Pig Census Returns

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume 59, Issue 6, 15 December 1939, Page 499

Pig Census Returns

Figures Show Value of Meat-meal When Used Judiciously

Contributed by the LIVESTOCK DIVISION.

IN last month’s issue the returns collected in 1938-39 from 267 farms showed that those who used up to 20 per cent, of their total pig feed as meals— at the rate of 1 cwt. per cow. milked — at least 5s per cow more for pigs than those who bought meal for pigs at the rate of . only 16 lb. per cow milked. A further analysis of these same returns has been made to see whether the kind ,of purchased meal has any influence on. these returns. The farms have been grouped accordingly into the following four classes: — A.— Those that use no meat-meal. (102 farms.) .

B. Those that use up to 25 per cent, of . their bought meal as meat-meal. (91 farms.) • . ' Those that use up to 50 per cent. (70 farms.) ■ — Those that use more than 50 per cent, of their bought meals as, meatmeal. (74 farms.) ■ 7 Nett Returns After making allowances for the cost of i meal at £l4 per ton and'other feed used at £2 10s per ton, the nett returns per cow (500 gallons) for skim-milk are as follows: A.— Using no meat-meal, and 10 per cent, grain meal, 32s 6d per cow.

Using 2 per cent, meat-meat, and 15 per cent, grain, meal, 39s per cow. C. —Using 4 per-cent, meat-meal, and 6 per cent, grain meal, 37s per cow. D.— Using 7 per cent, meat-meal, and : 5 per cent, grain meal, 43s per cow. Those who use over half their bought feed as meat-meal get a return of approximately 10s 6d' per cow better than those who use no meat-meal at all. This is in keeping .with' the evidence obtained , ten years ago by. the Waikato Pig Recording Society, who proclaimed that meat-meal at its price at that time of £16,t0 £l7 per ton was the cheapest and most profitable supplement that ‘ could be used along with skim-milk or . whey.

At that time it was recommended that meat-meal should be used with skim-milk at a rate not exceeding half-a-pound per pig daily, and with whey at a rate not exceeding 1J lb. daily, whatever the weight of the pig. This advice is still the soundest that can be offered. Those who do not want' to believe this will think of many reasons for disagreeing with these findings. It

might so happen that the lower returns of those who use no meat-meal could be due to the use of either excessive or minimum quantities of total meal. A glance at the previous table disproves this contention.- There is evidence. however, that those who use no meat-meal do use too large a quantity of grown crops which, in the absence of meat-meal, . are not as satisfactory as they might be.

There is approximately 8,000 tons of meat-meal produced annually in New Zealand, and the amount used locally is approximately 5,000 tons. The remainder is exported." We could with advantage ; increase consumption till there is no surplus for. export. When Are Bought Meals Used Most Profitably? A good deal of meal is used along with skim-milk just for the satisfac ; tion of seeing pigs grow rapidly. The . greater part ; of it, however, is used more intelligently in the off-season along with roots, when no milk is available. In order to compare the profitability of different practices, the, farm returns for 1938-39 were grouped according to the number of pigs carried at the end of the season:— A. — Those with three stores for every 40 cows. (95 farms.) B. Those with 20 stores for every 40 cows. (106 farms.) . C. — Those with 70 stores for every 40 cows. (82. farms.) : The nett returns on a per cow basis for pigs, after paying for meals used and other crops grown, were as follows: — “ - Z ' ' ' ; A. group, 34s 2d. if <r - B. group, 37s 6d. • C. group, 51s Bd. Meal used for pig feed was 50 lb., 68 lb., and 162 lb.; “other” feeds used were l/7th of a ton, J of a ton, and 1| tons per cow milked for A, B, and C. respectively in both cases. - Summary > \ By translating these figures into words, the situation can be summed up as follows: . Those who . carry many pigs through the . winter use as pig feed about two acres of roots or grazing ; for . every 40 cows milked; ; they use three “tons- of meal, and get a return of 51s 8d per cow after ,paying for the extra feed used. Those who carry . few pigs through the winter use as pig - feed l/10th of an acre of roots or grazing; they use one ton of meal, and get a return of 34s per cow after paying for the feed used. v. ‘