Sow survival is implemented with a new innovative method to improve the robustness of the sows. You can read more about it here!