Use of Meals with Whey as Pig Food is Still Profitable

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume 81, Issue 3, 15 September 1950, Page 243

Use of Meals with Whey as Pig Food is Still Profitable

By

E. D. EDWARDS

>, Assistant Technical Officer,

Department of Agriculture, Wellington.

AS the costs of supplementary meals have increased in recent years, some pig producers may consider that it is not profitable to use whey because of the increased costs of the necessary concentrates. However, a recosting of the results of trials in 1942 with various meals as supplements to whey reveals that the farm return for whey today is in the same proportion to costs as it was in 1942, when pig meat was 6d. per pound and the cost of meals averaged about 12s. 6d. per hundredweight.

''J-’HE following survey of the results •4- of trials carried out by the district pig council in 1942 on six farms in the Auckland district indicates that on today’s figures meat meal alone is the most economical- supplement to use with whey. Because of relative scarcity of meat meal, however, other concentrated feeds may have to be used, and these, if fed with care and discretion, can yield a satisfactory return. Cash Return from Whey The comparative values of whey when supplemented by various meals under present price relationships have been determined by the reassessment

of data obtained during the trials. This adjustment of meal values is shown in Table 1. Because of its bulky nature and low protein content whey must be supplemented with meals and particularly those containing growth-producing constituents. High-priced meals must therefore be used carefully to obtain maximum profits and to ultilise fully the feeding value of whey. Though only four pigs on one farm were used for a restricted period and drought conditions on another farm reduced the time under trial to 50 days, the results of the trials were sufficiently reliable to serve as the basis for determining the probable return from whey under existing price levels.

The value of pig meat in 1942 was taken as 6d. per pound and for 1950 it is taken as lid. per pound.

Table 2 indicates the return per gallon of whey when used with the supplementary meals shown in Table 1. Superiority of Meat Meal It will be evident from Table 2 that where meat meal is used as the only meal supplement it yields a higher return per gallon of whey than barley meal. This results from the relatively high protein content of meat meal and the difference in costs of these two supplements today, the cost of barley meal being taken at £22 per ton, that of one grade of meat meal at £l2 per ton, and that of the . other grade of meat meal at £lB per ton. The margin between two meals is about Jd. per gallon of whey in favour of meat meal. There was no trial carried out in any one farm whereby the two grades of meat meal could be compared with barley meal. Exceptionally high values for whey were obtained on Farm 3. These may be explained in part by the fact that this trial was carried out with pigs starting at 701 b. liveweight; other trials started when the pigs were between 40 and 501 b. liveweight. . ,s Comparison of Meat Meals A comparison between the two grades of meat meal used on farms in the trials indicates little difference, but the results obtained on Farms 2 and 3 showed that management can be rewarded with a high return from the-higher-priced meal. On Farm 1 the two meals were compared, barley meal providing half the meal ration in each trial; the cheaper meat meal gave a higher return by about 1-3 penny. A similar margin was obtained in Farm 5, where meat meal was compared with the combined meals. In an average over all lots where meat meal alone was fed the meal of higher protein content gave better returns. Proprietary Meal The return per gallon of whey when proprietary meal, of which there was only one trial, was used was not significantly different from that obtained from a home-made mixture. Summary The pigs in the trials were fed up to lib. of meal per day. If meat meal is costed at ljd. per pound, the expenditure on meal .per pig in reaching porker weights is about 7s. 6d., which means a return of 1 2-3 penny per gallon of whey. If the feed consumed by the dry sow and litter to weaning is included, the return per gallon is reduced to a little more than Id. The use of cereal meal supplements at present prices results in a lower return per gallon for whey and is not at present justified if meat meal is available. However, where cereal meal supplements can be grown or provided more cheaply and used in conjunction with meat meal and good pasture the food value of whey can be fully exploited.

Meal 1942 • 1950 Meat meal A (50 per cent, protein) 9s. 6d. per 1121b. 12s. per 1121b. Meat meal B (60 per cent, protein) 14s. per 1121 b. 18s. per 1121 b. Proprietary meal 15s. per 1001b. . 20s. per 1001b. Maize 12s. per 1001b. For the carbohydrate meals barley meal has been substituted on an equivalent food unit basis and having a value of 22s. per 1001b. Copra meal 9s. 6d. per 100'b.

TABLE 1—MEAL PRICES, 1942 AND 1950

Farm Meal used as supplement to whey No. of days on trial Increase per pig per day lb. carcass weight Carcass weight per pig at beginning and end of trial Cost of meal per pig 1950 Return per gallon of whey (pence) Beginning (est.) End 1942 1950 1 Meat meal A Barley meal 122 .73 27 ' 117 19/6 .85 1.61 Meat meal B Barley meal 131 .66 ’ 27 1 14 23/10 .64 1.29 2 Meat meal B 16 .69 28 108 16/11 .85 1.62 Barley meal 116 .73 28 1 13 20/2 .88 1.09 3 Meat meal B 71 .84 55 114 11/3 .98 2.02 Barley meal 67 .75 48 | 98 12/3 .80 1.51 4 Proprietary meal 50 .57 30 | 30 59 59 6/3 6/3 .56 .56 1.12 1.12 Barley meal and minerals 50 .56 27 33 7/1 .55 1.09 5 Meat meal A Barley meal 93 .60 38 1 84 10/9 ' .63 1.21 Meat meal A 93 . .64 36 | 96 7/6 .71 1.41 6 Barley meal 77 .48 30 | 66 19/.82 .94 Meat meal A 77 .43 30 63 6/2 .75 1.55

TABLE 2—SUMMARY OF RESULTS OF SIX FEEDING TRIALS