Benchmarking in manufacturing industries is defined as continuous comparison and measurements in process and performance to obtain information and knowledge in order to improve its performance. These benchmarking concepts can be applied to swine farms to provide standards and targets of performance and process that can be compared to their farms for continuous improvement. Financial data on 23 farms within a large swine group in Japan were collected to set financial standards and targets in Japanese swine farm enterprises, and investigate inter-relationships between key measurements. Additionally, the 23 farms were ranked on the basis of Return on Assets (ROA), and 6 herds in the upper 25th percentile of this ranking were designated as financially high-performing farms. Means of breeding-female pigs (female) inventory, ROA, Net Profit Margins, and Asset Turnover Ratios on the 23 farms were 1, 255, 7.46%, 7.38%, and 1.09, respectively. In Pearson correlation analysis, ROA was positively correlated with Net Profit Margins (P<0.05), but not correlated with Asset Turnover Ratios. The ROA was also negatively correlated with Farm Expense per 1 kg of Carcass, especially Feed Cost per 1 kg of Carcass (P<0.05) . The financially high-performing farms had higher Net Farm Incomes per Employee, and Profit per lkg of Carcass than the remaining farms (P<0.05) . From these results, we recommend swine producers to increase Farm Incomes per Employee and decrease Farm Expenses per 1 kg of Carcass for improving ROA.

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Conditions of legs, walking, standing, and staying about 94 guts and 135 sows of 11 farms located in Chiba prefecture were invedtigated during Oct.2002 to March 2003 as survey of legweakness. For guts, upright of fore legs, upright of hind legs and hind legs turned out were 9.6 %, 13.8 % and 13.8 % of them, respectively. For sows, weak pastern of fore legs, weak pastern of hind legs and hind legs turned out were 28.1 %, 46.7 % and 43.0 % of them, respectively. Percentages of middle severe and severe of standing condition were 17.2 % and 3.4 % of sows. For staying condition, 15.0 % of them were unstable. 18.3 % and 41.9 % of gilts showed stiff locomotion and swaying hindquarter, respectivery. Much of low BCS of sows showed arthritis, weak pastern and difficulty to stand. These symptoms observed for sows at all farms and hind legs had more symptoms than fore legs.

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