Application of Growth Models for Pigs in Practice -Review-

Growth of pigs is influenced by many factors. To assist pig producers in the evaluation of alternative feeding and management strategies growth models have been developed. In the Netherlands the Technical Model Pigfeeding (TMV) is developed. This model predicts the influence of feed intake, feed composition, genotype, sex and climate on growth, body composition, gross margin and mineral excretion of healthy growing/finishing pigs. The purpose of TMV is to support information services, feed companies, researchers and students. In addition to providing accurate predictions, a model should also be user-friendly and wishes of the user should be taken into account to stimulate application of the model in practice. In this paper, the theoretical background of TMV and a methodology to stimulate application of models in practice will be described.