Boar testing centre at Springston

Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32678, 6 August 1971, Page 14

Boar testing centre at Springston

The new national boar performance test centre, which is to be established by the New Zealand Pork Industry Council at Springston South, about two miles and a half south of Lincoln College, is expected to start operating early next year.

The council has acquired as a site for the centre 63 acres on Days Road, which formerly was. owned by Mr. T. J. Heffernan, who had the area for about a year and used it for beef-cattle breeding and also cropping. A house and buildings, in-

cluding an unused milking shed, a large feeding, barn . and two hay sheds, are located bn the property. According to the annual report of the Pig Producers’ Council, which has 1 now changed its name to Pork Industry Council, the cost of the new centre' will be about $90,000. .. The Springston South centre will have accommodation for testing 60 pairs of boars at once or between 320 and 360 a year, aim there will be room for expansion.

In the year to .May 31, the pilot-testing' centre at Korakonui, which the new Canterbury centre will replace, tested 180 boars but a number had to be turned away during this period because of lack of accommodation. Of the pigs tested, the council’s annual report says that 80 per cent came from the South Island and 53 per cent were Large White and 44 per cent Landrace. As early as 1954 the Pig Producers’ Council had realised that one of the prime needs of producers was to have pigs with a genetic ability for efficient meat production, Mr M. J. M. Hanley, senior advisory officer with the New Zealand Pork Industry Council, said this week in tracing the history of performance testing in New Zealand. At that stage it had founded the Korakonui. breeding research centre. Where progeny testing was'carried out and hybrid pigs produced

for sale to commercial producers. Subsequently there was scientific evidence that more rapid genetic improvement could be achieved at a much lower cost by performance testing. This was done on the male because of its greater influence in any herd improvement work. A pilot boar performance testing unit was built at Korokanui after consultation with the New Zealand Pig Breeders’ Association, to which pedigree breeders were able to send their boars for a comparative test. The traits which were evaluated under this test were growth rate, feed conversion efficiency and back fat thickness. These traits were all highly heritable.

Pigs were housed individually and fed in the central station, thus eliminating variables as far as possible. A litter which was to be tested had to be entered for testing at birth when the pigs had to be weighed and individually identified. Before being accepted for testing, a pair of boars had to come from a litter of a minimum of eight reared to 56 days. At this age the average liveweight of the litter had to be kt least 351 b and the two boars selected for testing both had to be more than 351 b weight and free of physical defects. If accepted for testing, they were sent to the station and held until they had reached 601 b liveweight, when the testing, period began. The boars were individually fed with a "high powered” meal ration, scaled up according to liveweight. until they reached 1801 b liveweight when the test was completed.

r Back fat was measured ultrasonically at this stage, growth rate in pounds of liveweight gain per day was calculated, feed conversion in pounds of meal per pound of liveweight gain was worked out and these three factors w£re converted to an index. This was compared with the average of the 60 previous boars on test and a plus' or minus average, rating given. Thus at any time both superior and inferior animals could be found. In conjunction with boar performance testing, breeders had been invited to join a Voluntary Improvement programme, in which onfarm recording was carried out to assist with herd selections of both male and ■ female breeding stock. The importance of pigs with high ability in these genetic traits was obvious in times of rising feed prices

ano general costs, such as at present, said Mr Hanley. If farmers were to meet the challenge of competition they had to be able to supply pig meat of as high a quality as possible at a competitive price. In expressing pleasure this week at the establishment of the new testing centre in Canterbury, Mr F. W. B. Miller, chairman of the Canterbury branch of the New Zealand Pig Breeders’ Asociation, said that the existing station had been unable to cope with the demand for testing stock and this problem should be alleviated by the new installation.

Mr Miller referred to a number of factors which were leading to an increased demand for tested stock. He said it seemed as though a market in breeding stock could be opening up with Australia and the Australians were seeking tested stock, which was creating a demand on top tested boars. With the increases in grain and meal costs in the last six months and the prospect of a further rise before the end of the year, Mr Miller said that the position was being reached in the industry where only the efficient could survive on meal feeding and it followed that people were going to have to insist on having a high percentage of top grade pigs in their herds. Thus, if they could achieve only a small rise in grade they would offset the cost of a superior boar. Likewise Mr Miller said that the introduction of a new grading scheme under which all porkers would be inspected by introscope for fat cover would mean that any poor pigs would now suffer and this in itself would also tend to increase the demand for superior stock.

This demand was likely to become very strong in the Canterbury area in the next year or two as feed supplies for pigs diminished in the North Island. During the last year, the number of breeders testing stock had risen quite dramatically, so that they were obviously conscious that they had to do this. Mr Miller also referred to the introduction Of the Voluntary Improvement Programme in July. This meant that the average breeder would have better records of his breeding stock and this would help him in his selection of stock. According to the latest annual report of the.Pork’ Industry Council, the new programme began with some 42 breeders taking part, of whom 31 are in the South Island. “We are staring to get the production side of the industry sorted out,” said Mr Miller.