PIG BREEDING

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22964, 20 August 1936, Page 8

PIG BREEDING

NATIONAL RECORDING SERVICE GOVERNMENT'S PLAN CRITICISED (Per United Press Association) HAMILTON, August 19. A recent statement by the Minister of Agriculture (Mr W. Lee Martin) in regard to the inauguration of a national pig recording service was the subject of lengthy discussion at a meeting of the Waikato Pig Recording and Research Association last night. "While the great need of the pig industry is knowledge to keep pigs profitably, a work which the two pig recording clubs of the Dominion are pioneering so successfully, the Government instead of strengthening this movement, is doing nothing except to work in opposition to it, and has brought out a national scheme for.recording pedigree sows which will touch only the fringe of the subject, stated Mr H. D. Caro, the association s president, to-day. He said the proposed Government scheme took the ground from under the feet of the Waikato Association, which had .to charge £1 per sow for recording, instead of the Government proposal of ss. The association's fee of £1 was gladly paid by progressive pig keepers, in order to benefit by the exceptional services of advice and supervision, for which the Government was making no provision. ~ " It therefore seems most extraordinary" Mr Caro said, "that when the pig keepers of the country were anxious to establish educative recording services, for wnicn they were prepared to tax themselves, the Government should ignore their desire and propose to establish a service to deal with only one phase of the nigkeeper's problems, and without having a single man in its service capable of directing or carrying out the necessary work." DESTRUCTIVE CRITICISM MR CARO'S ATTITUDE RESENTED (Per United Press Association) PALMERSTON N., August 19. "Mr Caro doesn't really understand the position," declared Mr J. A. Russell president of the New Zealand Pig Breeders' Association, this- evening when the Hamilton message was referred to him for comment. What has been explained by the Minister is just the first step in a national investigational and educational scheme yet to be fully developed. If Mr Caro wou d devote a little time in assisting us to get a levy of 2d per pig on, all pigs killed for local consumption and export so that sufficient funds, could be raised to put a big scheme into operation it would be more welcome than destructive criticism Every pig breeder in New Zealand has been crying for recording, but recording clubs can cater for only a very limited number of breeds, but with the national scheme the Government agreed to adopt a breeder in the Dominion will have an opportunity of getting his stock recorded. This is not a parochial movement, and-we are not going to sit down and see recording alone introduced. There is a crying need for more investigation into diseases and management." Mr Russell explained that the executive of the New Zealand Pig Breeders' Association had finalised the scheme with the Minister.