PIG RAISING

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 11, Issue 67, 15 August 1947, Page 6

PIG RAISING

INSTRUCTIVE FIELD DAY DEMONSTRATION AT EDGECUMBE Not since pre-war days has there been the opportunity given to farmers in this locality to attend such an attractive and instructive Field Day as that held at the Edgecumbe Saleyards on Wednesday, August 6. An attendance of approximately 120, made up of many well-known farmers, visitors from as far away as Tauranga and Te Puke, and representatives of many Young Farmers Clubs, including the Y.F.C. from the Whakatane District High School, all gave encouragement to the sponsors of the Field Day, which had been arranged under the auspices of the Bay of Plenty District Pig Council and the local branch of the N.Z. Pig Breeders’ Association. Mr D. S. Ross, Chairman of the District Pig Council, Mr D. C. Butler of White Pine Bush, and Mr C. C. Brown, of Pongakawa, members of the Pig Council, and Mr A. F. Barwell, Supervisor, were present. All preparations having been completed, the meeting began sharp at 1.30 p.m. Mr Ross introduced the speakers, Mr H. Kneebone, Supervising Grader for the Auckland Farmers’ Freezing Co., and Mr D. Smith, M.Ag. Sc., Officer-in-Charge of Pig Research at Ruakura Animal Research Station.

Points In Selection Mr J. E. Black of Edgecumbe, who secured first prize for the Bay of Plenty in the Tomoana Porker Competition at Westfield on July 7, had kindly brought along a line of five porkers, light to medium. The pigs were by a Large White boar from Berkshire sows and on these Mr Kneebone proceeded to demonstrate the points to look for when selecting pigs for a competition. Mr Kneebone pointed out that it was necessary to know what the pig should look like on the “hoof” so as to have some standard as to what it would look like on the “hooks,” and that the trade today, both local and overseas, required a lean carcase with a high ratio of lean meat to fat. He pointed out two of the pigs before him as very near the ideal. Brood Sows In the next pen were one long maiden Berkshire sow, and one short Berkshire sow that had had one litter, and both had now been mated to a Large White Boar, which was the third pig in the pen. Mr Smith in his opening remarks said that for the purpose of demonstration the sows before him were to be treated as baconers. After dealing with their faults as baconers, he continued, using them as brood sows, and prospective mothers. Here the Large White boar was roped in too, and many comments and questions were dealt with to the point. The keynote of Mr Smith’s talk was greater emphasis on performance and that a sow wasn’t a good sow merely because someone had paid a big price for her.

Carcase Display The highlight of the afternoon was the display of three carcases hanging high up on a display stand. A bacon carcase of 1491b5., a porker carcase of 961bs. and a carcase of 1181bs. of very bad conformation, then became the centre of discussion, and Mr Kneebone proceeded to give the individual pointings of each carcase for comparison, length, hams, loin, shoulders, back fat and shoulder fat, balance of side and marketing points. Many questions were asked at this stage and from these it could be seen that those present were only too willing to avail themselves of the opportunity to 'gain further knowledge at firsthand from an acknowledged master. Mr Smith then gave a talk on “Breeding and Feeding.” Always much at his ease, he soon put his audience into a happy frame of mind and instead of dealing with this subject in an academical manner couched his language in such terms that his ideas and remarks could be readily assimilated by all. Many of Mr Smith’s remarks were very much to the point, but the farmers gathered there proved that they could take it and come up smiling. The Quality Scheme

Replying to a question as ‘to how information could be obtained about how a farmer’s pigs were “killing out’—good, bad or indifferent—Mr Smith replied that there had been a scheme in operation for many years known as the Carcase Quality Scheme but very few farmers had availed themselves of the opportun-r ity to find out how their pigs were grading. The services of the District Pig Supervisor were available

free to any farmer who wanted an individual .grading report, and all Freezing Companies were only too willing to co-operate for it was as much in their interest as the producers that a first-class carcase should be produced. Method Of Dissection Mr Kneebone then quickly cut the bacon carcase into a Wiltshire side for export, explaining that this method had been introduced during the war as a measure to conserve shipping space.

Mr Ross thanked the speakers for their instructive and interesting demonstration. Thanks were also accorded to Mr Black and the'Rangitaiki Dairy Co. for making available pigs for the afternoon’s demonstration. Those present showed their appreciation by acclamation. Special thanks are also due to the Farmers’ Auctioneering Co. for the free use of their yards for the meeting, and also to the Auckland Farmers’ Freezing Co. for making available the services of Mr Kneebone, its Supervising Grader, and for supplying the demonstration carcases.