Economic and Marketing INFORMATION
FOR
INDIANA
FARMERS
Prepared  by Members of the Agricultural Staff of Purdue University, Lafayette, Indiana. February 26,  1955
Hog Shrinkage—farm to Market
By
JAMES R. WILEY, Animal Husbandry and CLIFTON B. COX, Agricultural Economics
LIVESTOCK WEIGHS LESS when
it reaches market than it does
when it is loaded at the farm. This
loss of weight is called "shrinkage."
A large percentage of the shrinkage
comes from the excretion of feces
and urine. These have little or no
commercial value and so cannot be
classed as a direct economic loss, but
may be a source of loss to the individual farmer. Under certain conditions, actual tissue loss may occur.
This is a real loss.
Shrinkage in hauling animals is
due to many factors. Some of these
are the kind of feeds fed on the farm.
the amount of fill, the time the animals are in transit, the weight of the
animals, the temperature, the method
of handling the livestock in transit.
the class of animals, and the type of
transportation.
For this discussion, we shall consider the effect of the length of haul
on the shrinkage of hogs trucked
from farm to market. However, we
recognize there are so many other
factors affecting shrinkage that it is
not possible to isolate completely the
effect of length of haul on shrinkage.
For this analysis, farm weights and
market weights were collected on approximately 38,000 hogs that were
sold in 1,132 lots. Part of these were
weighed without feeding at the market and part were fed before they
Here weighed to the buyer. The hogs
that were not fed are considered first.
Distance Affected Shrinkage
Length of haul to market had a
definite effect on the amount of
shrinkage of hogs. As is commonlv
Wieved, the highest rate of shrinkage occurred in loading and the first
few miles of the trip. Shrinkage for
hogs not fed at the market averaged
1.06 percent of the farm weight for
hauls up to five miles (Table 1).
Shrinkage increased with the length
of haul but at a decreasing rate (Figure 1). For hauls from 36 to 45
miles, shrinkage averaged 2.06 percent and for hauls 66 to 75 miles, it
averaged 2.76 percent of the farm
weight. From these data it can be
seen that for the relatively long hauls
of 66 to 75 miles, 40 percent of the
shrinkage occurred in the first few
miles of the haul even though the
hogs were not fed at market.
Market Feeding Helps
Shrinkage can be reduced by feed
ing hogs at the market. The amount
of the reduction is closely related to
distance. Shrinkage of hogs that were
fed at the market averaged 1.03 percent for hauls from 6 to 15 miles instead of 1.12 for those not fed.
Shrinkage averaged only 2.08 percent
for the 66 to 75 mile hauls for hogs
fed at the market as compared with
2.76 percent for those not fed. Even
for hauls from 86 to 95 miles, shrinkage averaged only 2.16 percent when
the hogs were fed at market. For the
longest hauls one-half the shrinkage
occurred in the loading and first few
miles of the haul.
The reduction secured in average
shrinkage by feeding hogs at market  is  consistent.   For  hauls  up  to
PERCENT  SHRINKAGE
MARKET
66-75
86-95
MILES (LENGTH OF HAUL)
Figure 1. Note the effect of length of haul to market on the shrinkage of hogs fed and not fed at market.