PIG INDUSTRY

Waikato Times, Volume 122, Issue 20464, 2 April 1938, Page 13

PIG INDUSTRY

! POINTS FOR RREEDERS MEAT BOARD'S REPORT. In a comprehensive report, issued by the Meat Board, Mr L. M. Douglas, of the London office of the board, reviews the pig industry from all angles. Below are given extracts from the report, which will prove of , interest to Waikato breeders. It is somewhat difficult to arrive at an estimate of all the pigs in the world; possibly the number is around 300,000,000, and while there are greai world movements in connection with the pig industry, the figures compiled by the International Institute of Agriculture. of Rome, would seem to show that the total does not alter very much, says Mr Douglas. There are many pig-producing countries, and a great many of them look for their market in this country, Great Britain, such as Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia, where the pig industry is being rapidly developed. The pig population of Czechoslovakia is now 3,250,000, and of Yugoslavia 3,126,000, practically all the export from these countries being intended for the British market. From Lithuania, one of the latest countries to develop bacon curing, Great Britain now receives something like an average of 1000 tons of bacon per annum. Breeds of Pigs. The position of the various breeds of pigs shows little change compare- ' witn last year, continues Mr Dougin 1 The popularity of the Large Whit either pure-bred or as a top cross. i maintained, although there is soi * evidence to indicate that the breed 1 occasionally lacking in streak. Ho ever, there can be no question as j the suitability of the Large Whil * as its progress throughout the woi * indicates. Mention has been made : earlier reviews of the value of cros,. breeding, using the Large White boi j of length and fine bone to mate wi \ sows of practically every other brcc--1 It will be recalled that the cross c the Large White on Landrace sow 1 has given great satisfaction in Den--1 mark. The latter is unknown in Great , 1 Britain, although suggestions hav * been made at various times that the Landrace be imported for experiment ' —a suggestion that is always opposed by the pig breed societies, who con--1 sider that we have in our existing 1 breeds equally satisfactory material. While this may be, the fact remains that some good results are being achieved in this country by crossing Large White boars with breeds like . the Large Black, Essex and Wessex Saddleback, sows of these breeds being in most popular demand, although some excellent results have been secured by crossing Large White boars with half-bred—i.e., Large White x Middle White cross sows. Commercially, however, chief de- ’ mand is for Large Black, Essex, and Wessex females, each having their own particular merits, although a 1 move has in the past been made to merge the Essex and Wessex breeds into one under the style of “British Saddleback” owing to their close similarity. To the Large White x Large Black cross we are constantly getting some fine tributes. Not the least of these is a statement attributed to Mr C. Hansen, of the Danish Bacon Company, who is farming in Berkshire, and who has the Large White x Large Black cross as approaching nearest to his ideal, the sows coming in the main from the well-known herd of Mr Frank Sainsbury in Suffolk. Successful Crosses. Some evidence of what can be done with the Large White x Large Black cross is again forthcoming from the bacon pig classes at the recent London Dairy Show. Here, the Pig Recording Cup was won for the fourth time in six years. The history of the litter from which the winning ' sides came is remarkable, in that they , were from a litter of 12 pigs, reared, which averaged 48 lbs. in weight at ( three weeks old, the age of the four , pigs entered being, at killing, 24 weeks exactly, the average dead I weight being 153 lbs., with all four pigs reaching “A” grade. While sows | often produce more than 12 pigs in a litter, it is not usual for them to rear so many as to average 48 lbs. in weight at weaning, so the figures will commend themselves to those who r study the economics of production as i distinct from records covering births. l The average pig breeder with an eye i to economics does not care to allow , his sows to rear many, if any, pigs . in excess of a litter of 9-10, in view of the heavy drain on the sow’s milk- . ing capacity and the consequence that the young pig cannot be expected to | weigh well at weaning. It is noteworthy that Sweden, which has a very good name for bacon ; production, and where the pure-bred Large White is much in favour, is ’ now displaying interest in the Large r Black to the extent of purchasing the latter.