Hog Raising in California 



Professor E. W. MAJOR, Dean of tho Bureau of Animal Industry, 

 University of California 



Judging from the figures obtained in the last census, California is not producing 

 nearly the amount of pork that the other States do, excepting, perhaps, those that are 

 used almost entirely for range purposes. We find at the same time that we are shipping 

 into the State a large amount of pork. Most of it comes in the shape of salted hams 

 and sides. The Philippine trade has increased wonderfully during the last four or five 

 years, and there is no doubt that our Eastern possessions will offer large markets to 

 us in the future. 



The reason why California has not gone more extensively into hog raising may be 

 found in the fact that in the opinion of most people, corn and hogs must go together. 

 This, however, is not true. Of course, we must allow that corn has a decided ad- 

 vantage when it comes to economical pork production, but it has the great disad- 

 vantage of reducing the fecundity and also weakens the constitution of breeding stock. 

 We find that many breeders throughout the corn section are importing hogs from other 

 sections for breeding purposes. Some go to the East and others cross to England so 

 as to secure animals of stronger constitution and greater prolificacy. Why should not 

 California compete for some of this business? 



In the irrigation districts we grow large crops of alfalfa, and in other sections 

 clover grows in great abundance. Many experiments have been conducted by Agricul- 

 tural Experiment Stations to decide the value of these crops for swine-raising. In a 

 recent report by the Kansas Station, it is shown conclusively that alfalfa, when supple- 

 mented by a small grain ration, has a high nutritive value as a feed for swine. The 

 dairy industry is growing rapidly in all the irrigated sections and there is no other 

 line of farm work that fits in better with dairying than hog-raising. By-products — skim 

 milk and butter milk — furnish excellent feeding material both for the young pigs and 

 those in the feed lot. Then, too, pigs will consume a large amount of the waste mate- 

 rial that comes from the house. This, of course, must be fed judiciously, care being 

 taken not to include any material that has decayed badly, or any wash water that may 

 contain any of the various soap powders. 



It has been mentioned above that in feeding alfalfa, it is necessary to supplement 

 it by a small grain ration. While we do not raise any great quantity of corn, yet we do 

 grow large quantities of barley. The American pork-producer has not, in the past, re- 

 lied upon barley to any great extent for hog fattening. The Danish farmer, when he 

 is anxious to produce a particularly fine article, feeds barley, and the American feeder 

 can well give this matter his careful consideration. Experiments that have been 

 conducted in various Experiment Stations, particularly those in Canada, show that bar- 

 ley possesses a very high feeding value. One of the commonest complaints that has 

 been made against California pork is that it is soft and slushy. The common cause 

 of this is that we are feeding too much green feed and not enough grain or other 

 concentrate. If we are to be successful as hog raisers, we must profit by the lessons 

 we can learn from the corn-growing sections. They have developed an overfat type of 

 hog from feeding too much corn and not enough of the nitrogenous foods. We must 

 combine our foods so as to secure pork of the highest quality. A farmer who would 

 go into hog-raising, however, as a leading feature of his farm work, or as supplementary 

 to the dairy, should realize that, in order to be successful he must give the matter the 

 same consideration that he gives to the other lines of stock-raising. The greatest losses 

 in the hog business comes from neglect in providing sufficient shelter and water; from 

 allowing infection to get into his herd, and then disease spreads rapidly. Hogs do not 

 stand great heat nor great cold. They should, therefore, be provided with shelter 

 both in the summer time and in the winter. 



Care, too, must be taken in selecting the breeding stock, to see that the animals are 

 of good constitution and of the type required in the breed. By doing this and using good 

 judgment in feeding and management of the herd, hog-raising would be one of the 

 most profitable of the livestock industries that the California farmer could engage ta- 



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