DEVELOPING THE PIG INDUSTRY

Taranaki Central Press, Volume IV, Issue 452, 8 June 1937, Page 2

DEVELOPING THE PIG INDUSTRY

HINTS TO FARMERS ON THE PRODUCTION OF GOOD LITTERS. Department of Agriculture Notes by M. J. Scott, 8.A.,8.5c. NO. 14.

SOW EFFICIENCY. The returns that are ob'tainstd l from pig-keeping are very closely associated with the care and la titention that, is given to sows. On farms where sows are neglected there is a tendency for every other clats of pig to have to put up with unsuitable conditions. When sows are ill-used, | even the best of care given to the other pigs is sadly misplaced, for hey cannot take full 'advantage of it, and even though they could their rapid and efficient growth could not make up for the losses that are incurred through inefficient sow production. That the sow is the main-

spring of the whole business has al ways been recognised' by the thought ful producer, and it h. chiefly because of this recognition that the productior of forty-pound weaners gave the industry such an impetus. From 1921 to 1927 there was an increase from 5.12 to G. 05 pigs killed per sow, and from the latter date to 1936, there was a further increase up'to 9.28 pig*, killed per sow kept. Over the first seven years, the killings per sow increased by nearly three and a quarter. Utter recording started in 1928 Pigs seem to be just iabout one and a half times as well-managed now as they were in 1927. This is ia source of considerable, satisfaction, but there is still room for further improvement if we are z to reach the levels of other countries where twelve pigs per sow are regularly sold. Fourteen pigs .per sow should be our ideal: we might make the twelve a little sooner thereby! Sows Farrowing Twice a Year. For the season ended September, 1936, the totlal pig killings for New Zealand are estimated at approximately 1,100,000. The- sows kept to produce this number of pigs are about 120,000. If these sows had two litters per year the average litter size would be about 4£ pigs. Actually, however, the average size of litters reared is nearer seven, and the lower production per sow is due to the fact that about only half the sows have two litters. One litter ia year is produced in order to avoid the difficulty of win’ter fesd supply, but even though it may appear profitable to have only one litter per sow this practice increases the overhead costs per pig to such an ex’tent that the apparent profits are seriously reduced. HU-ving only one litter per year

is the chief factor in the waste of feed that now goes on. Feed Wasted. Skim.milk and dairy bty-produdic alone that were available for pigs in New Zealand in 1935-36 season were estimated at about 700,000,000 gallons (i.e. pound of feed), and 1 this amount was turned into 100,000,000 lb. of pigmeat. Undir perfect conditions it would be possible to produce at least 20 per cent, more with this feed supply; a further 20 per cent, might be expected from presen't farm sources, and perhaps a further 5 per cent, from the use of meals. This points to a wastage of up to 45 per cent, of feed available. Aids to Efficiency. Over the average of many farms it

has been shown that where 17 pigs per cow were sold yearly (on farms that carried less than 10 cows each) all the skim-milk, and some other feed in addition, was required to feed the pigs produced. Where nine pigs per sow were sold (on the larger farms) only about 75 per cent, of the milk prodik-< wa& necessary on ’the same basis as in the former ciase to feed the pigs produced. The average number of cows per sow was about 16 to 18. Where one saw was keut for i every eleven cows, 85 per cent of the milk produced was required to feed j the pigs reared. Where one sow was I kept for every 22 cows only 63 per j cent, of the skim-milk produced was j required 'to feed, the pigs sold. . I These figures are very dependable I because they do not refer to just one : or twb farms; each is the average of ■ hundreds of farms. They might be > questioned ch 'account of differences ( in the number o f calves reared, j amount of meals and other feeds • used,, and other variations of prac- ; tice. It is felt that the large num- i bar offers safeguards against even ; these sources of variation. Extra Feed Required. j

Both these 1 , viz. many pigs per so\V and having a sow to only a few cows, bring ‘into prominence the necessity of having feed other than skim-milk when this is in short supply. The possibility of milking all the year round, or of growing about a quarter of an tacre of good root&—carrots, mangolds or swedes—for every sow kept, with the object of filling up the gap, cannot ultimately be ignored.