HIGH VALUE

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 2, Issue 244, 2 December 1940, Page 7

HIGH VALUE

■' COPRA AS PIG FEED SUPPLEMENTING FODDER T'lie value of copra as a pig feed was assessed by Mr M. J. Scott, Superintendent of the Pig Industry, Department of Agriculture, in the course of a statement yesterday.. He said that a trial shipment of copra was being landed at Auckland and would be sold to farmers at £8 petshort ton ex wharf. He advised farmers to give it a trial as a pig feed as an alternative to barley or pollard or as a dairy cow feed alternatively to bran or oats.

"Copra has an oil content of from ti<) to 70 per cent, said Mr Scott, "and for this reason is a very concentrated feeding stuff. One pound of copra has as high a feeding value as l%lb of barley meal. Because of the high oil content also it is impossible and undesirable to feed it to an 3* class of stock in large quantities, butu it can be fed along with skim milk to growing pigs at the rate of half a pound daily . Growing pigs quickly get tired of it if it is fed in • quantities greater than dailv. It is inadvisable to* fed it to

fattening pigs until we know whether or not it taints the cured bacon. It can be fed to sows in amounts up to 4 to 4 1 / 2 lb per day and good litters can be reared oh it. Suckers and weaners also take readily to copra. "Copra sho find its greatest and ultimate uses as a winter foundation along with meat meal for pigs on grass or roots, and as a feed for all classes of pig stock up to the store stage. Used in this Avay it will release other grains for fattening stock and should leave no taints or bad effects on the carcase. As a cow feed for winter milk supply or as a tonic to maintain high producing cows at capacity, it should be really valuable. "Copra can be fed straight from the bag without crushing, soaking, boiling or othtr treatment. It has been used as a pig feed since timo immemorial in countries where it is grown and reports to hand indicate that provided it is not fed in excess, it is satisfactory, and it is upon experiences elsewhere that my advice is based. "It is just possible that copra can be our main source of winter feed. For this reason farmers are requested to be interested in it now. It is undoubtedly cheap, and, if farmers use it as recommended and get acquainted with it, the difficulties associated with the establishment of n new trade will be largely overcome and adequate supplies will be made available,"