BACONER COMPETITION

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 7, Issue 31, 7 December 1943, Page 7

BACONER COMPETITION

TOMOANA CONTEST 1943 (>OO FA-KAIKKS' COMPF.TK 'Jill' baeoner competition just eonciiklcml ill tin l , Tomoana i-reezing AVorks constituting as it does a world record of 2.).11 pigs< is a particularly line achievement i'or the pig industry of this country under war time difficulties. The winners at each of the displays were as follows: — Total for Judging Pts AVcstlield Freezing Co. 178(1- Ccs. Ist Prize & U.S.J.IMS. Cup AVinner V. Cope. Whit l ord IMP* Pa tea Freezing Co. 127 Ccs Ist Prize & U.S.J.P.K Cup Winner J. McUntyre, Wanganui 179 Tomoana Frccz. AVorks ?>'.'> 1 Ccs Ist Prize F. C Butcher. Haumoana U.S.J.P.B. Cup Airs A. iVleConnachic. Hastings The total possible points for one entry of four pigs, which had to be taken right through the winter, was 2P2 points so that whilst even the winning pigs were not by any means perfect in the judges .eyes, they were very good for wintered pigs. Altogether £100 in prize money w;is competed i'or by over GOO farmers and the. great interest shown not only by the competitors, themselves but by all the farming community was demonstrated by the fact that over 9(H) farmers attended the three Field Days- to inspect the. carcases.

In lii.s opening address Mr A. Rowlands, General Manager of W. | and R. Fletcher Lid. in Xew Zealand, .stated, that the purpose of the competition Mas to focus attention on the downward trend in pig production and to try to reverse that trend by the feeding of properly balanced rations—growing more roots, such as sugar beet and balancing up these roots with higher protein meat meal. From New Zealand peak pig killings of 1,002.000 pigs in ID 10-11 we have slipped back to 758,000 pigs for 15)412. 13, while- it was estimated that li) 0 million gallons of dairy bye products would be run to waste in the coming dairy season. On the other hand America had, increased her production by 20,000.000 pigs in a similar period and Canada had made a tremendous effort, having doubled her pig production in three years, whilst Australia expected to produce 560.000 more bacoiic.rs in IUI3 than in 193!). Mr 11. 13. Tcnnent. Assistant Di-rector-General of Agriculture, after paying tribute to the work of Messrs \V. and R. Fletcher (X.Z.) Ltd. in fostering interest in pig production through the meduim of the Tomoana competitions disclosed that the difficulties of manpower and shortage of fertilisers had resulted in 30,000

to .")(),000 cows being killed this, year above replacements. The Government were making efforts to arrange, cheaper supplies of grain to pig producers to enable, them to use the dairy J:>3*e products'more efficiently. "We "want what the soldier Avants, and. you cannot change his habits," said Colonel Willkie of the U.S. Joint Purchasing Board. ''He likes pork in every shape and form and from that standpoint we. give the I awards/' added Colonel Willkie. j who proceeded in a lighter vein to outline the. progress of the pig industry in the States. He said that the tendency was towards the socalled. bacon breeds, and that the lard typc ; had bceome less prominent before the Avar. Since, then weights had been increased. Not that it meant, better pork, but they had to have mores production. There was not a pig or hog in the competition that, as an old packing man, he would not have had. pleasure in butchering, concluded the Colonel. Dr. C. P. McMee'kan, Director of the Ruakura Research Station, who had been one of the judges at what hitherto had; been to his; knowledge the world's biggest Baconer Carcase Display, paid a tribute to producers working under most difficult conditions, in surpassing that. display ol some 700 pigs in the Argentine.

The casualties, caused by the war would not be comparable with the losses ol' millions caused by starvation, said Dr. 11. E. Anne It 'when liscussing the food situation in Europe. in connection with after-war trade. Dr. Annett said it would take eight to ten years to build up the position regarding agriculture and that it would be this country's duty to help fill the demand for foodstuffs. Mr H. M. Peirson, Acting Superintendent of the Pig Industry, speaking 011 behalf of his co-'judges Mi ,F. Merritt of the N.Z. Meat Producers Board, and Mr J. Anderson of Westfield Freezing Co.„ said that

the improvement in quality over the last ten years was really amazing. The worst pigs i'" s the. competition tills year were better than the best pigs, then. The low disease incidence over these competition nigs he said, was ahoiit hall the. normal and showed that cou,d he achieved in tliis direction by better feeding, breeding and manage- / ment. Whilst there is a disparity between the points of the. winners in the different districts which appears [very marked, the difterenee in quality throughout was more, apparent than real as it is the. average quality that, really counts, and this was very high right throng. On figures produced at the Field Days it was shown that the total value ol' the 251.1 pigs in the autumn as weaners would have been not more than £22211 —whilst the actual .schedule payment made, by W. and R. Fletcher (N.Z.) Ltd. for these pigs in the spring was to cover the cost of meat meal, roots or grain and labour of feeding.