Milford chronicle., 1934-11-09
BEWARE OF SOFT
PORK PRODUCTION
BY DR.. JOHN M. EvvARD
Formerly Professor Animal HusGaHdry
IOqra State College

BY DR.. JOHN M. EvvARD
Formerly Professor Animal HuSbaHdry
IOzva State College
Hogs that kill out soft in the
hands of the packer are a big prob
lem, a bigger problem than decade
ago simply because there are now
so many more of such undesirable
or soft hogs coming to the market.
This is particularly true in certain
sections of the corn belt wherein
soybean seeds, available on the
farm, are being heavily fed as a
supplement to the farm grains in or
der to avoid a cash outlay for pro-
tein balancers.
1t is naturally a great temporary
temptation to the sOybean grower,
who is also a hog producer, to use
his own handy and available soy
bean seed to the limit in hog feed
ing. This seed is fed along with a
good mineral mixture, which is al
ways essential for the most profit
able results when soybeans are be-
ing fed to balance the farm grains
and concentrates-such as corn,
barley, wheat. rye, sOybean seed and
their kind.
There isn't any question but what
swine make very good daily gains
with a reasonable feed outlay per
hundred pounds of grain when soy
bean seed is measured in rapidity of
gains in feed requirements and the
health of the herd. when thoroughly
cooked, boiled or roasted; but the
"bOgey in the wOOdpile" is always a
threat-the soft hog production haz-
ard.
Every soft hog that is produced
and sent to market is a drag on the
whole hog raising and packing in
dustry. This is true even though the
buyer knows not about the soft lard
and fat under that pigs hide. paying
a hard basis" price for the animal.
Some packers have learned from
their records of kill" and sources
of the butchered hogs" to place
cut in price on the
hogs offered from certain geographic
cal shipping pOints-points which
have in the past been marketing an
increasing number of soft hogs.
Many regions in the concentrated !
peanut growing areas of the south
land suffer a severe price cut per
cwt. because of the 'off quality" of
the hogs offered-hOgs fattened on
the oily soft pork" producing nuts. |
Likewise many sOybean growing
sections are creating u bad hog |
reputation-frOm the soft
pork standpOint-for themselves and
heir community neighbors. The
whole soft pork problem is a most
serious and perpleXing one but, its
solution, essential to progressive
American hog industry, must be
aced resolutely and intelligently.
Professor c. c. Culbertson, noted
Expert of the Iowa Agricultural EX-
jeriment Station, recently wrote:
swine feeder who intends
o use natural soybeans in his feed
ng operations should do so very
All progressive station
workers agree with Professor Cul-
Iertson; their tests demonstrate
hat he is right.
Soybean oil meal. manufactured
rom sound beans through thorough
cooking. grinding and oil extracting
Methods, produces hard pork of
hogs selling for near
op prices. The oil extraction makes
he difference. Growing and fatten-
ng pigs fed on a satisfactory har-
ening ration" may be easily and
uickly made soft simply by feed
lg them sufficiency of soybean oil
Or a couple of months or so.
Emphatically, we say to SOY
EAN and HOG producers every
of the soft pork
azard induced by feeding natural
Dybeans." Yeah. with all our
.rength we shout from the highest
ouse tops this fundamental warm
lg.