THE BEST BACON PIG

Waipa Post, Volume 31, Issue 1765, 1 June 1926, Page 6

THE BEST BACON PIG

THE COST OF FATTENING.

LOSS FROM LIVE TO BACON WEIGHT.

It is a great pity that no definite information can be gained in New Zealand as to which is the best pig to breed for bacon, that is, to produce a certain quantity of bacon of a quality for Which there is a good demand at a price that allows us to enter into competition with the other bacon-pro-ducing countries of the world. Factories and buyers recommend, of course, certain breeds as making bacon m'ost suitable for their requirements; but has it ever been taken into account what it costs to produce that particular class of bacon in comparison with the bacon from other breeds? And are the people who recross prepared at this stage to prove that the bacon so produced is the cheapest to produce, having, of course, due regard for quality?

The bacon factories as business institutions have their manufacturing costs worked out exactly, and cut as low as possible; but the farmer, growing and fattening the baconer, cannot for want of information and standardised method,s, know exactly the cost to grow and fatten his pigs, and definitely whether he is doing the best for himself and the industry.

In England there is held annually a competition known as the Whitley Cup competition, Which does much to ascertain which is the best pig for bacon purposes—though it does not. assist in ascertaining which is the cheapest-quality bacon to produce. Tide competition is among breeds, and the bacon i s judged for commercial quality of meat, with proportion of lean and fat, thickness of rind, and weight of bone. Information is kept as to live weight, dressed weight, bacon weight, loss from live to dead weight, and from live to bacon weight. The records for the past few years demonstrate that certain breeds show much more shrinkage than d,o others whilst some lose points for the quality of bacon, thickness of rind and bone and by this competition the distinct advantages of certain breeds are given prominence.

We have found in New Zealand in similar competitions with fat lambs that the judges’ points varied considerably between the live animal, the dead carcase in New Zealand, and the frozen carcase in Great Britain. Seeing that our export trade in pigs will have to he built up on frozen pork similar competition would be greatly helpful to New Zealand pigbreeders before embarking too deeply in the pig industry.