Norwich bulletin., 1916-08-03
WHEY AS A PIG FEED,
By E. E. Fish.

The exceptionally high price for pork this spring has caused many to seriously consider the advisability of increasing our pork output, or in many cases, to consider the establishment of a. swine herd.
 To produce pork we must have the feed, the equipment and the fOunda,- tion stock, each in itself, relatively inn pOrtant, but each involving separate problems. Of these three, however, it is more often the economical use of the feed that spells profit or loss to the farmer
 Corn is tI1e standard pig feed in the United States and its worth has been preached to us so long that we hesi- tate to turn to any other feeds. Even at the present time we must admit that it is the feed for bringing pigs into market condition. Throughout the East, however, our corn 3s almost wholly utilized as silage. The com we usually feed to pigs is purchased on the open market in meal form.
 The next feed that come to our mind is skim milk. Many farmers through out the eastern country sell their whole milk to creamcries and cheese factor ies. Often they are unable to get the skim milk back because the whole milk is separated, the cream shipped to the city and the skim milk manu- factured into cottage cheese, since a much better price may be secured for this product than from the uncertain sale of skim milk to the creamery
 Or, in the cheese factories, the whole milk is manufactured into cheese and the only product that is available to the patrons is the whey. The whey Is also available from the manufacture Of cottage cheese
 Composition of Whey.
 
 Feeds and Feeding by Henry & Morrison
 Dry matter .......... 6.6 per cent.
 Milk sugar .......... AS per cent. Fat ..-.-.-..--....... ; per cent. Protein ............. 8 per cent. Nutritive ratio, 1:6.8. Whey is the product of milk from which the fat and cesein has been almost wholly removed. The milk su- gar the albumen and a large part of the ash (mineral contenD still remains
 The ordinary conception is that whey is of but little more value as a food than water. Feeding trials at the Ontario Agricultural College and the Wisconsin Station indicate that whey has at least One-haf the value of skim milk as a, pig feed.
 It will be seen (fTom the nutritive ratio) that this feed is low in protein as compared to skim milk. Hence 1t should not be used as a supplement to corn meal alone, which is largely car bohydrate It should be fed in con- nection with other materials showing a higher percentage of protein. Where corn meal is used, a high protein feed such as linseed oil meal, should also be included
 A satisfactory ration to feed a, pig weighing 50 to 75 pounds and on pas ture in addition would be:
 Corn meal ................ IF lbs. i Old Process Linseed meal % Whey i This ration 10 be mixed in the form l of a slop at the time of feeding ant i the amounts fed to be increased as l fast as the pig will clean it up quickly l Results show that on the average, pounds of whey will replace l pound of grain.
 The successful swine breeder today no more thinks of denying his herd th' ] run of a pasture crop than does tht Gairy farmer. By it's use the grainI 1 are increased, the health assured, tht feed cost reduced and the labor mucI less.
 Tn the feeding of whey however care must be exercised in keeping i 1 relatively fresh It soon spOils and il a spoiled condition is unfit for pis feed. It is best to secure a fresh sup ply every day when the milk is de Iivered at the factory or creamery. l In some of the larger cheese fac ] tories where over 5000 pounds of mill are received each day, a crea msepara tor is installed to obtain some of tn fat which is found in the whey. Ant | the separated whey may be used ant i has but little less value as a pig feeC than formerly.-New England Farmer