CORRECT FEEDING.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20902, 18 June 1931, Page 17

CORRECT FEEDING.

AID TO PI G-FIAISING.

USE OF MEAT AND BONE MEALS

VALUABLE LOCAL PRODUCT

There arc many ways in which the encouragement of the manufacturing industries can be of assistarico to the primary industries, whiln still contributing to the solution of the .lneniployment evil. 'J he farmer is compelled, by reason of the low prices now boitig received for most of his produce, to look to bis costs and his attention naturally is directed to the question of giving his a nmals the most, nutritious food ration tha;, will produco the best results and not involve him in excessive outlay.

It is for that reason that the farmer is being encouraged to take advantago of the. results of research and practical experimentati"i), which will help him to arrive at the correct feeding of his stock. In the past there has been a certain amount of was e in the treatment and use of offal at the many .large freezing works in tho Dominion. Formerly this waste material was converted into fertiliser. The offal was boiled, with tho consequent loss of much of this valuable protein contained in it, but tin: recent introduction of tho process known as dry rendering has shown that meat an 1 bono meals, containing a high percentage of protein, can be produced.

Importance of Production Ration

Somo of t'ic companies havo already recognised tlvs value of this method and one of them is producing about 800 tons of this concentrated stock food a. year. So far, how jver, tho farmers generally have not realised tl o value of this food and tho company is compelled to export about 60 per cent, of its output to Britain and the United States, where the demand exceeds the supply. It is estimated that if all the freezing works in No v Zealand were to engage in the manufacture of these meals a total of 13,500 tons could be produced annually, and there is no doubt that they would all instal tha necessary plants were the demand sufficient, with a consequent increase in tht number of men employed in the industiy. It is an established fact that an animal requires a certain amount of feed for bare maintenance, and this is generally known as its maintenance ration. In order to enable an animal to work, grow or produce wool, milk or progeny* it must have an added amount of feed, which is called its production ration. It is from this that the farmer's profit comes. Object o! tho Waikato Tests. The valuti of meat and meat and bone meal as an ingredient in the feed of cattle, sheep and poultry is well established. A series of tests carried out over the past three years by the Waikato Pig Recording Club, in conjunction with the Department, of Scientific and Industrial Research demonstrated beyond any question the part played by this food lir the profitable raising of pigs.

Experience and test have proved that a pig at 16 weeks of ago is two and a-half times as .heavy as he was at eight weeks.Hence the ambition of every intelligent pig-farrner is to produce a pig as heavy as possible at the age of eight weeks. The weight aimed at is 401b., which eventually w:ll become, at 16 weeks of ago, a 10011). pig, and is ready for slaughtering, for :1 ic dressed weight will be somewhere aiound 70ll>,

1 hat i:5 the size of a porker which is required for the English market and will find a ready sale, provided it is in tho correct condition. The object of the Waikalo pig tests has been to attain the most suitable carcase which will place pig farming on a paying basis under ordinary fanning conditions. That this result has been achieved is shown by the following table. Kesults From Use of Meal. The figures are authentic, having boon obtained under the strict supervision of the (Jo\eminent pig recording officer. Ave. wriclil. ,\n. of per jiijr at .Season. tillers t> weeks of recorded. imo. >928-29 1!15 '.'Ml). .1929-30 .. J 89 :illb. lO.'iO.'U r>s Kill). These results are attributed fo the uso of meat meal and meat and bone meal in tho rations fed to (ho sows and litters as the following report by the recording officer bears out:— t would like it clearly understood that no effort is being made to ' boost' any particular meat meal, but our records show that of the 65 sows and litters recorde I iri the 1930-31 season 00 per cent, have been fed meat meal or meat and bone meal. Tho average weight per pig at eight, weeks old (for this season 1930-31) is 401b. as against 251b. per pig in 1928-29 season when no meat meal was used and 311b. per pig in the 1929-30 season when very little meat meal was used. It is my e.xperienco that meat meal provides the cheapest form in which additional protein can bo. supplied to tho stock. In view of this I have ijo hesitation in recommending jncat meal to all pig keepers." Farmer's Need Suitably Mot. The protein content of meat meal is 64 per cent, and of meat and bono meal 54 per cent. They differ mainly in their mineral content as one has a definite proportion of crushed bones added to the main bulk of the preparation. Thero is, therefore, a decrease in tho proportion of fat arid protein and a relative increase in tho as i and phosphate content. It his been ascertained that tho correct proportion of meal to the ordinary ration for a breeding sow is lib. per day, costing 2s 6d a month, and for porkers a day, costing Is 3d a month. It cannot be emphasised too strongly that tho farmer is in need of cheap and suitab'o stock foods to enable him to got the best out of his farm. These meals are eminently suited to his needs «7nd they uro a by-product of one of tho important farming industries of tho Dominion.