East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1908-05-16
COST AND PROFITS OF HOG RAISING

The following excellent review OF
the cost and profit OF raising hogs in
the inland empire is from a bulletin
article by DR.. James Withycombe,
director OF the oregon experiment
station at Corvallis, who accompanied
the o. II. & n. demonstration train
through Umatilla county this week
The Hog Industry.
There Is no branch OF animal nus
mandry in a grain growing section
that will give quicker. surer or larger
returns than will hogs. Despite this
fact Oregon for a number OF years
has utterly failed to produce suffi-
home demand. 1t is certainly a pc
culiar anomaly that trainloads OF Ne
braska fed hogs are brought past one
of the best hog producing sections OF
the continent.
There is not an agricultural district
in the whole nation that can surpass
the wheat farms OF the Columbia
river basin for the economical produc-
ton Of a high class bacon hog. These
hogs can be grown and finished for
the market on field peas, or upon
wheat and barley. II has been demon
strated by farmers in this section that
hogs can be profitably grown on
wheat pasture during the summer and
finished on crushed wheat in the fall.
Experimental feeding has shown
that three and one-half pounds Of
wheat will produce a gain OF one
pound of live weight in a hog fatten-
ed for bacon. For longer period OF
fattening so as to secure large type
OF hog. more grain will be required.
The heavier larded hog will require
about 450 pounds of wheat for 100
pounds gain in live weight. This at
5h cents per pound would bring to
the grower T3 cents per bushel for
his wheat. The bacon type would
take less wheat because the finishing
will be done in shorter time, hence
the less grain consumed per pound
gain. For 100 pound gains in this
type of hog 1t will require about
$50 pounds of wheat.
This at 5 Y cents per pound will re-
turn to the grower "a cents per BUSH
el for his wheat Even better returns
for wheat fed than this can be secur-
ed. If the young hogs are mainly
grown on pasture, such as alfalfa
rape, peas, or winter grains sown in
the spring, they can be grown to
fattenlng stage for az cents per
pound All of the crops mentioned
can be successfully grown In the typ
ical wheat sections of eastern Ore
gon.
The pigs should be farrowed early
in the spring and permitted to run
with their dams on pasture until they
are at least two months old. In the |
meantime they should be taught to
eat a Small supplemental grain feed |
This should be continued until the pig |
weighs about so pounds. After this
he will make a satisfactory growth on
a good pasture. BY fall this pig |
should weigh 1875 pounds, costing u
cents per pound. This includes the
cost of the supplemental grain fed
and the value of the pasture,
The pig is then finished for the
market, and during this process con-
sumes $50 pounds OF wheat and
makes an additional 100 pounds gain.
The cost of growing the pig Is s4.S7,
but after consuming $50 pounds OF
wheat he weighs 225 pounds worth
5h cents per pound, or represents
value OF $12.S7 thus returning to the
grower for his wheat IS or $1.37 per
bushel Equally good results can be
secured from peas, The hogs can |
harvest these themselves. It Is believ-
ed that a quarter section of good |
wheat land sown to peas would fatten
$50 hogs worth $4,000, and at the
same time carry over the breeding
stock.
II may be we'll to state that the
younger the pig the greater gains are
secured for the food consumed. Also
the shorter period of fattening the
greater the gains for food consumed.
This is largely the reason why the
bacon type is the more desirable to
grow. Furthermore, peas and wheat,
or peas and barley produce the very
best quality of bacon hog. In fact,
the wheat, barley and pea-fed hog
will command a premium over the