The weekly times-record. (Valley City, N.D.) 1912-1922, 1915-01-14
CONTEST HOGS PAY WAGES.

A wage of rs cents day for car
ing for a litter of pigs is actually
what Anna Barrett of Larimore re-
ceived. She was in the North Dakota
Pork Production contest which was
conducted by the Better Farming Sec
ton of the North Dakota Experiment
Station The aim of this contest was
to see who could produce the most
pork from litter of pigs in the short
est time and at the least cost. Miss
Anna Barrett won the contest with a
litter of IA Duroc Jersey pigs that at
2O9 days weighed 1911 pounds. She
sold them for IL cents a pound
which brought her the sum of $247.7l.
The cost of the feed was $91.49 leav-
ing a return of $156.22 above the cost
of the feed. The average grain per
day was 10 IA pounds which was
worth $1.19 and the cost of feed per
day was "a cents leaving Is cents
per day return above the cost of the
feed or at the rate Of $3.50 per
month for caring for the litter. She
won second in the 1913 contest.
The next best record was made by
Paul Kellogg. He choose the York
shire and from litter of IA in 222
days produced 1907 pounds of pork
which at IL cents was worth $685.
IS while the feed cost was $75.15
leaving a return Of $1,000 which was
s13 more than Miss Barrett received
for her product. Mr.. kellogg how
ever required longer time to make
the gains so that his return per day
above the feed cost was 70 cents.
The average of the "a prize win
ners will represent what the farmer
can do who will use good care and
feed though in some cases he should
do as we'll or perhaps even better
than the winners of the first and Sec
ond prize. The average weight OF
these "a filters was 2118 IL pounds.
The average number per litter was
ten. The average weight was 2lO
pounds and the average age was 2lS
days. The average value of these lit
tiers was $137.70 while the average
feed cost was $3.50 leaving a return
of $3.50 above the cost of the feed.
The average return per day was 81
cents above the cost of the feed, not
bad wages for caring for litter OF
pigs. It would be hard to make "a
acres on that many different farms
to average a return of 80 cents day
for 218 days in the year. Yet this is
wha THE average progeny of "a sows
has been made to do.
A study of the principal feeds used
brings out the fact that they were
such as are produced on the North
Dakota farm as follows: barley at As
cents per bushel; corn at SO cents;
oats at 80 cents; rye at 60 cents;
screenings at SO per ton; shorts and
bran at $40 ton; milk at rs cents
per 100 pounds; pasture l-3 cent a
day and corn hogged down SO per
acre. These are fair market prices
and it must be remembered that the
hogs took them on the farm. The
value of these feeds in pork produc
ton is demonstrated by the good
gains made, about a pound day by
the hogs in the "a prize winning lit
tiers, and by the fact that the cost q
the pound of grain was "a cents
per pound. Quite bit less than hal
of what the hogs were sold for. 1r
other words the hogs returned more
than twice the market price for thu
products that they fed. The othel
fact that is quite outstanding is tina
the hogs were brought to market
able size in about seven month
which means that there is ample tim
to produce hogs before cold weathe
sets in. The object of the contes
was largely to demonstrate the valu
of North Dakota feeds for pork pre-
duction and that the hogs can b
brought to marketable age befor
cold weather.