DEVELOPING THE PIG INDUSTRY

Taranaki Central Press, Volume IV, Issue 386, 18 March 1937, Page 8

DEVELOPING THE PIG INDUSTRY

HINTS TO FARMERS ON THE PRODUCTION OF GOOD LITTERS. Department of Agriculture Notes by M. J. Scott, 8.A.,8.5c.

The amounts stated in the last table are minimum amounts and to be on the safe side it is well to allow 1£ tons of feed or 3,u00 gallons of milk per sow for the pnx*action of weaners, 4 tons of feed or 8,000 gallont of milk for the production of porkers, and 6 tons of feed or 12,000 gallons of milk for the production of two litters of bacon to 1401 b L-arciase weights. The returns as pig

meat from 14 weaners at an average price of 14/- each i. 3 196/-, and this for li tont is equal to £6/10/6 per ton; for porkers at 5d per lb CTe return per ton of feed is £6/11/-, and for baconers at 5d per lb £6/16/Thcse returns per ton are equivalent to returns for milk at the rate oi from . 78d to .81d per gallon. It would seem from the point of view o' returns for feed used, ttuat it matters little whether weaners, pork're or baconers are produced. Further, it is most evident that there can be very little profit in pigs if feed costs £6 per ton or more, and that if minis used alone the reiturns per gallon □r per cow Will be low. On the above bask the maximum return that could be obtained from a. 500-gallon cow would be 500 x .80d 33/4. This is the theoretical maximum that would be obtained if milk were available in the right quantities all the year round. Because it is not so available, the returns for skim-milk obtained by those who use milk only for pig feed are more often between 15/ <>"•’ 25/- per cow.

Number of Sows Per Cow. If milk were used as the sole source of pig feed, then it would be possible to carry one sow for every six cows (500 gallons each) wher r weaners only were produced, one sow to 16 cows where pork was produce-" 1 and one sow to 21 cows where bacon was produced. M’any dairy-farmers, how ver, have one sow to seven or eight cows and produce pork, or one sow to three or four cowe and produce weaners. Further, some obtain returns as high as three and four pounds sterling per oow (after paying for feed bought'' from the sale of pigs. A little rt R flection will make it obvious that

where many sows are kept per cow, and where high returns' are obtained, feed other than staim-milk must be used, and it must be cheiap feed. If the extra feed costs £6 per ton, more sows could be kept, but profits per cow would improve very little. Where one sow producing porkers is kept for every eight cows, and the returns per cow after paying for pig feed are 50/-, a little calculation shows that the eight cows provide only two tons of feed and that the other two tons cost not more than £6/10/-, or at the rate of £3/5/- per ton. Very little of it -can be grain since this costs’ £lO to £l6 per ton. During the initial stages of pig development, stress has been placed on the importance of the “sow to cow” rates in the earning of profits with pigs’. T|his has served a useful purpose, but this ratio is only ah in direct measure of the amount of feed other than milk provided. When the extra feed provided is low priced, profits are in keeping with amount provided, and When this is large the sow to cow ratio is low. Home-grown Feeds the Cheapest!. The only way of getting this cheap feed, is by using grass, roots or other home-grown supplies. In general, home-grown crops can be tgroWn for about one-tenth of a penny per feed unit for grass, and extra heavy root crops, and Id for average root crops, whereas bought grain or meal at £lO per ton costs about lid per feed unit, and milk is worth id per feed unit. The difference Is striking. Roots, at

5/- per ton (10 tons roots equals one ton of feed) supplies feed at the rate of £-2/10/- per ton, and the more of this teed that is used the greater the profit, it 80 tons of roots can be grown per acre, the returns tor the acres used for root-growing at 67- per ton should not be far behind those obtained for other acres used for grazing on most farms. Some grain, in the ration is always an improvement, but when It is bought at prices greater than £6 per ton, it makes the earning of profit difficult, in proportion to the amount bought and to the price paid in excess of £6 per ton. If for every ton of grain bought 19 tons of homegrown roots, or their equivalent in cheap home-produced feeds is used it is still profitable to buy grain. TJhe ideal would be to let the milk" and grain be half the feed supply and the cheap home-grown feeds the other half-. As far as can be calculated from their official year book, in 1930 cheap home-grown feeds actually constituted 43 per cent, of Denmark's pig feed supply.

Grain and Milk. Grain and milk has a hold on the imagination of the uninformed pigkeeper, because it is the ideal combination of feedstuffs to get pigs growing to capacity, it produces the nearest approach to perfect carcase quality, and it calls for a minimum of ‘kill and observation on the part of he feeder, Under old world condi•ions of high-priced pig-mrats and moderate-priced grains (£7 per ton) t shows excellent returns fof skimmilk. For these reasons one sees it frequently published that the ideal ration is three to six pounds to every pound of grain. Dieteticaily this is perfect, but at New Zealand prices for pork, 5d per lb, and grain £7iT'to £l2 per ton, it is quite impossible if profits are to be obtained from plgkeepfng. There follows in the next art’ele a table setting out the possible returns obtained per gallon of milk feed to fattening pigs—no allowance made for sow maintenance —-when used alone, and in combination with varying quantities of grain at three price levels, £6, £9 and £l2 per ton for grain and at various prices for pork, 4d to 12d per lb.

In the earty days, when a chap wanted baccy he had to go to a general store for it. There were no tobacconists and no “cut-up.” The pioneers had to be content with black plug or black twist, and if they wanted “cut-up,” they had to cut it for themselves. Most storekeepers kept a sharp knife on their counters for the convenience of smokers, and sometimes it was chained to the counter to prevent any absent-minded beggar from pinching it. Yes! we’ve progressed quite a lot since days of yore. General stores are confined to the backblocks now, while tobacconists are as plentiful everywhere as three-penny-bits in collection plates on Sunday—and they all sell “toasted”-—the tobacco par excellence. Sweet, fragrant, cool and comforting, also (being toasted) harmless as it can be, it may be said to have revolutionised the public taste and set a standard its rivals have failed to attain. The genuine toasted brands are: Cut Plug No. 10 (Bullshead), Cavendish, Navy Cut, No. 3 (Bulldog), Riverhead Gold, and Desert Gold.