The weekly times-record. (Valley City, N.D.) 1912-1922, 1915-04-15
n. D. PORK PRODUCTION
INCREASES five TINES IN
THE PAST THREE YEARS

county, who produced 1911 pounds Of
pork in 2O9 days from the litter Of q
Duroc-Jersey COW. The total feed
cost was $91.49, and the litter Of
pigs was sold for s247.70. The pork
was grown at feed cost of "a cents
per pound. The low cost as we'll as
! the rapidity of the gain was due to
careful feeding making full use
of pasture and the hogging-of OF
corn. This young woman had enter
ed the previous contest and in 1913
secured the second place. Her persis'
ltence as well as experience, coupled
with the happy combination Of a
large litter, resulted in her winning
first in the pork production contest
for 1914.
A second price of $50 was awarded
to Paul Kellogg of Dickey county, who
litter of IA Yorkshire pigs in 222 days.
litter of IA Yorkshire pgis in 222 days.
The total feed cost of this litter was
$7515, considerably lower than that
of the first prize winner. Due, how
ever, to longer feeding period and
less gain, the litter took second place.
1t is possible that if the litter had been
fed more literally the pigs would have
taken first place. They broke all rec
ords, however, in feed cost of produc-
ton per pound, as the cost was slight
ly less than 81 cents-the lowest in
the contest. The cheap gains in this
case were also due to the use of pas
ture and the hogging-off of corn.
Twenty-Five other cash prizes were
awarded to those standing highest in
the contest. In almost every instance
the successful contestants grew their
filters largely on pasture and hogged-
off corn Among the highest contest
ants was Edith Penno of Walsh coun-
ty, who with a litter of ten pigs won
third. Ida Edwardsen of Renville
county, with litter of ten pigs, won
fourth. Maurice Helgerud of Wells
county, also with a litter of ten pigs,
took fifth, and Elba Arduser of La
Moure county with litter of ten won
sixth place.
Many interesting facts were brought
out, all Indicating the great possibili-
ties of pork production under the farm
conditions that prevail in the state.
The average weight of the filters pro-
duced by the "a prize winners was
2,118 pounds. The average age was
practically seven months or exactly
218 days. The weight per head was
210 pounds, and the cost of production
in terms of feed, $3.50, or ~ cents
per pound. These filters were grown
at an average profit of $3.50. Based
upon pork at farm price Of 6 cents
per pound, the profit per day of the
filters over feed cost for the first sixty
in the contest ranged from 81 per day
per litter to 651a cents.
There was apparently little differ
ence as to the value of the various
breeds in the contest. All of the stand
ard breeds gave good returns. AS it
happened, the Duroc-Jersey produced
the first prize winning litter. The
Yorkshire followed with the second
and third prize winners, while the
Chester White, Poland-China and
Berkshire were among the leaders.
One of the chief points brought out
was the relative value of the pure
breds as compared with grades or
scrubs. The latter gave the poorer re-
turns. The litter Of the grades aver
aged 81 pigs, and the contestants
saved eight. This was practically the
same sized litter as that produced by
| the pure breds. The average gain per
day per pig as obtained from the
grades was 8 of pound as compared
with approximately one pound obtain
ed from the pure breds. 1t is possible
that the contestants owning the pure
bred sows took a greater interest II
them and gave them greater care
However, the results of this confess
indicate that the pure bred will give
slightly better returns than the grade
or scrub.
All counties in the state were repre-
scented with the exception of six. Tht
prize winners were not confined to an!
one section of the state, being scatter
ed generally from the northernmos
section to the southern, and from tn
western boundary to the eastern. TIL,
production of corn was not essentia
to the growing of a very profitable lit
ter, though the most profitable litter
were produced when corn was used il
ihogging-off. The annual pasture
) were chiefly the grain crops or rape
Very few of the contestants were fo1
ltunate enough to have on their farm