PORK AND BACON PIGS

Taranaki Daily News, 21 January 1933, Page 11

PORK AND BACON PIGS

VICTORIAN’S INVESTIGATIONS.

INFORMATION IN DOMINION.

The pig that weighs from 801 b. to 1201 b. is an “outsider” and is not wanted either in Australia or New Zealand for the local or export trade, remarked Mr. W. H.. Nancarrow, manager of the Gippsland Co-operative Bacon Curing Company, Ltd., whose headquarters are at Dandenong, 18 miles from Melbourne, and which handles on an average 1000 pigs per week. In an interview with a Daily News representative Mr. Nancarrow said he had come with the Victorian farmers specially to study the most suitable type of pig for pork for local consumption and export, also the most suitable type for bacon, both local and export. He expressed regret that he had been unable to visit the Inglewood Co-opera-tive Bacon Company’s works which, he understood, was the only co-operative bacon curing works in New Zealand. He had, however, visited Borthwick’s works at Waitara and had witnessed the.killing of sheep and pigs. Though the works were older than some in Victoria, he was very pleased with the manner in which stock was handled there and the various by-products manufactured. He was impressed with the information that he was able to gather in regard to the marketing organisation. He was emphatically of opinion that for porkers pigs should be between 501 b. and 801 b., and for bacoiiers between 120 lb. and 1601 b., according to the part of England to which it was being exported, the heavier bacon being suitable-for the colder parts. Pigs between 801 b. and 1201 b. Were of no use for marketing, as they were too heavy for porkers and too light for baconers. As in New Zealand, said Mr. Nancarrow, there still existed in Victoria a diversity of ideas as to which was;the most suitable pig .to breed. Opinion seemed to favour the large Yorkshire boar crossed with the Tamworth sow, crossed again with the Yorkshire boar; as being suitable for producing the 120 to 1601 b. pig for the local or export bacon trade. The Berkshire appeared to be most suitable for the porker between 501 b. and 801 b., but if it were allowed to get over that weight it became too short and toe fat. Victorian pigs were fed on milk as a base, with barley, maize and rice meal added,. and possibly 10 per cent, of animal food. In cases where dry feeding was adopted water was used, but of course milk was preferable. A lot of rice meal was used, as it was cheap. At Leeton, New South Wales, on irrigated land, rice grew so well that 120 bushels to the acre were harvested, and it was so plentiful that the people hardly knew what to do with it. The farmer received 4d per pound for his pigs from 1201 b. to 1601 b. weight, and 4Jd per pound for porkers from 501 b. to 801 b. The pig in between was an outsider and must not be marketed. The pigs therefore had either to be finished off as porkers or carried over and made into baconers.