PIG MEAT PRODUCTION

Chronicle (Levin), 14 February 1947, Page 7

PIG MEAT PRODUCTION

SURVEY BY SUPERVISOR " It is with a feeling of concern 1 a.sk you to considei' tno position of pig iuout production as it is today, ' ' suid Mr. L. L. Marsdou, Hupervisor for tlie Wellington District Pig (Jouncil, in a special report to the management committee in Palmerston North yesterday. Mr. ilarsdon conlinucd: "The position over the past eight years sjiows a steadv decline in production. The attributed eauses are war, labour shortages, shortage ot' iniported supplementary food stulls, insufiicient price for pig meats, rising costs, taxaLion, etc. These and other reasons for ihe decline are well known. Lqually well known are the measures takou to stop the rot — a fairly even riset in prices from Gid to an all the year round Sid per llj. for both pork and baron and £5 per acre crop subsidy (the latter only beiug takou advantage of by the few). My considered opinion is (after diseussing the price factor with mauy producers, over a wide area ) thnt it is (juite attractive and l also feel certain that any further increase in price would not inunediatel y refleet any correspondiiig increase in quantit.y of pig nieats, or number of pig raisers. "Production 011 commercial pig farms today is as great if not grcater tlian it lias been over prewar vorrs. The fall in Mroduction lias deliniteJy been on the dairy farnis. "The production of butlerfat and ea ro of the dairy hcrd is the chief c.011cern of the farmer and the keeping of pigs by many is still a necessary evil and wiien butterfat prices are h-igh, less necessary and still more evil. TJiis position is aggravaled further if the eonditions oji the dairy i'arm for pig keeping are totally inadequate for the comfort of the pig and the work of the person doing the job. Let ino state lxere tliat I ani pleased with the steady gradual improvement of the lay-outs and housing 011 many farms, vet tliere is ample room for still grcater improvement. "The question of incroased production is still unauswered, and liow it can be answered lies entirely in the hands of each individual dairy l'armer, who alone must decide whethor he will or will not play his part in assisting to build up an export market now and help create a goodwill for a timo when that | will be most certainly required. As auv immediate increase appears unlikely we must set about doing the next most logical thing — use every endeavour to see that the dimiuished oulput be of tlie verv best quality in botli poi'k and baconer carcases and thereby 1 create an insistent demand for more and more of a desirablc product. "That we have a verv ready and increasiug demand for our light porkors 011 the English market is well established and ieaves a big field to exploit. Also -the better baconer carcases sent home in the past have cr^ated a very favour-able impression and are keenly sought after in certain markets. This field also leaves ample room for expansion, provided we supply the quality of carcase demanded by the consumor." - "in our baconer and porker competitious it has been clcarly demonstrated that we can produce a fairly high per- 1 ccntage of very desirablc carcases, but ' again tliere are also a large number of pigs which through either bad breeding or feeding, or both, do not ineasure up to English requirements. These must either be eonsumed here in New.! Zealand or else be exported and tliere- j by create an unfavourable impressio.nl overseas. Our job is to see if we can 't ; through better breeding and feeding J eliniiuate this bad tail olf in quality. ( As an example, during the past week j baconers and porlters from the loeal ghows jvere killed and pointed up and ^

there was a variation from 84 per cent of points down to as low as 47 per cent. and the variation was dne to both breeding and bad feeding. "In 193(5 pedigree sow recording was instituted and in 1938 carcase quality evaluation was added. Pedigree sow recording has continued up to the present time with varying support but C.q.E. was dropped in 1940 due to war eonditions. "It is interesting that from 1938 to 1944 that 55 per cent of the litters recorded wero from Pig Club sows, thus only 45 per cent, of the recordings* wero uiude by pig breeders. From these records the only inforniation that \vt have available is prolificacy, milking and mottioring ability of the sow and growth rate of litter. I11 fact, during the past few years so- few Jiave beeii recorded as to furnish ;ihformatioii ot little valuc. ' j ? ; ' ' ' In all seriousness I suggest that tlie average breeder possesses less fact ual evideuce about the breeding capaci lies of his stock to produce pigs of the lype aeeeptable to the trade tinui he did 10 to 12 years ago. In view of these statements I am desirous of im plqmeuting a progrnmme of litter re cording and carcase quality evaluation in this area and thereby see if we can isolate strains of pigs witliin the vari ous breeds that are capable of produc ng desirable qualities of carcase, pro lilicacy, mothering ability, growth rate. etc. ' ' .Mr. Iveiller, who presided at the meeting, congratulated Mr. Marsdon 011 whut he deseribed as an extremeh 1 ra 11 k and logical suimuing up of the position. He moved that the report be received. Mr. Eglinton, who seeonded tlie motion with mueli pleasure: It is an excellent report and it is an unusual oue. The cliairiuan: Yes. It clcarly hits home and it does stress soinc of the dilhculties. The report was adopted.