BACON TYPE OF PIG.

Mt Benger Mail, 21 March 1934, Page 2

BACON TYPE OF PIG.

PRODUCTION FOR MARKET. “Having .succeeded so far, it is up to the British farmer to hold on to and improve our present position," said Mr David Black, e. hen lie spoke to the members of the Newark Agricultural Discussion Society on the kind of pig wanted for bacon, Mr Black is chairman of the St. Edmundshury Co-operative Bacon Sactory and a member of the Big Marketing Board. "There does not appear to be any fear but that farmers will produce pigs in increasing numbers." he sai<,l. “What is most to be feared is that the pigs and the resulting bacon may inn be good enough. it appears to me that the future success of {lie scheme depends to a very large extent on how far the bacon produced in this country satisfies the popular demand. “It is the farmer’s job to produce the pig that is suitable for he popular demand. A cuivr can on!\ cure the pigs supplied to him, lie cannot alter the shape ef a pig. He cannot make lean bacon from a fat pig. He cannot alter tin- firmness of the flesh,

neither can hr make a good Willshire side of bacon out »>i a pig that is Imt lieavv.

“Till 1 question of weight is easily within tin- control of the pig producer, and for the production of Wiltshire bacon the weight of pig best suited for this trade is from seven score lb to eight score lb dead weight. This gives the best size of a side of bacon. Anything above or below these weights makes less money when sold as bacon. “The leanness and fatness of a pig is a matter of breed, type, and feeding. There are certain breeds of pigs which as a rule are fatter than others, just as there are other breeds that are leaner. Prominent among the last-named is the Large White breed and it is mainly this breed of pig that is used on the Continent to produce the bacon sent to Britain.

“in delivering pigs to a factory care is necessary to ensure that the pigs are sent to thecurer within the weights contracted for. This cannot bo done correctly by merely guessing at the weights of the pigs, and it is necessary to resort to weighing each pig S' parately. “This weighing need only be dene every two or three weeks. For example, if a farmer has contracted to sell his pigs in class ! (7scr, to Bscr. 101b), he should send away to the eurer all pigs weighing over 2001 b live weight. Those weighing under 2001b and over 1901b could have a mark made in their right ears and be sent away the next week without further weighing, and those weighing over 1801b could be marked in their left ears and sent away in the following week. This method of weighing simplifies matters.”

A New Zealander whose knowledge of the wool business is comprehensive and detailed was asked by a Dunedin ‘Star’ reporter te forecast if he could the trend of the wool market, and bis reply was in effect that, in his opinion, the present drop in values w ill be as transitory as the January advance was. “Buyers got all they immediately want at the early sales, therefore are not now so eager. The general business of the world has also slackened —temporarily, -at any rate —in the meantime. Those arc amongst the reasons for the lowering of the demand. But our wool, especially the finer sorts grown in the south, is intrinsically as valuable as ever, and my belief is that it will not drop lower than at is at present, not to any appreciable extent. 1 look on the moderating of the bidding as no more than a stabilising of prices, and think that for a while there will be not much change,’ *