The Pig Club Movement.

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume 57, Issue 6, 20 December 1938, Page 485

The Pig Club Movement.

Suggestions for Consolidation of Work.

C. H. M. Sorensen,

Taranaki District Supervisor

A FTER four years of club Work it is AFTER years review work is interesting to review the whole position, to note the weakness of our present system of operation, and to suggest. what, in my opinion, would consolidate and co-ordinate our work on behalf of producers.

Finance.

■ The financial aspect of our present system has not been too satisfactory. Where the club sow has produced a majority of sow pigs of good quality the position has been quite good, but where boars have predominated the reverse is the case. It“costs about £3O to start a club on sound lines—that is, a good pedigree in-farrow sow and a house and ■ yard. : Where the custodian provides the house and yard £l5 to £2O should be sufficient,- but the point must never be forgotten that the custodian’s farm must not only be a place to breed pigs, but it -must definitely be an object lesson in layout and management. If this fact is lost sight of we have only half done our job. . - ■■ ; The £1 asked for has been a convenient figure and' one that has met favour with farmers, but it has sometimes meant that,, where the club has been financed by Farmers’ Union, P.M.A., or dairy companies, the first few litters’ share of the

£1 ns. 6d. has been mortgaged up to two years ahead. Where this is so, the hazard is too great for much stability. In the movement we can quote almost every extreme, but in no case has a single factor been responsible for success or failure. No doubt the greatest factor must always be the quality of the pigs distributed, when distributed, and to whom distributed. The distribution of weaners is in some measure responsible for this position.

Cost of Service.

Service must always cost something for the benefit of its continuity. For example, the Whakamara Club last year purchased for its twenty-eight members

meal to the value of £313. No doubt this amount was, to some extent, made possible by the fact that a very satisfactory agreement was entered into by the club by which they were able to buy their meal at £2 a ton under ruling prices. This opportunity to give service to members and at the same time strengthen the club financially against future.difficulties was lost sight of ; 3d. per bag would have created a very . useful reserve. Naturally, the club will always want to give as much to its members as possible, but reserves are just as necessary in this business as in any other, and- if this is not an adopted policy of the club it cannot always be in funds. That this thought has been apparent to others is borne out in the fact that some District Councils have considered the forming of or joining, some insurance scheme to guard against any major drain . on the club’s funds by their replacement of sows either by death or because she is of no value from their point of view as a breeder. This idea is sound, and could best be carried out by District Councils themselves. Taking the Taranaki District, with thirty clubs and, say, five hundred to six hundred members, ■ as an example, the Council would set aside £ls (about ios. per sow) per annum, the club members to pay is. per member

from club funds. This would give from £4O to £45 a year to be used to replace sows as they were deemed of no further use. As clubs charge from £1 ns. 6d. to £2 2s. for their weaner pigs it may be possible to collect some of this revenue from sales, as an increase in price of is. per pig would mean very little at the time of purchase.

Sow-replacement Schemes.

To some this might seem to be taking a risk, but in four years we have had to scrap ■ only four sows, which would have shown us a good margin. , Assuming that this ■ rate continues or that we have to replace the whole of our stock in six years, ■ this would enable us to issue to any club £B, which, coupled with the payment received as a chopper or even as an in-farrow sow, should enable clubs to restock. Where the sow died or had no resale value the management committee could, perhaps, give further assistance. ■ This is a sow-replacement scheme and should not altogether be viewed as the usual insurance scheme. : Some insurance companies will accept this type of . risk, but ; I understand . that where such . a

policy is required the depreciation is very heavy. Some scheme, however, is very necessary. If this side of the club’s finances can be arranged satisfactorily I think the £1 will be found sufficient.

Continuous Service.

. No club can survive where no direct continuous service is available from the Supervisor. The breeding of pigs is one side of this business and one side only—admittedly an' important one—but many good pigs have never had a chance of doing their part. When one realizes the large number of pigs that end their lives by a toboggan ride down the chute, this truth is very hard to side-step. With the majority of the clubs the amount of interest shown at the commencement of the movement has not been maintained. The difficulty of being able to place something new before members the whole time means, as in other clubs and unions, that the great majority are quite prepared to be silent members as long as some one else is prepared to do the work. Perhaps the , best indication of the position is that, to date, we have distributed four hundred and fifty weaners, and of that total only on two occasions

have I any definite record of selected sows not finding a . ready demand., ; With boars, however, it is different. Quite often the whole complement have been castrated. At first glance this seems a sad state of affairs, but I cannot help thinking' it' is in our favour that such should be the case, because we shall never need as many boars as sows, and as the boar is half the herd he should always be a better animal of the breed than the sow. The one sorry feature of the position to-day is that, as pigs are distributed as weaners, no true guide is available as to conformation. ~ ’ When I formed the first club I was of the opinion that as soon as it was at all possible the distribution of weaners should stop, and I am happy to state a start has been made in Taranaki to carry out that idea.

