A stochastic model for planning swine facilities

A simulation model and its application for planning swine facilities are presented. Swine production is becoming more and more specialized, hence the sizing of a farm producing piglets is the main strategic decision concerning farmers who invest in sow production, since a farm comprises a big range of facilities with many possible sizes. The classical approach is deterministic, including sometimes some security margins without considering variations in future sow performance or in the management policy. The stochastic model presented here has revealed practical differences with respect to deterministic approaches. As result, simulation is useful to determine accurately the capacity, improve farm design, prevent practical problems and fit housing cost. Furthermore, the implementation in extend allows potential users to perform efficiently different kinds of analyses.