PROFIT AND LOSS IN FATTENING PIGS.

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 6, Issue 262, 27 March 1917, Page 1

PROFIT AND LOSS IN FATTENING PIGS.

The relation of the weight of a pig to the cost of his gain is a very important one. We have often heard farmers say that they propose to keep their pigs till they weighed .jOOlbs live weight before selling them. Our own observation has been that there was no profit to be made, as a rule, on a pig after it had passed the 2001b. notch. Recent experiments of the Minnesota Experiment Station show conclusively that with pigs from 100 to 130 lbs weight a profit could bo made even at the present high prices of grain. But after passing the 2001b mark the gain cost more. All animals require what is called a maintenance ration. This means simply enough feed to keep an animal at a uniform weight. It is not enough to produce growth or provide for work, but enough to keep it from losing in ilesh. The larger the animal gets the more feod it takes for its maintenance. When the margin profit is small between tho cost of feed and the selling price of the pig, tho increased demand for food of support, maintenance, may be worth more than the profit secured through gain in weight. Of course there is no profit in this food of support. But a btudy of it teaches us tho important lesson that tho biggest profits are made in producing the light weight pigs of from 100 to 200lbs. In other words, at ordinary prices a man could make good profit at turning off two shouts ut 150lbs each, while ho stands to lose profit on ono that weighs aOOlbs.—" Hoard's."