THE BACON INDUSTRY.

Otaki Mail, 8 May 1922, Page 1

THE BACON INDUSTRY.

POOL PROPOSAL SUPPORTED. At the invitation ol the Levin Cooperative Dairy Company, some w tanners interested in pig raising attended a meeting in Levin on Wednesday afternoon to consider the question of formng a pool to stabilise the pork and baron industry. Mr S. A. Broadbelt, chairman ot the Dairy Company, presided. Mr Burke, of the New Zealand Co-operative Meat Packing and Bacon Company, arid Mr Gorringe, Director of .Swine Husband-

ry in connection with the Agricultural Department, were also present. The chairman stated that the obiect of the meeting was to try in some way to stabilise Hie industry. It would be remembered that, last season the price of pigs opened up at 9d per lb, and farmers thought, that prices were going to be all right for some time, but by Christmas values fell to 3Jd. At that the farmers commenced to look round for a better market, and found it 100. 'Hear, hear.) Prices immediately went up by Id. That little bit. of business started in Levin. Since then several meetings had teen held with the object of linking up the farmers of this coast. The bacon-cur-ing companies had been approached for some suggestions lor improving the mutual conditions, and had willingly done so. The position now was that a pool was being suggested. The farmers had been a. chopping block for a long time, and if. was time there

was a. change. Mr .7. W. Todd asked if the suggested pool would cover all the provinces in the North Island, or only this coast.

The chairman staled that the si Ingestion was to malie the pool as wide as possible, but Manawatu was the

only district moving just now. Mr T. G. Vincent considered thai the scheme would fall to the ground r,n- . less there was unanimity among the ' farmers. Those who stood out would deal with anyone who tame along and offered a little more. Mr Todd asked how it was possible to stabilise prices it this pool operated only in the Manawatu. If wai- ' kato and Taranaki were not in, the peol would do little good, and they were both lug producers. The chairman: if we only set the ball rolling, it will mean bettering the position. Mr Burke, who was invited to speak.: paid a tribute to Mr Broadbelt for! the fight he hud put up at Palmerston North for the betterment of the Urdus-; try. Mr Burke told his hearers that they would have to do something for themselves, and they were only •tatting at the point the Waikato farmers had started from some years ago. One of the big obstacles to the industry was the insane competition in Die sailing of bacon! The trouble wa* owing to operations of some proprietary concerns, a* against the two cooperative companies, of which his company was one. For the infornia-j tion of those present, he would say that the fanner- in the Waikato would j welcome the pooling scheme. His ; company wanted the farmers to he | right in the bacon business by being j interested in both the buying of the pork and selling of the baron. By" forming the pool, he believed they would be able to fix the price of pigs, over a period, and likewise the sell-, ing price of bacon. Mr Burke then 1 answered several questions on the t-a-. con industry generally and the ; operations of his company. Mr Gorringe spoke on pig-raising tor pork and bacon purposes. No country, he said, had made a success of | the industry unless they adopted co- , operative method-. The Danes were I the most successful people in the bal con business to-day, and their expert- ' ence' was gained only after years of ; close study. In Ireland, another great ! bacon country, co-operation was the ' keynote of success. Touching on the quality of bacon, it could n«t be expected that good bacon could be made out of poor quality pigs. All types of pigs were sent to the rurer. and he was expected to turn out a uniform article. The -rouble was the farmers j were not breeuing the proper class <?X , bacon pig. The best bacon type, was j got by a cross, una was not a pureI bre.fi..' He could say from experience J thai not 50 per cent of the pigs - slaughtered in :Ins country 10-day I were fit to export to the English market He referred to milk-fed pigs, and the enormous shrinkage there was tK converting them. Mr Gorringe went on to'say that the quarter-bred, 'I^ mworth with Berkshire was the ideal ! pig, or the Yorkshire could be sub- * simiied for the Berkshire. Even the ti half-bred Tamworth was a good bacon

Touching on The proposed bacon pool. Mr Gorringe said, it might be a little before Us time, but it -was a pood idea, provided they set out on the right lines of co-operation, and the whole business came under single control. Mr Todd Said to make the pool effec-Hve-7 it would have to he a North Island one at least, He moved that ta<= meetine affirm the principle or the pool and thai a meeting of represen-tatives-of the industry be arranged m Palmerston North during show w«k. This was seconded by Mr G. * 1strong, and carried - Mr Burke explained that it was the iot*mion to form a pool in th Manawatu alone, but to cover the North Island. The meeting that da> was only to give their chairman j lead when he attended the ing oi company representatives J

Palmerston North. Another speaker considered Mr Todd's motion empowered the chairman to go ahead, and an incentive how to act at the. next meeting. 1 hat was all they wanted.