CORRESPONDENCE.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 11 October 1924, Page 4

CORRESPONDENCE.

PRICES FOR PIGS. (To the Editor.) Sir, —The various bacon copipanies doing business in this district have been putting their neads together. They nave recently held a conference, and have come to a very nice little arrangement (for tnemseives) by wmch tney pay out a less price for any pig Wmcn turns (lie scaie at over iovJlb dead weighty and the higher the excess weight the lower the price. On October 1 1 sent 12 prime oaconers to the weighing yard. These were ready a month before that, but as none of the companies were receiving f. was compelled to hold on to them; consequently seven of them - were overweight. For the five which went 1501 b I received s£d, for two at 1601 b sd, four at 1701 b 41d, and one at 1931 b 4d. Another farmer who had two pigs which were heavier still was offered 3d, which he declined to accept. Now I would like to ask the representatives of the companies if they are selling' the bacon from those overweight pigs at a less price? I think not. Contrast the prices paid by buyers in Taranaki and thos© paid at Addington, and I think it will be conceded that Taranaki producers are not getting a fair deal. Last week’s prices at Addington were: Light baeoners £4 10s to £5, heavy £5 10s to average price per lb 8d to 9d. It will he seen here that •the heavy pig brought the biggest price. Another cause of complaint is , the deduction made for wastage. From . a top-weight pig 571 b is deducted. The ; manager of the Inglewood Bacon Company some years ago stated that from ■ a properly topped off pig the wastage ; was only 18 per cent, which works out . at about 361 b. There is no encourage- ; ment for a farmer to produce a prime , article when he only receives the same ■ price as is paid for any rough stuff ; which draws the weight. Further still, . the" farmer does not receive the adver- . tised price, for he has to stand the L racket for insurance, a deduction of Is [, per head being made for that purpose, s Of course it is, or it used to he, op- ; tional whether he pays this or takes ; the risk himself, but there are few, if i any, who take that risk. —I am, etc., > VICTIM. [ [Me referred the contents of the ■ correspondent’s letter to the repre- ' sentatives of four companies operating in the district, who made the follow- ' ing comments: There is not the same . demand for heavy bacon, and conse- ' quently it has to be sold'at a reduced price for the local market, according to weight. A list placed before us ; showed that the wholesale price for , heavies is 2d per lb lower. It was pointed out to us that in Australia the weight limit fixed is 1401 b, and the company representatives stated that “over there they won’t look at heavy.” Another point mentioned was that bacon curers often store all the winter, and at the present time bacon on the local market was mainly from these stores. This storage meant that interest on outlay, freezing charges, and risk of a falling market had to be taken into consideration. Hams from pigs bought in January ’ and February often had to be held by the companies until sold at the following Christmas. It was explained that farmers sometimes sent in pigs overfed with whey, and they had been been known to drop as much as 151 bin 24 hours after being bought and before being killed. In Denmark, we were informed, the same system as New Zealand has adopted is followed. The demand all over the world is for medium weight. The companies’ representatives, thought that insurance was , verv light. The farmer pays Is per head, and if pigs are condemned by the Government inspector the companies bear the loss, the farmer receiving payment. If the farmer does not pay the Is and the pigs are condemned the farmer bears the lose. An example was quoted in which out of 11 pigs bought by a company seven were condemned by the Government inspector. The company deducted 11s from the farmer’s cheque, but had to stand. the rest of the loss. The. insurance does not cover the companies. who have to face the liability of losing pigs in trucking and in the yards in hot weather. Most farmers, it was stated, would rather pay the insurance than run the risk. Once the buyer received the pigs and hands the farmer a docket the risk is the buyer’s. One buyer lost 11 pigs in one day during one . hot season. Another had 15 pigs die in one day through the heat after purchasing them. A Third said that £6O worth of pigs died in the Hawera yards in one week. The total loss in these cases was about £l7O, which the buyers had to stand: One of the companies’ representatives saidi that he had known the ■ jolting of a dray to cause the loss of pigs. The idea of the sliding scale of payment (less for over-weights) was to discourage the breeding of heavy-weights and to encourage breeding according to market demands, and the companies say that there is no reason why farmers cannot top their pigs at 1501 b. Regarding the statement by the correspondent that he had to hold his pigs because none of the companies were receiving, we were informed that one company was open all the winter, and the majority of the companies were prepared to take pigs all through the winter by arrangement. - It was also stated that at Addington pigs are sold by auction and not over the scales, so that weights are estimates only. The quality of Canterbury pigs was better than in Taranaki, due to grain and pulse feeding. The quotations referred to .by the correspondent were for a time when the supply of pigs was probably short of the demand and nork butchers were buying. It had to be l omomboi’ecl fcßat Canterbury . was not a Pi|?.growing district to the extent that Taranaki was. The companies’ representatives said that their experience was that 30 per cent deduction tor wastage would be nearer the mark than 27-’- per cent allowed at the present time.—Ed.]