Distribution of Weaners.

The distribution of . weaners is wrong. All 40 lb. weaners, be they pure or crossed, are attractive and more or less alike. . A definite selection at this stage is impossible. Although small, there is nevertheless a small check when the little pig is deprived of' its mother’s milk. Some farmers

guard against this by a little cod-liver oil for a week. Secondly, it is deprived of the • warmth of its litter mates. and quite often is given a change of food, to say nothing of, perhaps, having to fight a dozen or more strange pigs. All these circumstances go to make the weaner look miserable and tucked up —so much so that when the neighbour looks over the fence even the owner is ashamed to state which is the club pig. Breeders of pedigree pigs in New Zealand have long recognized this, and few like to sell pigs at this age. When the fact of having to keep the pig twelve months before any return can '■ be ■ looked for is added, the proposition does not look so attractive. At £1 ns. 6d. for a summer weaner the price is not much above a crossbred, but in the late autumn, with little or no milk, the weaner is a problem, and if the farmer does not make proper arrangements to give him a chance the pig and farmer become a detriment to the movement.

Keeping the Pigs Longer.

As we cannot produce two litters in the summer-time it seems that we must make up our minds to keep our pigs longer under the care of our custodians, where they must have a better chance of growing into good animals. If, after the eight weeks’ weighing . stage, the !selection committee decided to keep two, or at the most three, of the most likely boars for boars, the balance should be ■ castrated and all pigs carried forward to five months, when the selection committee ; should decide which should be balloted for, the balance to be the property of ■ the custodian. But, if the club desired it, the ' reject pigs could be killed for 'observation as pork or bacon. Payment to custodian should be ruling hooks weight plus 15s. per pig sold fpr breeding ; reject pigs, no payment by “the club, but pigs to be the property of custodian on the understanding that they go to the works for either pork or bacon. ' Service to members should be carried on to every farm by the checking of animals drawn from clubs as against the ' farmer’s own pigs as controls. This is essential and the crux of our future success or failure. . The fact that the Supervisor contacts the farmer on his own farm will do a great deal to speed up J what is perhaps our greatest weakness lack of accommodation and management. J Knowing, as we do, the lack of good ■ conditions on many farms, the porker offers something with a far better chance of giving satisfaction than the weaner. 1 Definite conformation, rigorous constitution, and an animal- fit to be mated at a reasonable time as far as the farmer is concerned must be a very much safer line than the present one.

Service Boars for Custodians.

In the past four years the scattered position of the clubs and the desire of each club to determine its own breed of pig have often led to the sow having to be transported long distances, so much so that the cost of transport has far exceeded the cost of service. Where this has been the case, after one or two trips “ abroad ” the members generally look round for something “ good enough,” and once that becomes the practice much of our work goes by the board. To give the clubs the type of boar they require I suggest that the District Council have the right fact, it is part of their work set up a selection committee to arrange exchanges between clubs of the two or three boars carried to pork weights on the custodian’s farm, so that the custodian has on his farm an animal that not only he but also the members can make use of at a price to compensate him for his work. This pig should be shown at least once at the local show. ■ We hope to establish this practice during the coming season in Taranaki,; as well as putting in the hands of every secretary an extended pedigree of every, sow within. our circuit, so that it will be possible more or less to co-ordinate the

whole of our clubs for an exchange of or purchase from any club to any member. As soon as any sow’s litter becomes three weeks old all clubs are notified as to numbers and weights, which allows them time to make whatever arrangements they wish. • Three bacon competitions will be held this year, one each at Wanganui, Hawera, and Inglewood.

A. and P. Shows.

Arrangements have been made for one class at Wanganui, New Plymouth, Marton, and Stratford, and two classes at Hawera. As the stock become available this side of our work will be enlarged, as we are more anxious to work with progeny than with brood animals. ' In conclusion, I have met with little opposition, but, as is to be expected with farm-labour .position,; a fair amount of indifference, for the keeping, of pigs means so much more work to some, who already have time to do only the most necessary jobs. However, the type of carcass to be seen hanging on the hooks at the works to-day gives us every reason to believe that at least some of our efforts are being appreciated. ■fr « fl-

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