Moerewa Porker Competition

Northern Advocate, 25 January 1939, Page 2

Moerewa Porker Competition

A competition, for porker pigs, to be conducted by the Moerewa Agricul-

tural and Pastoral Society, the North

Auckland Porker Championship, has now opened, and its importance to this' district cannot be overestimated. Before detailing the conditions of the competition, it will be as well to state some of the reasons for its im-

portance. It may not. generally be known, but while our baconers are the worst received from any country on the London /market, our porker pigs are the

best The reason for this is largely that we have for many years been concentrating on an early maturing type of pig, and such a pig is overfat if it is carried to bacon weights. In order to overcome this, our pig reorganisation scheme was started, and has made considerable headway. There is already a noticeable improvement in our baconers. although there is still much leeway to make up before wo are competing favourably with.: bther countries. r' Porkers Neglected When one is making special efforts to improve, bacon type, there is always tl>e danger of neglecting the porker, and so allowing other countries such as Australia to come in and displace our product. No product is so good that it cannot be improved, and this applies to our porker pigs. Taken as a whole, while they are meaty and have many desirable qualities, they are still far too short, and also they are uneven in type. i .. Most farmers know how New Zea-

land acquired a name for Canterbury lamb, and the reputation so acquired extended and has meant much for the

lamb trade of New Zealand as a whole. .The Moerewa competition is designed as 'a means of building up a reputation for Northland porkers such

as that of Canterbury ‘lamb, and if

we can achieve this, aim, it will be lor the benefit of our district in particular, and Jater of New Zealand as a wholes > ; It isf inessential that every farmer who has the; good pf the industry and of his district at heart should take as much ihterest as possible in this competition.

If he has any outstanding porkers on hand he can enter them, and if he has not, he can at least watch the progress of the competition, and at the field day on March 25 at the Moerewa branch of the Auckland Farmers’ Freezing Company Limited, he can watch the judging and learn much of value to help him in his breeding programme.

Conditions of Fixture

The conditions of the competition are simple and straightforward. Realising the difficulty of having porkers ready for a hoof judging on the how date. March 25, hoof judging has been eliminated. Pigs can be sent to the works when they are ready, at any date between January 20 and March 11. Farmers who have pigs to send should consign them to the works, earmarked, so that they may be identified, on arrival. The entrant should notify the works of the date of despatch, name of the carrier, earmark, and description of the pig, advising the works that the pig is for the competition. This advice should, of course, be sent in time, so that the works will be able to know in advance of the date of the arrival of the animal.

Judging in March

On arrival the pig will be dressed and kept until March 25 for judging. A competitor can. send any number of entries. The farmer who enters hi’s pigs will receive payment for them immediately at current schedule rates, less 5/- entry fee. As the entry fee is deducted, there Is no need for any I competitor to send it in cash. The pig entered must have been the property of the entrant for at least two months, and must have been fed and reared for at least two months on the entrant’s own farm. This is to prevent people from buying selected pigs to try and win the competition. The weight range for pigs shall be between 60 and 1001 b dressed weight. Pigs over this weight, or under, will not be eligible for competition. Official Procedure The pigs will be judged dressed at the works on March. 25 by one or more judges appointed by the Moerewa A. and .P. Association, and the judging

will be public. Demonstrations will be given on the carcases, and should prove highly instructive.

After that date, the pigs, probably numbering the best part of a hundred, will bo sent to Smithfield, London, where they will again be judged by the foremost experts in England. The carcases will be attractively displayed there, and possibly in other parts of England later, under the title of “The North Auckland Porker Championship.’’ Provided that entries come in as expected, the first hundred pigs should make a very attractive display, and will be an outstanding advertisement fcr our product. This aspect of matters is really far more important than the actual competition, as its effects in assisting the industry may bo very far reaching, Messrs Wilson Meats Ltd- will be handling the pigs, and their expert, Mr Cissei, who is at present in New Zealand, but who will be In England at the time of arrival of the carcases, is to make every effort to try and get a premium for pigs of like quality. The market, according to him, likes to get Northland pigs in preference to those from some other districts, and this fact should prove very helpful to Ncrthlanders in an endeavour to establish a special name for our product.

Prize Allocations

Substantial prizes have been given for this competition. There will be five cash prizes for the judging in New Zealand and five for that in London, and in addition there is a cup valued at £25, given by Messrs Wilson Meats - Ltd, The cash prizes are £ls for first place, £lO for second, £5 for third, £3 for fourth and £2 for fifth. The prize money has been donated by Messrs Wilson Meats, the Auckland Farmers’ Freezing Company, and the Northern Publishing Company. In selecting exhibits for competition, there are one or two points that might prove helpful to farmers. The best porker pig is one that is carrying a good deal of meat, and most pigs will do this if they are reasonably wide across the loin without being heavy at the shoulder. Length is very desirable,

and good depth at the flank is usually a good sign. Care Necessary

Care should bo taken that the pigs are not scratched by barbed •wire, or bruised in any way. The hair should be glossy and the skin fine, as these

particularly necessary in a porker pig, as porkers are not singed, and they look a great deal better on the hooks than they would if the skin is coarse. A porker pig should bo well hammed, as the leg of pork is very important from a butcher’s point of view. Tire sides of the pig should bo even, so that there is no sign .of the animal being pinched and the loin, or hollow behind the shoulders either along the back or on the side. Pigs so pinched, hang badly, like a dish cloth, and mar an otherwise good appearance. The animals sffould not have a heavy head or jowl, as this is largely waste, and hence is not wanted. Too much length of log is also undesirable.

Informative Value This first competition will be of great value in demonstrating to those who can be present, just exactly what is required. It is very difficult to convey in an article a correct impression of a perfect pig, but when one sees one on the hooks, it becomes clear immediately what is required by the market. Farmers should not hesitate to send in entries just because they may think that their pigs are not good enough. Until one sees them in competition with others, one does not really know, and it is worth while sending them in just to compare them with other exhibits.. Subsequent Years The competition will be carried on in following years, and the cup is to be Avon outright by any competitor who wins twice in succession or three times at intervals. It is sincerely to be hoped that for the good of the industry and for the purpose of advertising the products of the district, that farmers will make this competition a great success. If they do, Northland’s name will be known in London as the producer of the very best quality product.