MAKE £3 PER COW

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Volume 81, Issue 19, 15 October 1937, Page 35 (Supplement)

MAKE £3 PER COW

Pigs Increase Cream Cheques

/\RIGIKALLY regarded as a useful " animal insofar as it could be uteed to eonsume sliim and whey which would have had to be poured down tbe drain, tbe pig bas corne to the fore in the past few years and now represents a valuable ltem in the primary production of the Dominion. Eiven under the poorest systems of management pig raising on the dairy farm can and will always show a definite return, as long as no other method of utilising the by-products of the dairy industry is found. At present the dairy farmer has the option of converting his whey, skim and buttermilk into pig, or else throwing it away. But the degree of return that can be realised from pigs will be determined by the ability of the individual farmer. Where one farmer can obtain big returns from his by-product, another can show only a smail margm of profit, thi» being solely due to the management adopted. The aim of every dairy farmer should be to produce 2001bs. of pig per cow. Such an ideal can only be realised by ,an overhaul of existing methods of pig management.. The dairy farmer of today on the average runs one sow to 25 cows j produces SOlbs. of pork pef cow, and lOlbs. of pork per acre. The average should be one sow to eight cows, I20i0bs. of pork per cow, and 401bs. of pork per acre. This js a comparatively ldw figure to aim at, and as indicated above, we should produce 2001bs. of pork per cow. What Are the Weaknesses? What are the weakttesses in the present general system of pig management? "VVhy are we not attaining thc production of pork that we should ? There are several reasons— all of which indicate that through lack of knowledge many farmers are wasting the opportunity that is being afforded tllem of ihcreasing thteir returns. Bad, o t faulty, management Iies at

the root of our present troubles. Skim and wliey are not being utilised. to the best advantage. Too much is being used per pig. The ratio between the number of pigs and the supply of hyproducts is disproportionate. In too many cases the pig that is being produced is not of the right type. It is neither tlirifty or prolifiCj ahd requires more feeding than the pig we should aim at. in niost cases insufficient pigs are kept, and too many pigs are purchased iustead of being bred upon the farm. Summed up Jbriefly what is required to alter this position is that we keep moro sows of the right type, breed more pigs, and control our breeding so that the number of pigs is sufficient to utilise the skim and whey. We should think of pork in terms of ibs. per acre in a, similar manner as we think of the butterfat production per acre of the farm. From the start the right type of boar must be used. The bull is half the herd, and the boar is similarly the mainstay in pig production. Tlie boar is more than half the battle in tbe improvement of our stocb. Trials carried out by the Waikato Pig Recording Glub to determine the exact effect of uslng the right type of boar reveal just how great this inllueuce is. On 40 different sows, of all breeds and types tbe average litter wap nino born and eight reared per sow, witb an average weaning weight of eight weeks of 38 lbs., and in every case the stock that these sows produced wero of better type than the sows. Such an improvement is possible with any type of sow, provided the right type of boar is used. The good boar will enable a poor sow to produce greatly improved pigs and larger litters. Quality is Paid For. "Quality is paid for to-day." This statement sums up succinetly the position in the* pig industry. The good pig will alwavs meet a good market. We must eliminate tlie mongrel sow and boar, even if the process has to be gradual. Profits iji the pig industry are determined to-day by the cost oi weaners, the weiglit oi weaners and

whether the breeder i& feeding for pork or bacon. By increasing the size and numbers of littecrs, the cost of the individual weaner will be corespondingly reduced. By producing more thrifty pigs, the cost of feeding per lb. live weight gain will be lowered. The last point is particularly important. It ha* been estimated that it takea 30 pes cent. more food to produce a liveweight increase of 11b. when a pig passes the porker stage, and unle** bacon is fetching a better price, p«rkers will be the more profitable po ^ioduce. The pig-raising industry was one of the last to come under notice for special attention from the Government m providjng instructiou and advice to farmers, and the service that has beeai giren by the Department of Agriculture has been more than justified. The industry -has growp. to be one of considerable importance to farmers, and the quality of the products has been *o high as to gain a very strong place on the English market. • The eiforts of ihe _ New Zealand farmers should go continualiy towards delivering the finest products to their Dacon factories, and this can be achieved partly by grading, partly by improving the pig breeds, and partly through the feeding of the pigs. These altogether yield a iine as well as & tasty product suitable to the consumer of bacon and pork in this country and overseas. Some farmers are mgking £3 and over per cow from their pigs* and th» can be equalled by any dairy farmtk who is preparod to : 1. Breed right.

2.Feed right. 3. Manage right. These three factors are lntei'dependent and only by using each factor to tbe best advantage will ihe best result* be acliieved.