THE STANDARD PIG

Taranaki Daily News, 5 January 1935, Page 20 (Supplement)

THE STANDARD PIG

PORKER OR BACONER OPERATION OF ENGLISH PLAN.

The difference between a pork and a ■bacon pig is one of size only; a porker weighing approximately 1001 b. and a baconer 2001 b.; apart from this difference both the butcher and the curer require pigs of the same appearance, of which length, fineness of bone, well developed hams and a straight underline of belly are the most desirable features, remarks A. H. Blissett in The Young Farmer. Under the English pigs marketing scheme a producer receives a price for his pigs according to the class or grade into which it falls. There are three classes and five grades. The class mto which a pig will fall is determined by the weight after slaughter and is usually quoted in scores (a score being 201 b.) The three main classes are: Class 1, 7 score—B score 101 b.; Class 2, 8 score 101 b. —9 score 101 b.; class 3, 9 score 101 b — 10 score 101 b. . The greatest demand is for pigs which fall tvifhin Class 1 and in order to ensure that it will kill out in this class, a pig should weigh between 200-2241 b. when it leaves the farm. Very few people are capable of judging the live weight of a pig even within this wide range and a weighing machine is therefore an essential part of a. modem pigkeeper’s equipment, since pigs contracted for in Class 1 may be rejected by the curers if they are not of the correct weight. Such pigs are usually accepted as part of the contract but are paid for at a lower rate.. The grade into which a pig will fall is determined by two measurements which are made on the carcase of the pig after slaughter. These two measurements are (1) the thickness of the back fat at the fattest point on the shoulder and (2) the thickness of the belly if inches from the belly edge in line with the top of the kidney. . A pig with a thin back fat and a thich belly is the kind that is the most desirable, since it is a pig of this type which- will be paid for as Grade A. The pigs falling in the lower Grades— B, C, D and E—are those which are deficient in either back or belly measurements or in both. The payment grade of a pig is determined by the lower of the two measurement grades obtained, i.e., a pig with an extremely heavy shoulder, even if its belly measurement qualifies it for Grade A, will be paid for according to the shoulder fat thickness which, if over 2| inches, will cause the pig to be graded E and similarly a pig with a Grade E belly although having an A back will be paid for as an E Grade pig. The only variation from this ruling is where one of ■the measurement grades is A and the other is C, when the payment of the pig is B. It is therefore essential that the measurements for both shoulder fat and belly thickness should conform to Grade A standards if the highest price is to be obtained. The type of pig desired by both producer and curer is one which fall within Class 1 and will produce a Grade A carcase. Such a pig will return the greatest money value to the producer and will be most readily disposed of by the curer. The demand for bacon is dependent on the consumers’ requirements and unless the consumers can obtain the article desired from the home product then they will turn to the foreign product which has the advantage of being selected before being sent to this country and is therefore of uniform quality and of such a standard as will satisfy the consumer. Uniformity of a standard supply is as important as the quality itself, for the consumer must be assured of being able to obtain the same standard product each time that British bacon is demanded. It is, therefore, essential that all pigs sold for bacon should be of a similar type in order that a uniform product may be produced.