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Duroc Facts
A review by the Canadian Centre for Swine Improvement January 2000 Pork producers have a growing choice of sire lines to mate to their commercial sows and it issometimes difficult to sort out the solid information from all the claims that are being made. Ifyour herd is composed of Yorkshire x Landrace sows, as many herds are today, you may bepondering the use of Duroc, Hampshire, Yorkshire or synthetic lines. The use of Duroc boars orsemen is still the most popular, but how do their progeny compare to that of the other choices.Several trials have been carried out in recent years by third party organizations to evaluateterminal sire lines. Taken together, their results provide valuable information. The facts The Ontario Carcass Appraisal Program (OPCAP) was one of the first large trials in NorthAmerica with detailed carcass and meat quality evaluation. It took place between 1990 and 1994and involved more than 3000 pigs. As a pure breed, the Duroc had a better growth rate than theYorkshire and the Hampshire (157 vs 161 and 166 days to 100 kg), but a slightly lower leanyield (60.4 vs 60.8 and 60.7%). Feed conversion was very close for all breeds (between 2.6 and2.7). The big differences were for meat quality: Durocs had a significantly smaller drip loss(about 2% less) and a significantly higher marbling score (2.9 vs 1.8) than the other breed A more recent purebred trial with over 700 pigs was conducted at the Deschambault test stationin March and October 1998, with seedstock from all over Canada. The Duroc, Landrace andYorkshire breeds were all very similar for growth rate, feed efficiency and lean yield, but onceagain the Duroc was significantly better for meat quality. Duroc boars have also been compared to other sire breeds in commercial product tests, i.e. interms of the performance of their progeny when mated to Yorkshire x Landrace sows. One ofthe first such evaluations was done in Quebec, where 17 tests involving about 4000 pigs wereconducted from 1987 to 1991. The Duroc breed as a sire line had the best growth rate (0.74 kgper day vs a range of 0.69 kg to 0.71 kg) and the best feed conversion. The lean yield of thebreeds varied with each test but were generally similar. Another large commercial product test, called the National Genetic Evaluation Program, wascarried out in 1994/95 by the US National Pork Producers Council. The test evaluated over 3000progeny of various terminal breeds and terminal sire lines from breeding companies. The Duroclines ranked slightly above average on an economic index including feed conversion, growth rateand lean yield (Index 1), but outperformed all other lines after the value of meat quality wastaken into account (Index 2),as shown in the bar graph on the front page. Some new commercial product tests are nearing completion. The Ridgetown College test, inOntario, compares 3 Duroc lines and 3 Yorkshire lines, with about 65 progeny from Yorkshiresows in each line. A larger commercial product test of about 700 pigs, involving 6 breeds orlines from breeders and breeding companies, of which one is the Duroc, is now underway inQuebec. You be the judge ! A general conclusion from all trials is that the Duroc breed performs well. Essentially, it hasgood growth rate and feed conversion and superior meat quality. In terms of leanness, it ranks ata similar level or slightly below other sire lines, depending on the lines involved in the trial. The Duroc breed remains one of the top choices for a terminal sire line to use on sows that arecrosses between the white breeds. Because the sire breed is different from the maternal breeds,hybrid vigor is at its maximum for the market hogs. This has a positive effect, not only ongrowth rate, but on many factors such as viability and resistance to disease. Hair colour shouldnot be an issue for this type of mating. When crossed to F1 sows from the Yorkshire andLandrace breeds, Durocs almost always yield white market hogs since colour is a recessive trait.The exception is when the white breeds that make up the sow carry a colour gene, which is rarewith registered breeding stock. The Duroc's superior meat quality is a real trump card for the Canadian pork industry. Progenyof Duroc sires generally produce market hogs with higher intra-muscular fat, lower drip loss andmore colour in the meat. Although pork producers in Canada do not get paid for meat qualityyet, it will likely become a consideration of increasing importance in future price settlements.After all, pork has to compete with other meats and Canadian pork has to compete with porkfrom other countries. Ignoring the quality of the product is definitely unwise. The fact that in thelast few years several European countries, including Denmark and Norway, have importedDurocs, often from Canada, to create Duroc terminal lines says a lot about the potential of thebreed. Ontario Pork Carcass Appraisal Program Results Based on 3100 Carcasses evaluated from 1990 to 1994 |