Sow body condition scoring round (caliper method) — Sampson County, NC.

Swine has been the one major US livestock category missing from this library entirely -- and body condition is the sow herd's own version of the dairy-cattle transition-disease problem: too thin at farrowing and mortality/culling risk climbs, too heavy and lactation feed intake and next-cycle condition suffer. The Sow Body Condition Caliper turns a subjective 'she looks about right' call into an objective millimeter measurement any trained herdsperson can take consistently. Sampson County, NC is currently the #1 hog-producing county in the nation by USDA Census of Agriculture data (1+ million hogs) -- and the caliper itself was developed and validated on commercial sow farms in this same eastern North Carolina hog-production region (Knauer & Baitinger 2015), so this tile sits in the tool's own home ground.

Where

Sampson County, NC — on-farm sow condition scoring rounds · Open the map

Pay

$190 proposed

This packet is not funded yet, so this figure is a proposed price and not money waiting in escrow. If a buyer funds it, approved proof settles that price onchain. If nobody funds it, approved proof earns provable credit toward the work instead of cash — recorded, and readable any time at vealth.net/labor/credit/(your wallet). You see which before you claim, never after.

Proof

A dated caliper BCS round (0-5 scale, mm ranges recorded) across the scored sows with gestation/lactation stage context, trend vs the prior round, and any sow outside the target range or showing an emergency sign routed per the decision rules

This is exactly what gets it approved. Nothing settles without it.

Level

skilled

Open until

2026-11-30

Posted by

0x034F…6c89

The creator wallet. Its signature is what approves proof and settles the wage.

How this work is done

A documented method, so this packet comes out the same whoever does it.

Bring

• A Sow Body Condition Caliper (or an equivalent validated device with the same 3.8cm-tall, adjustable-width arms)
• A sow-side recording sheet or app with animal ID, parity, and gestation/lactation stage fields
• A stall/pen setup allowing safe access to the sow's loin without entering the stall unsafely
• Prior scoring-round records for trend comparison

Steps

1. 1. Approach each sow calmly at the loin (over the last rib, at the widest point of the back) with the caliper arms set to the animal's frame width; avoid startling the sow or working from an unsafe position relative to the stall/pen.
2. 2. Place the caliper across the spinous and transverse processes and read the angularity measurement in millimeters.
3. 3. Convert the mm reading to the published 0-5 score using the defined bands (0=0-5mm, 1=5-10mm, 2=10-15mm, 3=15-20mm, 4=20-25mm, 5=25-30mm).
4. 4. Record the score with the sow's ID, parity, and current gestation/lactation stage (condition targets differ by stage — a sow is expected to lose some condition during lactation, so a single low reading right after farrowing is read differently than the same reading in mid-gestation).
5. 5. Compare against the sow's own prior round(s) for a trend, and flag any sow scoring outside the target range (2-3 on the published scale) for a nutritionist/veterinarian ration review.
6. 6. While at each stall/pen, observe for lameness, inability to rise, prolapse signs, refusal to eat, or visible cachexia — these route to a veterinarian immediately, ahead of and separate from the routine scoring report.
7. 7. Log the full round (all scored sows, dated) and route any flagged animals per the decision rules.

What counts as done

• Caliper scores recorded (0-5 scale with the measured mm value) per sow with ID, parity, and gestation/lactation stage
• Comparison against the prior round's scores recorded as a trend, never a diagnosis
• Sows scoring outside the target range (score 2-3 on the published 0-5 Knauer/Baitinger scale) flagged for a herd veterinarian/nutritionist ration review; the industry-presented 9-16mm caliper-reading range (PIC, ASAS Midwest meeting) is recorded as separate directional context only, never converted into or substituted for the published 0-5 score
• Any sow showing lameness, inability to rise, prolapse signs, refusal to eat, or visible cachexia flagged for immediate veterinary attention, ahead of the routine report

Proof is measured against these, not judged by taste.