Practical Co-operation in the Pig Industry

Waikato Times, Volume 122, Issue 20494, 10 May 1938, Page 22 (Supplement)

Practical Co-operation in the Pig Industry

Farmers in the Waikato, Auckland, Bay of Plenty and North Auckland districts, having from 6 to 9 pigs about the weaner stage in April, have been offered, for wintering these pigs and carrying them on to bacon weights in the spring, the sum of £IOO in cash prizes. There are 18 prizes varying in amount, the best possible winnings for one entry of 6 pigs being £22. The final date for acceptance of entries in the Waikato, Auckland and Bay of Plenty districts has been extended to the 14th May and any farmers with pigs about the required weight have everything to gain and nothing to lose by sending in an entry now. The first main condition of entry is that entrants should be members of Pig Clubs. This should not constitute a bar to anyone, as all these districts are now served by a full-time supervisor, whose duty it is to assist in the formation of these pig clubs. Any 10 farmers or more, with the supervisor’s assistance, may form their own club, and so decide upon their own subscription, and the extent of their own activities as a Pig Club. The clubs are serviced at frequent intervals by the Supervisors for the district, whose expert knowledge and advice is available to all members at all times. The second main condition of entry is that entrants feed at least A lb. per pig per day of Tomoana Meat and Bone Meal. It is worthy of mention here that the old prejudice against meat and bone meals may have been well founded at one time. However, on the present standard of quality of Tomoana Meat and Bone Meal it is obvious that Messrs. W. and R. Fletcher must have complete confidence that farmers using this meal for the competition, will see for themselves the results and will be continued users. The actual meal sold for feeding to competition pigs will pay for only a very small proportion of the prize money. For instance it appears that, fed as recommended, the cost of Tomoana meal from weaner to the baconer stage, should not exceed 6 - per pig or £2 14 - for the full 9 pigs, which would nett probably more than £3O in the spring. ADVANTAGES OF ENTERING COMPETITION Farmers who are thinking of entering the competition have the following advantages to take into consideration:— (1) Probability of participating in the 18 cash prizes. (2) High value of 9 baconer pigs in spring as against low value of 9 weaner pigs now. (3) Farms of all competitors will be visited by Supervisors of District Pig Councils whose expert advice and specialised knowledge will be available on any problems whether or not connected with the competition. (4) The participation of every farmer is a step towards the success of the competition and so the encouragement to commercial interests towards further co-opera-tion with farmers and Pig Clubs in this way. (5) All competitors will have an opportunity of inspecting at Westfield Freezing Works not only the carcases of their own pigs, but also those of all competitors, discussing feeding methods and general factors of management. and seeing for themselves the results of various methods. (6) Definite information by taking of weights, as to comparative value of competitor’s own methods. (7) Each farmer sending in an entry is rendering general assistance to the development of the pig industry. Through the information collated by supervisors regarding different systems of feeding, different farm grown foods fed, and different dairy by-products, much valuable data will be available to the industry. Already there are entries which are to be fed, as the main basis of the winter ration, such varied foods as carrots, maize, swedes, mangolds, artichokes, lucerne chaff, grass only, green oats, and peas. There will t>e, of course, pigs from whey, skim milk and buttermilk farms, though in the winter the supply on most of these farms is expected to be very short.

DEVELOPMENT OF PIG CLUB MOVEMENT It is worthy of mention here that as yet the Pig Club movement is not by any means developed to the full. So far the majority of the Pig Clubs are in the outlying districts where the best quality pedigree stock is not common. There is obviously not the same urgent necessity for farmers possessing good strains of the breed of pigs in which they believe, to club together to buy pedigree stock. This has meant that many of the Pig Club members and in some instances, whole Pig Clubs, have not had suitable pigs to enter for this Competition. However, on the whole, the Club members have responded to the Competition in a sporting spirit and entries have been put in from most of the Clubs in the districts concerned. In some cases members are aware that their entries are perhaps not as good in bacon type as they would hope to be able to put in for such a competition in a year or two’s time, when better stock from the club sows has been well distributed amongst the members. However, they realise that most other Pig Clubs and members have, as yet, by no means attained their ideals, so that all are more or less on the same footing. PRACTICAL CO-OPERATION It will be remembered that from the very first, Messrs. W, and R. Fletcher (N.Z.) Ltd., have been closely associated with the rapid expansion of the pig industry in the Waikato. Their foresight in giving the Waikato Pig Recording Club every assistance since its inception, their generous donation of meal and prize money to encourage the running of practical feed trials on the farm to porker weights, together with their up-to-date methods of processing all pork products for our export market, have done a great deal to help the pig industry not only in the Waikato, but for the whole of New Zealand. Now Messrs. W. and R. Flejcher are co-operating in a practical manner with the Pig Club movement in the Auckland province in offering £IOO prize money as an incentive to increased effort on the part of the farmer. This competition should prove what can be achieved even in the winter, by better management, better housing, and the provision of adequate rations of high quality protein and mineral meal, which Tomoana Meat and Bone Meal undoubtedly supplies. (Published by Arrangement.)