PIGS FOR EXPORT.

Auckland Star, Volume LVIII, Issue 87, 13 April 1927, Page 23

PIGS FOR EXPORT.

BEQUIREMENTS OF THE

MARKET,

MUCH TO BE LEARNED.

("PLOUGHSHARE.")

Farmers as a whole arc at last coming to realise, that in pig-raising lies one of the surest means of improving their somewhat precarious position at the present time. Pigs indeed are one of the. few bright spots in the outlook to-day, and there is no means whereby our agricultural revenue can be more quickly and more surely increased than bv producing more and better pigs. Travelling about the country, however, one is struck by the fact that the «reat majoiity of pigs fattened i:i this country are quite unsuitable for a .liglirlass export trade. Thick, heavy shoulders, short, flabby sides, and badlyshaped hams are the rule rather than the exception. Farmers must not be deluded by the success of a small, care-fully-selected shipment of pork into thinking that the English market -will pay good prices for pigs of the average Xe\v Zealand type. Obviously it is necessary to study the requirements of the trade, for no amount of propaganda is going t.t "educate" the English household into eating food that they dislike. Both the American bacon-industrv and Australian beef-industrv were badly hit by the fact that, during the food-shortage of 1017 and 101 S. large quantities of unsuitable produce were distributed in Britain and were eaten because nothing else was obtainable. The first stage in satisfactory marketing is to ascertain what type of produce is most popular with the consumer and. therefore. commands the best price. Primary producers are economically dependent 011 the tastes of the consumers. Excessive Fat Undesirable. A point not generally realised is that the British market does not want fat pigs in the commonly-accepted sense of the word any more than it wants enormous joints of beef. Thick masses of fat are wasteful from both the retailer's and housewife's point of view: further, they are distasteful to many palates, and their commercial value is low. So that after pigs have passed a certain stage the farmer is only wasting time and money (for skim-milk has a definite money-value) in piling more fat 011 to them. Now it is well known that certain types of pigs under under any conditions, and all types of pigs under certain conditions, will rapidly acquire fat at those points where it is least wanted, namely, the shoulders and buck. No pig with more than two inches of backfat is graded first class by the bacon trade, and an inch and a half is usually considered more desirable. The thick, plump pig with the short, flat back, a type admired by the uninitiated, is not the typo for which the best priccs are paid. Breeding is the first consideration, .im l hero the utmost care will be needed if New Zealand is to build up a profitable export-trade. Both Berkshires and Middle White Yorkshires are splendid fatteners, but generally tend to produce the thick-shouldered "dumpy" type of pig. Tamworths, large blacks (also known as Devons and large whites are longer and better proportioned pigs, but do not fatten quite so readily. The former breeds fatten almost too readily, and there is a noticeable tendency among breeders both in Brittain and New Zealand to aim at a longer and lighter pig. At any rate it will pay the farmer who has Berkshire or Middle Yorkshire sows to mate them with a Large White or Tamworth boar. In Denmark Large White and in Britain Large White and Large Black, bloon preponderates among pigs classed suitable for bacon purposes. This type r.f pig grows an excellent frame before the formation of exterior fat commences. There is thus far less danger of coarse shoulders or thick backs. The Ideal Pig. Tho ideal bacon pig for the British trade can be described as follows: — Head of medium length and size, with a straight, rather than a dished face, and no eoarse wrinkles. Neck slender and free from rolls of fat. Shoulders fine and sloping, and fitting smoothly mto side. Back long and straight, arched rather than fiat 011 top, and free from any unsightly masses of fat. Side and flank thick and firm in the flesh, hut not too deep; underline should be as nearly parallel with the line of back as possible. Tail set high, with no depression or flabbiness round the root. Hams well developed, meated right down to the hocks; flesh firm and free from nabbiness. Skin fine with silkv hair. 0 . P>g such as this carries most weight Jn the side and hams, which are far the most valuable parts. If properly fed, there will be the right proportion of fat to lean and a minimum or waste. The pork trade is far more fickle and variable both in prices and requirements than the bacon trade. Even in u-iil latter. r an . experienced distributor 1 classify pigs according to the various consuming centres. The type of poik required by the manufacturing districts of the English Midlands is very different from the type that comands the best prices in London and ® southern holiday resorts. robablv the London trade is the os profitable, and at the same time e difficult to cater for. It deniaiu s prime young pigs at compara- <"/ \ l'prht weights. Here again rhe m pig does not bring the highest price: Pure-bred Large Whites are often used 01 ; trade. A nice lengtliv piw is reqiured with plenty of quality and de\eloped hams and loins. The should be between SO " ■ The Midland trade is bet , ltcd by a heavier and fatter pio- i weighing round about 1301b. ° ; Intelligent Feeding Needed. Correct feeding is most important, "this country there is a most undesire tendency to use pigs simply as a sort of sump for skim-milk. Skim-milk 3 unquestionably one of the finest pi«rf°°<K but. like all other foods, no goo'l ion'T/'T 1 , hy fopflin S ;t t0 the exclu JlUtri/' Nnt onlv 5s fresh an(l hilt 1 10U 4 S ,8 reer i-food very necessarv. fnorl' • ain proportion of concentrated ood ,s essential if the best results are quired ° htan "''[ A food is reskim ,°i the protein in the vet L , or t ,!ii ouriiose nothing has Follard 0 " 7" Kl to ,>eat barley-meal. cooU? 'I " lso " 00d - whilp maize and "Success P i 0 n l ° P VT b ° 11Sed With ereat 1,1 1 united quantities. Lar"-e quantities produce flabby flesh.

Young pisrs t!iri\c best when given some animal food such as meat, but this should never exceed 10 per cent of the ration and may he climinnt altogether in the later stapes. Linseed by-products are very valuable for growing piirs. but not be used forlinish intr, Jis they are apt to give soft oily bacon. Oily foods mu-t bo used wit I the greatest caution, as they soon impart taints; Enpli-h Hirers condemn them altopretlicr. For feeding with whey, a balanced ration is needed, a* the protein of the milk lias been extracted in cheese-mak-ing. Here pollard most useful; a!-" a mixture of peas and maize, or peas and barley. It we can build up a regular export trade in pigs it will pay farmers in most localities to grow a certain amount (if grain for fnuonhig putposes.