MORE PIG PROBLEMS.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 401, 9 January 1909, Page 3

MORE PIG PROBLEMS.

A REPLY TO FEILOINC. WHAT A-BACON MAN SAYS. Feilding is not to have all the say on.tho , pig price-problem. ■■ v "■ ■ '... l ..■■■ Mr. 'J. D : Anderson, .of : Wellington; Mho represents in. the .North;;- Island * the church Meat Company, says that there is another Kside Ito t his question,which-'yit - is '. to the interests and. everybody 'to' fairly consider, v: He. told his-views to.,a Dominion representative. :,. ... What- (he was asked)'is the'justification, of- , the fall,-to 3Jd- per pound in-'the pnoe of pig? " Tha' fall in ■ the. retail prices," he re-. A shilling a pound, murmured the' scribe; "That is not.quite correct," although "the Feilding i'mea "said . 'so: " The grocers charge a' shilling'- for 'some special piec'es; but ■ parts of the'carcass!- Here is an outline of. : a : pig.'.' ..(Mr.- Anderson can-draw a nicely.) '"I draw a hne dividing;it into -twoHalves, ifront vahd?: j back..^ ; -;The;:frbnt.' half/; containing the:head and is worth only- half as- much per ,pound as the other ■ half. - 7 So if a grocer 'charges■:a • shilling- a pound-for some of these special parts and | sixpence, for' other parts (with bono),- it- is 1 not': fair to say the retail price of bacon is | , a shilling." - : •"' -. • The farmers' prices were'reduced from sd. to 3Jd. a- month ago. - '-Were your -charges ■ to the grocers.reduced'to an equal extent?Here;are our . printed• wholesale - price' fists; of -Morepork'baoon;.; See for. yourself, item by item? There is a-redaction of- lidr per pound." • • y ;r -y ■ v (Examined and found correct.) . Still there is a-wide gulf between 3£d. P®r pound-and your price. . -,::■, "Now, it ha3-to be remembered-that-the SJd. •is for the whole pig, including head (worth: about sixpence), , the - feet (worth about Bd. or 9d. per dozen), and everything. When, tho head, feet,-: backbone, and trimming are, taken out tho carcass JS Teduced .ui weight by.from one-quarter-to, , oiie-third." - Tne farmer gets paid for it all ? " Certainly." > , . That is a big: allowance for . wastage P - v .";Yes;v wastage''in. other -stock. Then there is tho loss over; pigs condemned, for tuberculosis. - In:_the Nortlv'Tsland, where .the pigg^ J art •bhfefly dairy-fed;"'that loss is: ill. falls-upon; us, except what tho.' Government pays as compensation." '' That is? - ' 1 "Ten. shillings ; per..carcass■ 0rer...1001b5.,". :;andi6s^ , per;tarcass; lider^at' 1 weights- We'' also have to -pay -a . monthly inspection !fee." . From Mr; Anderson's "figures- it ': appears •'.ffiat;^tHe':■■cM.e^can^'lj4>statM'UKeVtfiis'^v : '■'■ - . Paid for one 2001b. , baconer ; atv3Jd., £2 ,yißsv';4d.^' "Waste'in.head;'-:feet,-'backbone,\etc., .say,Balance.of 1401b. cost £2 18s. 4d., or 5d.. per pound. To this must be' added the costs and shrink-, age' incurred, in-. curing,; ;etc;,'(the; losses: in condemnations .', for . tuberculosis, ' and ; other expenses, and then tho grocer's profit. , •Mr; Anderson was rather, 'the statement of a critic'that;New. Zealand bacon: is- tiot so. good -as • Harris's .celebrated Wiltshire bacon. ■■■•.■." Exporters- admit,."" he, '. 6aid, l.'.'that; the ..New;: Zealand- bacon. is ..equal to anything-England can:produce. Milk fsd p " Yes. Ireland, Denmark, and Sweden all: rear ; their; pigs on skim milk-: as one 'of. the, bases of 'feeding, l and' trip off' ..The' : Christchurch: Meat.'Company; has a standard. of : quality,' too, : and pigs that do not come up to it are not bought for bacon." ' - If;Feilding 'pig. men. co-operated to run' a: bacon; factory;, w<iuld they;'. succeed;? f J''■ , . '-: :' Vf.The/ has';-'; s been ;;. ,tried' and':' failed; The Wairarapa Company, the NorthIsland Bacon Company;, the Hawera,-Ohakea, Stratford,V and '.New . Plymp'ilth f six. of 4hem—all tried to-run, a co-operativo bacon- factory, r and all' failed.. ' Inglowood,I think, is the -only place that has' sur- ; rtved. 'After ..wo started at Woodville a co-,-operative group'took\over"the-factory'from;, us; but'recently transferred it back to us." What is this insuperable difficulty that is peculiar to 'co-operators ? ;'; ' "• In ;a; co-operative bacon f every farmer- is his own judge of what-,is a: good bacon pig.- The result is-that the factory :is. ' unable -to; produce 'the qualityilof bacdn that it would :lilje to : produce,-, .and ..lta cii-.nt among.-customers- dwindles.' Its bacou be-comes-unsaleable." ■ Foilding may . prove the brilliaiit exception. "The Government -has fixed'no' standard' quality for: baoon,* anditheifictories - have to depond on their/ own efforts - to: induce farmers to produce pigs of the required type. ; There'' is'not .>this in Hhe f butter: business, because farmers'aro 'paid by test."' we can produce , good bacon when ,we try?

. "Yes, New Zealand.bacon has ; bbcn shipped to London by. our company,- and fetched the -highest'market .prices'■ there:"■ 0 :u '''■ v '* :r But is -there not roiilly room for better prices for pigs.in New Zealand?.-/;.:;7 ■.{■; . • Mr/Anderson was not-sanguine: l - ■' > • • 'There ■ is: only Now. Zealand as a . market, " - he said;:. .i"Wliy ! ' the r Netf. havo been.Tec«i7ing v until ; .laiely J -'as.ifluch per pound for'their pigd as ls-paid'for tho cure'd article-of -'American and .Continental ffianufacturo/in London and Liverpool.-.Notice'theso' wholesale -quotatiops nn the 'Grocers' Journal' of October 28 last: —!Pnmo Danish"and Irish bacon .in Manchester,. 64b. per cwt.:' American bacon -at -Liverpool/ sls. 6d.,.' and in Manchester 345..t0 46s;""per cwt.' " : L.Australia, of coursey offers-no market.'"No. .' Australia 'produces pigs more than wo do, and prices are very low there.and the- tariff is < high.*..-So Ve are dependant •: on' our local trade/' The .'farmers- may- cease : breeding; pigs. at Sjd. par lb. _ "It has. been recognised •in > Manawatu that pigs at 3d; per-pound would'pay bettor than any other stock ; they are-practically fed on a waste product (skim- milk), forwhich there is no other use. The farmers are in a much better position now than thny;formeriy.were; . because they havo the \ Ohristchurch 1 . Meat Company prepared to. take all the' pigs. of the required standard that they can produce.Formerly: 2}d:,» per. pound, was - as much as the farmer-could, with difficulty, get." • Pigraen will be interested in tnese remarks of Mr. 'Anderson, and-perhaps profit: by. them.