The gazette-times. [volume] (Heppner, Or.) 1912-1925, 1915-06-10
HOGGING-OFF VARIOUS CROPS.

HOGCING-OFF VARIOUS CROPS.
BY c. l.. Smith, Agriculturist of the
Oregon Washington Railroad &
Navigation Co.
1t is well recognized principle OF
manufacturing that to reduce the
cost of production and at the same
time maintain the quality of the pro-
duct, means direct increase in net
profits. The wide variation found on
different farms in the cost of pork
production would indicate that If the
methods were followed by the man
who produces pork at the least cost
were in general practice, the actual
cost would be reduced more than
one-third.
Careful Investigation on many
different farms shows that the aver
age cost of harvesting a crop equals
the cost of growing it ready to har-
vest. 1t has also been demonstrated
by numerous experiments that the
pig can do the harvesting of various
crops without wasting any food ma
terial. 1t follows logically therefore
that up to the extent that the pig
can do its own harvesting there is a
saving of SO per cent on the cost of
each pound of meat produced from
an acre of ground where the pig does
| the harvesting.
1t is seldom practicable to produce
pork at the least cost by having the
pig harvest all of its feed, but to the
extent that the pig can do the har-
vesting satisfactorily it is decidedly
profitable to let the pig do it. Pas
ture grass to the extent of one-half
the daily feed is probably one of the
cheapest class of pork-making mater
ial Next to this. comes any of the
cereal crops-such as rye, wheat,
barley. oats, peas, or corn, to be
hogged-off.
The farmer who Will arrange such
system of cropping as will enable
him to hog off the various crops at
the right season, can very materially
lessen the cost of pork production.
The best permanent hog pasture is a
combination of grasses and clovers,
including alfalfa. Alfalfa alone is
not a satisfactory or economic hog
pasture. Winter rye will furnish the
earliest satisfactory feed for season,
and If there is no permanent grass
and clover pasture, then the rye
should be supplemented by seeding
early on well prepared ground, a
mixture of spring grains seeded very
heavily, say 100 lbs, per acre. This
may include spring wheat. spring
rye, barley, oats and three of four
pounds of sorghum, Kafir, milo maize
or federetta. If the pasture is divid-
ed into about four separate lots, so
that the pigs may be changed to
new plat each week, which will give
each plat three weeks rest to one
weeks pasturing, the same area of
land will carry satisfactorily twice
the number of pigs.
The earliest annual crop with
which to supplement the pasture is
peas and oats. To grow the peas and |
oats to the best advantage, manure
the ground in the fall, and disc, mix
ing the manure we'll with the surface
soil. The ground may be fall plow-
ed, or plowed as early in the spring |
as it is dry enough to crumble from
the mould board. Disc or pack with
a Campbell sub-surface packer, and
drill in the peas three and one-half to
four inches deep, one hundred pounds
per acre. then one week after seed |
forty pounds of oats per acre half as
deep as the peas.
Enough peas and oats should be
seeded to take care of the pigs until
the winter wheat is in the dough. If
The winter wheat then is supplement-
ed by an equal area of spring wheat,
they can ordinarily be kept on the
wheat for four or five weeks.
March farrowed pigs that have had
4 light grain ration each day, in addi-
ton to the pasture, will be in con
1ition to make very rapid gains and
will, in fact, make more pounds of
meat per acre from each acre of
wheat hogged-off at this time of year
than they would be able to do from
.he same amount of wheat harvested,
rolled and fed in the most
manner. When the wheat
nas become fully ripened and har-
1ened, they could still be allowed to
get part of their daily food from
The ripe wheat, but If this is supple
mented with green corn, the gain