SELECTIVE BREEDING

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLV, Issue 21304, 25 March 1939, Page 15

SELECTIVE BREEDING

FOR SHEEP AND PIGS Sheep classing and breeding for improvement is apparently believed by many to be something of a hobby to be indulged in only by the studmaster. In reality, it is nothing more or less than an essential part of successful flock management. It ern be regulated or adjusted so that an overstocked property can be gradually reduced in numbers of sheep without in any way decreasing the yield of wool, and when a rational carrying capacity has been reached the yield of wool from the reduced number of sheep will start to increase as the better breeding and feeding become more effective. If it is desired to increase net returns from a property, would it not be preferable to consider, first, the matter of increasing the output of produce, with better breeding as a basis, rather than per medium of increased numbers of sheep of lower unit-producing value? The former obviously Involves less cost and less possibilities of drought feeding than the latter, and logically should be the first step towards the policy of fodder conservation and pasture improvement.

Breeding has a deal to do with the rapidity with which some pigs put on flesh, as compared with others when fed similarly. Early maturity runs in certain strains and families of pigs, just as heavy production of milk and butterfat is inherent in certain strains of cattle of the dairy breeds. If a pig 'attener depends upon outside supplies of stores he has, of course, no control over this, but on the other hand, if he breeds his own pigs, he can, by observation, determine the most prolific and earliest maturing strains and perpetuate them. Pigs that fatten quickly are the most profitable, and may produce pork 2d a pound cheaper than those that take longer to top off.