Researchers believe that finding the best sows for free-farrowing systems is essential to the delivery of economically viable results. The project will include gathering data from three commercial farms with free-farrowing systems, creating a profile of a "good mum" by measuring sow performance in terms of the number of piglets born and weaned and the behavior of the sows involved. The scientists will then determine whether these traits are related, whether they are consistent over time and whether carefulness can be identified at a pre-breeding age. This data will then be made available by breeders to help producers pick the best mothers for these systems.