PIG SANITATION

Wairarapa Times-Age, 23 June 1939, Page 3

PIG SANITATION

WEAK POINT OF MANAGEMENT.

' The weak point of pig management is still sanitation. This was the opinion expressed by the chairman of the National Pig Industry Council, Mr A. H. Cockayne, in his report to the council at its annual meeting in Wellington.

“During the past ten years, remarkable improvements have been made in this direction by the use of open-air shelters and the use of grass,” said Mr Cockayne, “but unfortunately the importance of the open-air system has centred round the feeding value of grass to the detriment of the part that grass plays in improving sanitation. “Today we are concentrating on better housing as an aid to better sanitation, and the publication of a booklet on houses will fill a long felt want. Experience has shown that better sanitation is the most immediate remedy for the control of pig mortality, condemnation and rejection at the works, items that represent a leakage of probably 20 per cent of the present value of the industry.

“Directly by the elimination of filth and indirectly by the better attention that is encouraged through up-to-date facilities, good housing and sanitation is the most important factor in improving the earning capacity of pigs.”