DAIRY BY-PRODUCTS

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20014, 12 August 1939, Page 11

DAIRY BY-PRODUCTS

USE IN PIG REARING

DENM ARIv EXPERIENCE

LESSON FOR NEW ZEALAND

The need for a more efficient use of dairy by-products in tne rearing of pigs is stressed bv Mr. H. A. .Hopkins, supervisor for tiie T.airawhiti District Pig Council. “New Zealand probably stands as the only country in the world d which dairy by-products arc not utilised to the best advantage." Mr. Hopkins states. “There is available in this country every year an enormous amount of dairy by-products, 700,000,000ga15. roughly, and if the., was used properly, even under our existing system of feeding, it should produce at least 2,500.000 carcases oi pork, or 1,000.000 carcases of bacon.

“This reckoning, however, does net take into account the fact that by,the restricted use of concentrates, as at present operating generally, the value of the extra production is increased bv 1,000,000.

The value of the pig industry to Denmark is' in the vicinity ol .t 20,000.000. yet Ihe number of -cows milked does not outstrip the number milked in New Zealand to any great extent, but the return that country received from pig products annually completely overshadows the New Zealand figure. "Where, then, is the leakage which prevents New Zealand from obtaining a proportionate balance of pigs produced per cow milked? "The answer is that the dairy byproducts in this country arc abused because of our wasteful methods oi feeding. Men with Continental experience in pig-raising look askance when they are informed ihal to produced a HOlb. bacon carcase approximately 700 gals. of skim-milk is used in New Zealand.

Use of By-products

“The amount of dairy by-products available annually in Denmark totals GOO.OOO.OOOgais. A conservative estimate of 170.000,000ga15. can be set down for the sows and the rearing of the young to weaner stage. This leaves 430,000,000ga15. for the production ol approximately 4.000,000 baconers, or roughly lOOgals. per pig from weaning to bacon-weight. “To rear a pig to weaner age, i. 0., two months, requires under the New Zealand system lOOgals., and it follows that there is COO.OOO.OOUgaIs. left with which to produce over 1.000,000odd jugs a year. "It also must be borne in mind tha< of our 1,000,000 pigs only a certain percentage are baconers. This fact m turn reveals a glaring leakage in the weaner to bacon stage of skim-milk consumption. “Data has been collected from surveys of several New Zealand farms in order to determine 1 lie amounts required to rear pigs to a certain age. These surveys were carried out on farms by the Waikato and the Manawatu pig recording clubs, to find out what pigs are capable of producing under ordinary farm conditions. Results of Survey “These surveys have yielded some very interesting material, but the -crux of the findings is contained in tiie figures, which show the dairy byproduct necessary to rear pigs to a required age. “The findings can be summarised thus:—

“Allowing lgal. of milk to be equivalent to lib. of meal, 700 gals. is required under ordinary conditions to produce a 1801 b. live-weight pig. “Readers naturally will say to themselves, in reading this article, that it is all very well to quote Denmark and the standard of efficiency to which she has raised her pig industry, and will maintain that such a level would never be reached in this country. Gisborne Success “This is a fallacy, for in this district there is a farmer who, by results, stands as an example to the rest of 'Now Zealand in that he has produced over 150 pigs from a farm on which he milks 20 cows. How, then, is it that this farmer can set such a high ratio of pigs produced per cowmilked? Simply this: He is a man who realises the real value of his skim-milk, and by cropping extensively lias succeeded in deriving the maximum cf benefit from it.

“It must be admitted that although cropping under present farming conditions offers many difficulties, the real worth of the crops in conjunction with skim-milk is not fully realised, and no farmer will ever receive value for the amount of time which lie must necessarily devote to Ills pigs unless he tackles the problem of cheap supplementary food in a determined manner.”

Weight to ago. Milk. Meal. lb. ib. gals. gal?. To woanorage .. lit! r.i; 89 19 Wearier to porker 110 122 171 38 Porker to 'baconer 180 173 3-Hi 37 Totals GOG 94