The Matamata Record PUBLISHED MONDAY AND THURSDAY THURSDAY, JULY 20, 1933. THE PIG INDUSTRY.

Matamata Record, Volume XVI, Issue 1443, 20 July 1933, Page 4

The Matamata Record PUBLISHED MONDAY AND THURSDAY THURSDAY, JULY 20, 1933. THE PIG INDUSTRY.

THERE are indications that farmers in the Matamata district are becoming more and more alive to the fact that in rearing and fattening pigs there is a very profitable sideline which has not received the attention in the past which it should have. done. Towards the end of the season just closed, pigs were shipped from Matamata station at the rate of 1000 each week, and this necessitated an enlargement of the loading facilities, which was promptly attended to by the Railway Board. A similar state of affairs exists at the saleyards, and of necessity increased accommodation must be provided there at an early date. All this goes to prove the contention in our opening paragraph, that local farmers are again realising the truth of the old adage in regard to the “ pig paying the rent.” There is much leeway to be made up, however, and fortunately there is also a good market awaiting for the right class of pig. Through the efforts of various organisations this 'need for supplying the right type demanded by overseas buyers is becoming more generally recognised, and in consequence those who have taken the trouble to breed to requirements have benefited by securing a firmer price. That more attention should be paid to breeding is, however, obvious, and by doing so the farmer not only ensures securing the right type for fattening purposes, but also secures all of the profit which there is in the industry. When economic conditions are depressed it is essential that farmers should devote keen attention to all side-lines in order that overhead costs be kept down to a minimum, and, therefore, it is pleasing to note that Matamata farmers are giving a lead worthy of the great dairying industry they have built up, by the manner in which they are forging ahead in pig production, which for some years has not received the attention it should have received in a country so favoured from a dairying point of view- as New Zealand is.