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Diseases of Pigs Tuberculosis. —This is one of the chief causes of condemnation of pigs on inspection. In the absence of any cheap and effective method of pasteurization of milk by-products, particularly skim-milk, the incidence of the disease in pigs will remain high unless the disease in dairy herds is reduced. The pig is so susceptible to the disease that the skimmilk forming the major part of the diet is an excellent medium for transmitting the disease from cow to pig. Suipestifer Infection. —This disease continues to cause losses in several districts. There is evidence that the disease may be introduced on to clean properties through purchased animals. Sarcoptic Mange.—One outbreak of this disease was reported and was successfully treated. Necrotic Ulceration of the Skin. —This disease is still frequently seen on farms, and although a successful line of treatment has been recommended it is surprising that owners continue to find difficulty in dealing with the disease on proper lines. Swine Husbandry The report of Mr. H. M. Peirson, Superintendent of the Pig Industry, is submitted herewith: — Production of Pig-meat.—March, 1946, marks the end of a year of adjustments and a return to pre-war normal practice. The termination of our contracts with the United States Joint Purchasing Board in December, 1945, and the lifting of the restrictions on the sale of pork for local consumption has brought about a change in the kind of pig-meat produced, with the result that there has been a definite swing toward the production of pigs within the pork weight range 1 of 60/120 lb. While drought conditions may have been responsible in some measure for the increased killings of light-weight pigs, the general outlook is for pork, as this is the class of production best suited to the conditions and feed-supply of the average pig-producer. During the war emphasis was placed on the production of bacon pigs, and in order to encourage this weights and schedules were lifted to include pigs up to 200 lb. The response by farmers to the demand made upon them for heavy-weight pigs was extremely gratifying. Although normally the production of pork carcasses is more favoured, this effort on the part of the producer to increase weights was continuous throughout the war years. Much has been said about the drop in production, but this is more apparent than real when consideration is given to the difficulties the producer has been working under. By numbers pigs have reduced considerably, but on the tonnage basis of pig-meats produced, because of the increased average weight of carcasses as a whole, production has been maintained at a satisfactory level during the past four seasons. For the twelve months ending 31st March slaughterings have improved by just over 56,000 carcasses and represent an increase by weight of 1,316 tons in excess of the previous year. The production up to 31st March for the last six years is set out in the table below: —

A reduction in the number of breeding-sows was to be expected with the change over from pork to bacon production, but with the reversion in favour of lighter average weights there will be a tendency toward an increase in the sow population. A move in this direction is already taking place on many farms, and the indications are that there will be an improvement in not only the number of sows carried, but the number of pigs produced per sow. Some time must elapse, however, before marked improvement is evident. - ;

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Year. Breedingsows. Total Pigs slaughtered. As Pork. As Bacon. As Choppers. Average Weight. Total Weight of Pig-meat. lb. Tons. 1941 100,378 986,985 433,068 505,478 48,439 118 52,170 1942 91,338 1,002.211 553,818 414,017 34,376 112 50,280 1943 81,882 839,882 392,996 410,561 36,325 120 45,191 1944 77,300 726,282 281,153 421,947 23,182 128 41,375 1945 77,202 678,834 178,300 479,759 20,775 138 41,874 1946 80,000* 734,937f 262,300 449,815 22,822 132 43,190 * Estimate only. t This figur e includes farm killed pigs.