Australia, The Dairy CountryAustralia. Department of External Affairs
Science
Australia, The Dairy Country
Australia. Department of External Affairs
Dairying -- Australia
These facts relate in a general way to the industry as it is possible to
be carried on in all parts of the Commonwealth. A dairy man or mixed
farmer finds that the carrying on of his work at a maximum of profit
involves the growth of a number of different crops with which to
supplement the rations of his dairy herd. Peas, barley, wheat, maize,
pumpkins, carrots, mangolds, lucerne, rape, and other crops are more or
less used for a succession. Each one of these is of special value from
the pig-raiser's standpoint. Both peas and barley have a high value for
fattening purposes, and some of the successful breeders maintain that
the addition of wheat contributes largely towards rapid development.
Similarly the root crops play an important part in the general rations,
whereas lucerne and rape make an admirable pasture for the running of
stores and breeding sows. General experience has shown that when pigs
which are being fattened for market have the run of a good pasture of
these crops they do better and fatten on much less food. Consequently
with some one or another or several of these crops to supplement the
skim milk provided by the dairying operations, no more favourable
conditions could well exist for the development of this adjunct to the
dairying industry.
With suitable root and pasture crops there is no reason why pig raising
should remain merely as an offshoot of dairying and farming operations.
It is sufficiently remunerative even when all food has to be purchased
on the open market to justify attention being devoted to raising alone.
But such circumstances do not enter into the operation of the industry
as managed in Australia. The close proximity of separating factories
would in many districts make it possible for a breeder to entirely
ignore the dairying side of the question. From these sources such
supplies of skim milk as were considered an advisable supplement to the
ordinary rations might easily be obtained. With only very limited
supplies of skim milk pig raising and fattening affords wide scope for
the investments of men with limited capital. F. C. Grace, of
Warrnambool, Victoria, who recently went into the matter of the cost of
producing pork, indicates the possibilities of the bacon industry in a
report furnished to the State Department of Agriculture. In this account
he states:--"Over 6 tons of live pork have been produced, and the
average cost per pound for all rations with pigs of all ages has been 4
cents. The actual selling price has been 10 cents per pound, but a
number of the pigs were sold as studs, somewhat above market price.
Taking the average of all pigs sold in the open yards for bacon
purposes, about 4-1/2 tons, the selling price was 10 cents per pound--a
margin of over 6 cents per pound over and above the cost of feed."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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