Abstract at Magapor IT18

Prowess Bioscience's work featured at Magapor ITM18

Research & Conferences · May 2026

Prowess Bioscience’s work was featured at the 18th MAGAPOR International Technical Meeting of Specialists in Swine Reproduction, held on 13–14 May 2026 in Zaragoza, Spain.

First established in 2006, the ITM was created as a meeting point for professionals and technical specialists working in swine reproduction and has developed into an internationally recognised event in the sector. The 2026 programme brought together speakers and specialists from several countries to discuss scientific, technical and practical developments in pig reproduction.

As part of the ITM18 poster competition, collaborative work between Prowess Bioscience, PIC North America and Cooperativa Ganadera de Caspe was presented under the title "Associations between sow body condition caliper measurements and reproductive performance across three parities". The study used data from 1,424 commercial PIC Camborough® sows with complete records from their first to third parities. It examined how body condition measurements relate to reproductive performance over time and whether differences observed during the first reproductive cycle remain relevant in later parities.

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Understanding body condition across successive parities

Body condition is an important aspect of sow management because it reflects the balance between nutritional intake, reproductive demands and the mobilisation of body reserves. The sow body condition caliper provides a practical and objective way to assess body condition under commercial farm conditions. However, previous studies have generally evaluated body condition at individual time points or in groups of multiparous sows, rather than following the same animals across successive parities.

This study therefore explored three related questions:

How reproductive performance and body condition differ across the first three parities.
How the number of piglets weaned relates to changes in body condition during the first lactation.
Whether body condition at weaning in parity 1 is associated with body condition and reproductive performance in later parities.

What did the study find?

Reproductive performance increased as parity progressed. Total piglets born, piglets born alive and piglets weaned were higher in later parities than in parity 1.
During the first lactation, sows weaning more piglets tended to have lower body condition at weaning and greater caliper loss. This is consistent with the greater metabolic demands associated with nursing larger litters.
Body condition at weaning in parity 1 was also positively associated with body condition before farrowing in parities 2 and 3. This suggests that differences established during the first reproductive cycle may persist into later parities.

Practical relevance

The results do not suggest that caliper measurements alone can be used to predict reproductive performance. Instead, they support the use of body condition monitoring as part of a broader sow management strategy. Effective management during lactation remains important to minimise excessive body condition loss and reduce the risk of compromising subsequent performance. The findings also illustrate the value of analysing repeated commercial farm data across time. Following the same animals through several reproductive cycles provides a clearer understanding of biological variability than evaluating each parity in isolation.

The poster presented at ITM18 summarised the study design, statistical analyses and principal findings, highlighting both the practical importance of maintaining sow body condition and the multifactorial nature of reproductive performance.

View poster

Collaboration through applied research

This work reflects the value of combining commercial production data, industry expertise and statistical analysis to investigate practical questions in livestock systems.

At Prowess Bioscience, we use data and analytics to better understand biological variability and transform complex data into actionable insights.

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We provide independent, evidence-based analysis and advisory services across livestock species and production systems
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