Previously, the cost of production in different UK sow
housing systems has been calculated and presented in
relation to the level of welfare offered by a system (Cain
and Guy, 2006). However, this work contained a limited
number of housing systems and no evaluation of free
farrowing accommodation for indoor-housed sows. The
PigFare model developed by Pluske et al. (2011), allows for
comparison of the net benefits of up to nine different
housing alternatives in each of gestation, breeding and
farrowing stages. However, the model, in its current form
does not contain information on the recently developed
free-farrowing systems, nor does it appear there are any
financial models available online for the wider public to
use. This paper describes the development of a spreadsheet
based financial simulation model, available online,
for producers and industry professionals to evaluate the
cost of producing a weaner pig in different free-farrowing
systems, and to compare this with existing farrowing sow
systems