Reviewing Last Year’s Livestock Performance: What to Look For
As the new production year begins, reviewing last year’s livestock performance is one of the most valuable exercises any farm business can undertake. Beyond simply checking profits and losses, a structured review helps identify strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities for improvement across pigs, sheep, and cattle enterprises.
By analysing key performance indicators (KPIs), health outcomes, feed efficiency, and market returns, farmers can make better-informed decisions that improve productivity and profitability in the year ahead.
1. Why Reviewing Livestock Performance Matters
Livestock systems are complex, influenced by genetics, nutrition, health management, labour, weather, and market conditions. Without a clear review, it is easy to miss trends that gradually erode performance or, conversely, opportunities that could be scaled up.
A good review should answer three core questions:
What worked well last year?
Where did performance fall short of expectations?
What practical changes can deliver the biggest impact this year?
2. Key Performance Areas to Assess
Before looking at individual species, it is useful to group performance into broad categories:
Productivity: growth rates, reproduction, output per animal.
Efficiency: feed conversion, labour use, input costs.
Health and welfare: disease incidence, mortality, veterinary costs.
Financial performance: margins, cost per unit of production, market prices.
Sustainability and resilience: pasture use, environmental impact, system robustness.
These categories provide a framework for analysing pigs, sheep, and cattle in a consistent way.
3. Pig Performance: Productivity and Efficiency Under the Microscope
Pig production is highly data-driven, making it ideal for detailed performance review.
a) Reproductive Performance
Key indicators include:
Farrowing rate
Litters per sow per year
Piglets born alive per litter
Pre-weaning mortality
A decline in any of these metrics may indicate issues with nutrition, housing, genetics, or sow management.
b) Growth and Feed Efficiency
Important measures include:
Average daily gain (ADG)
Feed conversion ratio (FCR)
Days to market weight
Feed costs often represent the largest expense in pig production, so even small improvements in FCR can significantly boost profitability.
c) Health and Biosecurity
Review:
Disease outbreaks
Medication and veterinary costs
Mortality rates at different stages
Recurring health problems may signal gaps in biosecurity, ventilation, stocking density, or vaccination protocols.
d) Economic Performance
Compare:
Cost of production per kilogram
Market prices achieved
Gross margin per pig or per sow
This helps determine whether production efficiency is translating into financial success.
4. Sheep Performance: Reproduction, Survival, and Grass Utilisation
Sheep enterprises often depend heavily on reproductive efficiency and pasture management.
a) Reproductive Outcomes
Key indicators include:
Ewe scanning rate
Lambing percentage
Lambs reared per ewe
Barren ewe rate
Low lambing performance may point to issues with body condition, ram fertility, mineral deficiencies, or management at mating.
b) Lamb Survival and Growth
Assess:
Lamb mortality rates
Weaning weights
Growth rates from birth to sale
Poor survival or growth often reflects nutrition, weather exposure, parasite burden, or lambing management.
c) Pasture and Feed Use
Review:
Stocking rates
Grazing efficiency
Supplementary feed use
Efficient grass utilisation is a major driver of profitability in sheep systems, so linking animal performance with pasture data is essential.
d) Financial Indicators
Analyse:
Cost per lamb produced
Margin per ewe
Market timing and price trends
This can reveal whether management decisions aligned effectively with market opportunities.
5. Cattle Performance: Balancing Growth, Fertility, and Costs
Cattle systems, whether beef or dairy, require careful balancing of biological and economic performance.
a) Fertility and Reproduction
Key measures include:
Calving rate
Calving interval
Age at first calving
Empty cow percentage
Fertility is often the single most important driver of profitability in beef systems.
b) Growth and Carcass Performance
Review:
Calf growth rates
Weaning weights
Finishing performance
Carcass weights and grades
Variations may highlight differences in genetics, nutrition, or management.
c) Health and Welfare
Consider:
Disease incidence (e.g. respiratory disease, lameness)
Mortality rates
Veterinary and medicine costs
Chronic health issues can significantly reduce lifetime productivity.
d) Feed and Cost Efficiency
Assess:
Feed costs per kilogram of gain
Forage quality and utilisation
Labour and overhead costs
Linking biological performance with cost data helps identify the most profitable production strategies.
6. Turning Data into Decisions
Collecting data is only valuable if it leads to action. After reviewing last year’s performance, farmers should:
Identify the top three limiting factors in each enterprise.
Prioritise changes that offer the highest return on investment.
Set measurable targets for the coming year.
Monitor progress regularly rather than waiting until year-end.
Examples of practical actions include:
Adjusting breeding strategies or genetics.
Improving nutrition plans or pasture management.
Strengthening biosecurity and health protocols.
Refining marketing strategies to capture better prices.
7. Looking Ahead: Building a More Resilient Livestock System
Year-on-year performance reviews are not just about improving numbers—they are about building resilient, efficient, and sustainable livestock systems. By systematically analysing pigs, sheep, and cattle enterprises, farmers can make smarter decisions, reduce risk, and position their businesses for long-term success.
Ultimately, the most successful farms are not those with perfect years, but those that consistently learn from past performance and adapt for the future.