PIG COUNCIL.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LX, Issue 209, 2 August 1940, Page 2

PIG COUNCIL.

MEETING WAR DEMANDS. At a meeting of the Wellington District Pig Council, held in Palmerston North last evening, Mr B. E. Keiller presided. Other members present were Messrs W. Bayly, T. E. Collins, C. E. Eglinton, M. M. Cooper, W. J. Croucher, G. M. Whitelock, A. A. Johnson, and Professor W. Riddet. The City Council notified, regarding the utilisation of town garbage as a sourco of pig food, that it had been decided to carry out an experiment in the collection of pig food from twenty houses for a period of one week and report thereon to the works committee when the required figures are available. The resignation of Mr H. E. Thurston, of Feilding, from the council was accepted with regret. Mr J. H. Hillas, of Linton, was elected to fill the vacancy. The New Zealand Pig Breeders’ Association notified that Mr Whitelock had been appointed as the association’s official representative on the Pig Council. The New Zealand Pig Breeders’ Association wrote requesting the support of the council of the following resolution which was passed at the annual general meeting held recently in Tauranga : “That members of the New Zealand Pig Breeders’ Association pledge themselves to make every possible effort to increase bacon exports to Great Britain by at least 10,000 tons for next season. In order to achieve this objective, we believe that it is imperative that, in addition to root cr.ops, grain and meals should be made available by the Government at a price which will mean no less to the producer, as we believe that in a national effort of this nature no individual or class of producer should be asked to carry the loss due to the effort. As pig producers, we believe that the maximum price to be charged to farmers for barley should be 3s 9d a bushel, delivered at the nearest port or railway station in the Dominion, the price for all other grains and meals to be on a proportionate basis. In order that the producer may plan for the future with confidence and get to work immediately, we respectively ask the Government to state now that ample sunpliea of gram and meal will be available on the above-mentioned basis. We appreciate that grain growers must be paid in accordance with their costs of" production, and therefore contend that should grain producers require 4s a bushel, the Government should find the necessary deficiency for the grain grower out of the national war effort funds.’ The council agreed with the general principles of the resolution, but. knowing that the Government had this matter in hand at the present time, it was thought that there was no necessity in carrying the resolution any further. The supervisor (Mr A. A. Johnson) reported that during the past month the steady rate of pig housing improvements had been maintained. Arrangements had been made in most districts for the weighing of litters for the bacon competition; it being contemplated that these arrangements would be completed by the end of this week. At present many farmers were concerned about the problem of the change over from butter supply to cheese supply, many objecting to the use of whey for the feeding of pigs. Mr Johnson stated that it was not a difficult food to feed, and provided supplementary concentrates were used to balance the basic bulk food, profitable pig-raising could still be carried on.